New month, similar result: Fox News Channel had the most-watched shows on cable news, not only in the total audience but among the key A25-54 demographic.
The Five marked yet another month at No. 1 in average total viewers, averaging nearly 3.28 million total viewers in the 5 p.m. hour during May 2022. The panel news-talk program averaged the second-largest A25-54 audience on cable news (447,000), according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data.
Tucker Carlson Tonight remains the top cable news show among adults 25-54. In May, the program averaged 522,000 viewers from the demo and 3.23 million total viewers at 8 p.m., the latter of which is No. 2 in cable news.
Hannity at 9 p.m. ranked No. 3 on cable news in total viewers (2.72 million), followed by the network’s 7 p.m. offering Jesse Watters Primetime averaging 2.65 million, with the 6 p.m. Special Report with Bret Baier (2.5 million) rounding out the top five in average total viewers for May ’22.
After Tucker Carlson Tonight and The Five, Hannity averaged more adults 25-54 than The Ingraham Angle (428,000 vs. 382,000), with Jesse Watters Primetime (362,000) rounding out the top five cable news shows among the ad-friendly demo.
All in all, Fox News Channel is home to the top seven cable news shows in total viewers and the top 15 shows among adults 25-54 for the month of May.
The Rachel Maddow Show (known as MSNBC Prime Tuesdays-Fridays) was MSNBC’s most-watched show for May (1.95 million viewers at 9 p.m.), No. 8 overall. Anderson Cooper 360 remained CNN’s most-watched show, coming in at No.25 with an 759,000 total-viewer average in May at 8 p.m.
Here are the 10 most-watched cable news shows for May, 2022, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen.
- Fox News | 5 p.m. /The Five: 3,279,000 / 25 telecasts
- Fox News | 8 p.m. / Tucker Carlson Tonight: 3,233,000 / 22 telecasts
- Fox News | 9 p.m./ Hannity: 2,720,000 / 21 telecasts
- Fox News | 7 p.m./ Jesse Watters Primetime: 2,646,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 6 p.m. / Special Report with Bret Baier: 2,475,000 / 25 telecasts
- Fox News | 10 p.m./The Ingraham Angle: 2,256,000 / 23 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 p.m./Gutfeld! : 2,001,000 / 23 telecasts
- MSNBC | 9 p.m./The Rachel Maddow Show: 1,950,000 / 9 telecasts
- Fox News | 12 p.m. / Outnumbered: 1,774,000 / 26 telecasts
- Fox News | 9-10 a.m./10-11 a.m./America’s Newsroom: 1,709,000 / 50 telecasts
Below, the cable news show ranker that’s sorted by most to fewest average total viewers:
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 May, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen (522,000). The Five finished No. 2 in this key measurement once again (447,000), while Hannity, The Ingraham Angle, and Jesse Watters Primetime round out the month’s top five among adults 25-54.
Fox News had the top 15 shows on cable news among adults 25-54 this past month. MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show (Mondays only) came in at No. 16 with a 218,000 A25-54 average.
CNN’s top show in the key A25-54 demo for May is AC 360. The network’s 8 p.m. show averaged 180,000 viewers from the measurement (No. 17 on cable news).
Here are the top 10 cable news shows among adults 25-54 for Nov. 2021, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen:
- Fox News| 8 p.m./ Tucker Carlson Tonight: 522,000 / 22 telecasts
- Fox News | 5 p.m. / The Five: 447,000 / 25 telecasts
- Fox News | 9 p.m. / Hannity: 428,000/ 21 telecasts
- Fox News | 10 p.m./The Ingraham Angle: 382,000 / 23 telecasts
- Fox News | 7 p.m. / Jesse Watters Primetime: 362,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 p.m./Gutfeld!: 359,000 / 23 telecasts
- Fox News | 6 p.m. / Special Report with Bret Baier: 348,000 / 25 telecasts
- Fox News | 12 p.m./Outnumbered: 262,000 / 26 telecasts
- Fox News | 9-10/10-11 a.m./America’s Newsroom: 258,000 / 50 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 a.m./The Faulkner Focus: 243,000 / 27 telecasts
Below, the full cable news program ranker sorted by most to fewest adults 25-54: