According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, Tucker Carlson Tonight is the No. 1 cable news show for August 2021, not just in average total audience but also among adults 25-54. Carlson’s 8 p.m. offering hauled in an average of 3.3 million total viewers and 551,000 adults 25-54 per original broadcast.
The Five ascended to the No. 2 on cable news in total viewers (3.1 million), while Hannity (3 million), The Ingraham Angle (2.39 million) and Special Report with Bret Baier (2.19 million) round out the five-most-watched for the month.
In its fifth month on air, Fox News’ late-night show Gutfeld! finished No. 10 in total viewers (1.67 million) and continues to beat its 11 p.m. competition.
Nine of the 10-most-watched shows of the month are Fox News shows. MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show finished No. 6 (2.06 million) after taking fourth place in July. The second-most-watched non-Fox News show was The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (No. 15 – 1.37 million).
CNN’s most-watched show for August was Cuomo Primetime (930,000). However, it was only the 22nd-most-watched show on all of cable news for the month.
Here are the 10 most-watched cable news shows for Aug. 2021, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen.
- Fox News| 8 p.m. / Tucker Carlson Tonight: 3,302,000 / 22 telecasts
- Fox News | 5 p.m. / The Five: 3,106,000 / 26 telecasts
- Fox News | 9 p.m. / Hannity: 3,009,000 / 22 telecasts
- Fox News | 10 p.m. / The Ingraham Angle: 2,394,000 / 22 telecasts
- Fox News | 6 p.m. / Special Report with Bret Baier: 2,186,000 / 25 telecasts
- MSNBC | 9 p.m. / The Rachel Maddow Show: 2,063,000 / 25 telecasts
- Fox News | 7 p.m. / Fox News Primetime: 1,957,000 / 25 telecasts
- Fox News | 4 p.m. / Your World with Neil Cavuto: 1,696,000 / 24 telecasts
- Fox News | 12 p.m. / Outnumbered: 1,673,000 / 24 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 p.m. / Gutfeld!: 1,667,000 / 24 telecasts
Below, the full cable news program ranker:
How about the top cable news shows among adults 25-54? After all, this is a demographic that advertisers of news traditionally focus their ad dollars on.
As previously mentioned, Tucker Carlson Tonight averaged the largest A25-54 audience of any cable news show in August, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen (551,000). Hannity remained No. 2 in the demo (503,000), followed by The Five (460,000). The Ingraham Angle (410,000) and Special Report (349,000) rounding out the top five in the key demo.
Fox News placed nine shows in the top 10 for August among adults 25-54, tying a monthly-high for 2021, 13 of the top 15, and 15 of the top 25.
The Rachel Maddow Show is the only non-Fox offering to crack the top 10 in the demo this month, coming in at No. 15 after finishing fifth the previous month. MSNBC placed three of the top 25 cable news shows among adults 25-54 for August 2021.
CNN’s top show in the key A25-54 demo for August is Cuomo Primetime, which averaged 217,000 viewers (No. 15 overall). CNN placed seven of the top 25 cable news shows for the month among adults 25-54.
Here are the top 10 cable news shows among adults 25-54 for Aug. 2021, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen:
- Fox News| 8 p.m./ Tucker Carlson Tonight: 551,000 / 22 telecasts
- Fox News | 9 p.m. / Hannity: 503,000 / 22 telecasts
- Fox News| 5 p.m. / The Five: 460,000 / 26 telecasts
- Fox News | 10 p.m. / The Ingraham Angle: 410,000 / 22 telecasts
- Fox News | 6 p.m. / Special Report with Bret Baier: 349,000 / 25 telecasts
- Fox News | 7 p.m. / Fox News Primetime: 318,000 / 25 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 p.m. / Gutfeld!: 312,000 / 24 telecasts
- Fox News | 4 p.m. / Your World with Neil Cavuto: 290,000 / 24 telecasts
- Fox News | 3 p.m. / The Story with Martha MacCallum: 276,000 / 25 telecasts
- MSNBC | 9 p.m. / The Rachel Maddow Show: 272,000 / 25 telecasts
Below, the full cable news program ranker: