Another year, another White House Correspondents’ Dinner and the controversy that comes along with it.
Considering the guest of honor has counter-programmed two years in a row, and this year’s controversial set by comedian Michelle Wolf touched off an existential crisis, we wanted to know how many viewers tuned in on the big three news networks. Nielsen prime time numbers for Saturday night show Fox News came in first, and was up +2 percent in viewers but down -8 percent in the demo vs. the same night last year. CNN was down -11 percent in viewers and down -20 in the demo. MSNBC was up in both measurements: +38 percent in viewers and +17 percent in the demo.
- Prime time 8-11 p.m. ET | Total Viewers / A25-54
FNC – 2.160M / 389,000
CNN – 1.132M / 277,000
MSNBC – 877,000 / 147,000
The three news channels carried Trump’s speech in Michigan beginning in the 7 p.m. hour. Fox News carried it in full until it ended at 8:40 p.m. ET. CNN and MSNBC primarily stuck with WHCD coverage, dipping in to the president’s speech. Fox News stuck with regular programming at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., while MSNBC and CNN carried the events of the dinner. (Bolded numbers reflect growth from the same hour on the same night last year).
8 p.m. | Total Viewers / A25-54
FNC (Trump) 2.414M / 458,000
CNN (WHCD) 1.003M / 238,000
MSNBC (WHCD) 619,000 / 120,000
9 p.m. | Total Viewers / A25-54
FNC (Pirro) 2.217M / 367,000
CNN (WHCD) 1.045M / 240,000
MSNBC (WHCD) 972,000 / 140,000
10 p.m. | Total Viewers / A25-54
FNC (Gutfeld) 1.849M / 343,000
CNN (WHCD) 1.347M / 354,000
MSNBC (WHCD) 1.040M / 181,000
On the night of last year’s WHCD, April 29, 2017, the night stacked up like this:
- Prime time 8-11 p.m. ET | Total Viewers / A25-54
FNC – 2.124M / 426,000
CNN – 1.265M / 346,000
MSNBC – 635,000 / 126,000
Last year the three news channels carried Trump’s speech in Pennsylvania at 8 p.m. Then, during the 9-11 p.m. hours Fox News stuck with regular programming, while MSNBC and CNN carried the events of the dinner.
8 p.m. | Total Viewers / A25-54
FNC (Trump) 2.617M / 508,000
CNN (Trump) 898,000 / 283,000
MSNBC (Trump) 521,000 / 106,000
9 p.m. | Total Viewers / A25-54
FNC (Pirro) 2.151M / 404,000
CNN (WHCD) 1.210M / 316,000
MSNBC (WHCD) 694,000 / 128,000
10 p.m. | Total Viewers / A25-54
FNC (Gutfeld) 1.604M / 366,000
CNN (WHCD) 1.687M / 438,000
MSNBC (WHCD) 690,000 / 145,000