Fox News Channel ranked No. 2 in both prime time and total day viewers for the month of April in all of cable. The network finished behind a March Madness-loaded TBS, but ahead of perennial prime time powers TNT, HGTV, AMC and ESPN. This is an improvement for Fox News, which was the No. 3 cable network in prime time for April 2015, when it finished behind TBS and TNT.
Fox News was up double digits in April in both prime time and total day viewers: +16 percent in prime time, and +13 percent in total day, year-over-year.
The average Nielsen live + same day impressions for April 2016:
- Primetime (Mon-Sun): 1,901,000 total viewers / 344,000 A25-54
- Total Day (Mon-Sun): 1,107,000 total viewers / 214,000 A25-54
The year-over-year improvement isn’t limited to total viewers. The network finished up 15 percent in adults 25-54 during prime time and up 16 percent in the demo during total day.
The O’Reilly Factor was cable news’ most-watched show for a 185th-consecutive month. The Kelly File finished No. 2 in both categories, up year-over-year both in total viewers and the news demo.
Special Report with Bret Baier finished No. 3 in total viewers, and was up 7 percent in the news demo versus April 2015.
On the Record with Greta Van Susteren delivered in the 7 p.m. slot, but it was Van Susteren’s April 3rd town hall with Donald Trump that really attracted eyeballs. The town hall represented the network’s highest-rated Sunday 8 p.m. telecast of 2016, almost double its typical performance in the time slot.
Hannity delivered Fox News’ most significant year-over-year improvements, up 35 percent in total viewers and up 38 percent in the news demo.
America’s Newsroom (up 20 percent), Shepard Smith Reporting (up 23 percent), and Outnumbered (up 18 percent) were among the daytime shows that were up in the news demo from April 2015.
April 2016 marks the network’s 172nd month as the most-watched cable news channel in total viewers, dating back to January 2002.