Fox News was the most-watched network for day 2 of the impeachment hearing, averaging 2.72 million total TV viewers on Friday, Nov. 15. MSNBC came in second in total viewers across broadcast and cable, averaging 2.63 million. CBS, ABC, NBC and CNN followed, in that order.
Fox News was also the most-watched network for day 1 of the hearings.
NBC dominated in the all-important A25-54 demo on on day 2, averaging 512,000 viewers during the common coverage period of 9 – 11 a.m. ET, and 1 – 2 p.m. ET.
That’s a significant lift for the network from day one.
NBC News’ impeachment coverage on Friday had the flagship 7 – 9 a.m. edition of Today as its lead-in, something it did not have on day one. The flagship edition of Today is consistently the No. 1 morning show among adults 25-54.
ABC News, with Good Morning America as its lead-in, (Kelly & Ryan was the lead-in on Wednesday) finished in second place among adults 25-54 on Friday, followed by CBS (with a CBS This Morning lead-in). Fox News came in 4th across broadcast and cable in the demo, and led the cable newsers across the board. Among adults 25-54, Fox News averaged 398,000, beating MSNBC (378,000) and CNN (330,000).
Compared to the first day of the hearings, which, as mentioned, were held two days earlier, Fox News was -6% in total viewers, MSNBC was -3%, ABC was -4%, CBS was +2%, NBC was +9%, and CNN was -13% on day two. Among adults 25-54, Fox News was -10%, while MSNBC was +4%. ABC was -3%, CBS was +13%, NBC was +16%, but CNN was -23% day-to-day.
Altogether, per preliminary data from Nielsen, day two coverage hauled in an average of 12.7 million total TV viewers across 6 Nielsen-measured networks. That’s -3% vs. day 1.
Not bad for a Friday and the second day of a significant television event.
Friday, Nov. 15
| Impeachment Hearing Day 2 Coverage | |||
| Network | Total Viewers (000) | A25-54 Viewers (000) | Time Period (ET) |
| Fox News | 2,722,000 | 398,000 | 9-11 a.m. / 1-2 p.m. |
| MSNBC | 2,631,000 | 378,000 | 9-11 a.m. / 1-2 p.m |
| CBS | 2,000,000 | 432,000 | 9-11 a.m. / 1-2 p.m |
| ABC | 1,932,000 | 483,000 | 9-11 a.m. / 1-2 p.m |
| NBC | 1,827,000 | 512,000 | 9-11 a.m. / 1-2 p.m |
| CNN | 1,615,000 | 330,000 | 9-11 a.m. / 1-2 p.m |
*Neither CNNI nor C-Span are included because they are not Nielsen-rated.
*This does not include streaming audience numbers.
*Preliminary Nielsen live-plus-same-day data