It was a bizarre April for Fox News. But hey, at least the ratings were strong.
FNC once again topped all of basic cable in total day audience for the 10th consecutive month. The network also finished No. 1 in total prime time viewers for the 3rd straight month, and has now been cable news’s No. 1 network in total audience for 184 consecutive months. Fox News grew +28 percent in prime time viewers and was up +42 percent in the prime time demo relative to April 2016.
There was also solid year-over-year ratings growth in total day: +35 in total viewers and +52 percent in the demo.
The average Nielsen live + same day impressions for April 2017:
- Prime time (Mon-Sun): 2,441,000 total viewers / 488,000 A25-54
- Total Day (Mon-Sun): 1,498,000 total viewers / 325,000 A25-54
FNC claimed 8 of the top 10 programs in total viewers and 6 of the top 8 in the 25-54 demo. Additionally, every weekday program was up double-digits in both viewers and the 25-54 demo compared to the same month last year.
During prime time, the 8 p.m. ET hour was the No. 1 cable news hour across the board, +15 percent in total viewers and +32 percent in A25-54. The network posted +16 percent year-over-year growth in total viewers, and +30 percent year-over-year growth in the news demo. Fox News finished runner up to MSNBC in the 9 p.m. hour in A25-54.
Hannity’s program posted +42 percent total viewer growth and +42 percent demo growth from April 2016.
The First 100 Days hosted by Martha MacCallum at 7 p.m. was up +27 percent in total viewers and +57 percent in the A25-54 demo. At 6 p.m. ET, Special Report with Bret Baier was up +22 percent in total viewers and up +36 percent in the demo. Prior to its 9 p.m. move, the 5 p.m. edition of The Five was up +27 percent in total viewers and +40 percent in the demo from last April.
And on the morning show side, Fox & Friends continues to rank No. 1 across cable news from 6 – 9 a.m., and is on pace to deliver the most-watched year in program history. It also posted significant audience growth this past month versus April 2016.