Here’s the First Quarter 2024 Cable News Report

Below are the cable news ratings for the first quarter of 2024.

The first quarter of 2024 signaled a nose dive into the presidential election season. On the GOP side, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis brought some drama to frontrunner Donald Trump, but their quick flameouts did not help the cable news networks, which were banking on a ratings boost from a close and intense primary period.

The quick wrap-up of the presidential nominees plus the delay in Trump trials made for a ho-hum quarter, with Fox News showing positive quarter-to-quarter momentum in primetime and total day, MSNBC seeing positive results in primetime and mixed results in total day and CNN finding improvement in total viewers during primetime.

Fox News Channel

Fox News averaged 2.067 million total primetime viewers in Q1 2024. That’s up +13% from the previous quarter. It also rose by +11% in the primetime demo with 233,000 viewers. During total day, Fox News had 1.297 million total viewers, up +7% from the previous quarter, and 156,000 A25-54 viewers, up +6% from Q4 2023.

Fox News’ performance in the same quarter in 2023 was down -1% in total viewers and -10% in A25-54 during primetime. Looking at total day, the network was down -5% and -10% in total viewers and the demo, respectively.

According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News has been dominating primetime viewers in cable news for 89 consecutive quarters and had its highest-rated quarter among all categories since Q1 2023.

From a programming standpoint, The Five was Fox News’ most-watched program with total viewers, coming in with an average of 3.038 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET, while Gutfeld! at 10 p.m. ET was the network’s most-watched show in the demo, with 304,000 viewers.

Fox News was the top-rated cable network during primetime with total viewers and was the fifth most-watched network in the demo. During total day, Fox News led in total viewers and was second to ESPN in the demo.

MSNBC

During Q1 2024, MSNBC averaged 1.253 million total primetime viewers, up +7% from the previous quarter. It rose by +9% in the primetime demo with 121,000 viewers. During total day, MSNBC had 814,000 total viewers, up +3% from the previous quarter, but it was down -1% in the demo when compared with Q4 2023, with 82,000 viewers.

MSNBC’s performance in the same quarter in 2023 was up double digits in total viewers, standing at +13% and up +9% in the demo during primetime. Looking at Q1 2023’s total day, the network was up +16% and +5% in total viewers and the demo, respectively.

This was MSNBC’s 13th straight quarterly win over CNN during total day and its largest quarterly audience in nearly three years since Q2 2021.

The Rachel Maddow Show, which airs on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET, was MSNBC’s most-watched program for total viewers and Adults 25-54, with an average of 2.533 million and 236,000 viewers, respectively.

MSNBC was the third most-watched cable news network in total viewers and No. 18 in the demo. During total day, it was No.2 in total viewers and 12th in the demo.

CNN

CNN averaged 594,000 total primetime viewers in Q1 2024. That was a +1% improvement from the previous quarter. It fell by -9% in the primetime demo with 122,000 viewers. During total day, CNN had 467,000 total viewers, down -7% from the previous quarter, and 85,000 A25-54 viewers, down -14% from Q4 2023. On the bright side, CNN remained the second-most watched network in the demo during primetime and total day.

When looking at its performance in the same quarter in 2023, CNN was up +5% in total viewers and down -2% in A25-54 during primetime. During total day, the network was down -2% and -10% in total viewers and the demo, respectively.

The Sunday morning show Fareed Zakaria: GPS was CNN’s most-watched program with total viewers, coming in with an average of 722,000 viewers at 11 a.m. ET. Anderson Cooper at 8 p.m. ET was the network’s most-watched show in the demo, with 141,000 viewers.

CNN finished in 9th place during primetime with total viewers and was No. 17 in the demo. During total day, CNN was 4th in total viewers and landed in the No.10 spot in the demo.

Meanwhile, CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt, which replaced Early Start earlier this year, has seen an increase of +19% (53,000 vs. 44,000) from the prior four weeks.

Here’s the Q1 performance of the other news nets:

• Newsmax—Rob Schmitt Tonight was the net’s top show in total viewers and A25-54 with 449,000 and 27,000 viewers, respectively.
• NewsNation—Cuomo was the net’s top show in total viewers and A25-54, with 167,000 and 26,000 viewers, respectively. NewsNation was up by double digits across the board, up +11% in total viewers and +5% in A25-54 during the first quarter. In primetime, it was up +8% vs. Q1 2023.
• Fox Business—Kudlow remained the net’s top show in total viewers and A25-54. It had 289,000 and 15,000 viewers, respectively. Fox Business had its highest-rated quarter with business viewers since Q1 2023. The network has the two top business programs for the second consecutive year, with Varney & Co. being the other program.
• CNBC—Fast Money Halftime Report was the net’s top show in total viewers, while Squawk on the Street was tops in A25-54. It had 240,000 and 40,000 viewers, respectively.
• Univision—It had the top news programs on all of television with U.S. Hispanics, regardless of language, throughout the first quarter of 2024 across total viewers and A25-54.

Q1 2024 cable news ratings, Monday-Sunday (Nielsen live-same-day data):