Here are the Top Cable News Programs of November 2018

By A.J. Katz 

November 2018 was defined by coverage of the midterm elections. Not surprisingly, Nielsen ratings for most of cable news top shows were up vs. October, but not all were up from what the shows drew in November 2017.

Here’s a look at the top 10 cable news shows for November 2018, first sorted by total audience, and then by the ad-friendly A25-54 demographic.

Per below, results when it came to total audience delivery are mostly strong. All of these audience figures are Nielsen live-plus-same-day.

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The Top Cable News Shows of November 2018 (Total Viewers):

  1. Hannity: 3,026,000 (-4 percent)
  2. The Rachel Maddow Show: 2,900,000 (+3 percent)
  3. Tucker Carlson Tonight: 2,825,000 (-3 percent)
  4. The Five: 2,673,000 (+15 percent)
  5. The Ingraham Angle: 2,560,000 (+4 percent)
  6. Special Report with Bret Baier: 2,400,000 (+1 percent)
  7. The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell: 2,198,000 (+2 percent)
  8. The Story with Martha MacCallum: 2,121,000 (-5 percent)
  9. All In with Chris Hayes: 1,852,000 (-2 percent)
  10. America’s Newsroom: 1,729,000 (-4 percent)

Below is a more extensive cable news show ranker where you’re able to see how everyone stacks up when it comes to total audience.

Cable News Show Ranker: November 2018 (Total Viewers)

But when it came to drawing younger news consumers, most of the top cable news shows took a tumble relative to November 2018. MSNBC’s top shows saw the most significant drop off from last year. On the other side, Fox News’ ensemble show The Five had a stellar ratings month across the board, and was the sole top 10 show to post year-over-year audience growth.

CNN, which skews younger than Fox News and MSNBC, earns two spots in the cable news top 10 for November among adults 25-54.

The Top Cable News Shows of November 2018 (Adults 25-54):

  1. Hannity: 571,000 (-11 percent)
  2. Tucker Carlson Tonight: 539,000 (-8 percent)
  3. The Rachel Maddow Show: 525,000 (-17 percent)
  4. The Ingraham Angle: 496,000 (+1 percent)
  5. The Five: 468,000 (+13 percent)
  6. Special Report with Bret Baier: 435,000 (-1 percent)
  7. The Story with Martha MacCallum: 416,000 (-6 percent)
  8. The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell: (-23 percent)
  9. Cuomo Prime Time: 363,000 (N/A)
  10. Anderson Cooper 360: 361,000 (-5 percent).

*It’s worth noting that AC 360 only airs for one hour these days (8 p.m.), yet it aired for two hours in Nov. 2017 (8 – 10 p.m.). So feel free to take that -5 percent year-over-year decline with a grain of salt. Cuomo Prime Time, CNN’s 9 p.m. show, did not exist in November 2017.

Below is a more extensive cable news show ranker where you’re able to see how everyone stacks up when it comes to the advertiser-friendly Adults 25-54 demographic:

Cable News Show Ranker: November 2018 (Adults 25-54)

Lastly, here’s a look at cable news morning show performance in November:

MORNING SHOWS (Total Viewers)

  1. Fox & Friends: 1,630,000 (+1 percent)
  2. Morning Joe: 1,167,000 (+4 percent)
  3. New Day: 611,000 (-7 percent)

MORNING SHOWS (Adults 25-54)

  1. Fox & Friends: 346,000 (-7 percent)
  2. Morning Joe: 211,000 (-16 percent)
  3. New Day: 192,000 (-21 percent)

 

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