Rachel Maddow hosted the No. 1 cable news program for the month of August, and was one of the most-watched shows across all of basic cable.
Not only is Maddow No. 1 this month, but she posted significant year-over-year audience growth in total viewers (+73 percent) and among adults 25-54 (+72 percent).
Elsewhere on MSNBC, The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell ranked No. 4 in total viewers and No. 5 in the key demo this past month. His program posted +53 percent growth in total viewers and +51 percent in the news demo from August 2015.
All In With Chris Hayes was +51 percent in total viewers and +47 percent in the news demo from last August.
Fox News saw year-over-ratings growth for its prime time shows among adults 25-54. But the network posted total viewer losses at 8 and 9 p.m.
Tucker Carlson was -16 percent in total viewers from what Bill O’Reilly delivered at 8 p.m. in August 2016, but he was +4 percent in the news demo.
The trend was similar for The Five. While The Five was -7 percent from what Megyn Kelly drew in total viewers at 9 p.m. in August 2016, the program was +9 percent in demo viewers.
After Maddow, perhaps no cable news program had a stronger month than Hannity. His program, No. 2 in all relevant measurements, was also +16 percent in total viewers and +22 percent in the demo versus August 2016.
Fox News Specialists was -25 percent in total viewers compared its 5 p.m. predecessor The Five, but was only -6 percent in the news demo.
Lastly, The Story with Martha MacCallum was -4 percent in total viewers, but +25 percent in the news demo versus what Greta delivered last August at 7 p.m.
Over at CNN, Anderson Cooper 360 and CNN Tonight with Don Lemon each posted double digit audience increases in total viewers and among adults 25-54 versus August 2016.
Erin Burnett Outfront posted +22 percent growth in total viewers, and +43 percent growth in the news demo from last year.
Jake Tapper had a nice month as well, posting +10 percent growth in total viewers and +33 percent growth in the news demo versus the same month last year.
The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer was the No. 1 cable show in the 5 p.m. hour among adults 25-54, knocking off Fox News’s Specialists. This is the first time Situation Room has been No. 1 in the demo at this hour since December 2008. Additionally, few cable news programs posted more year-over-year growth in the news demo (+41 percent).
Finally, the morning cable show race.
- Total Viewers
- Fox & Friends: (1,477,000, +22 percent year-over-year)
- Morning Joe (1,057,000, +34 percent year-over-year)
- New Day (642,000, +29 percent year-over-year)
- Adults 25-54
- Fox & Friends: (338,000, +28 percent year-over-year)
- Morning Joe: (250,000, +39 percent year-over-year)
- New Day: (222,000, +38 percent year-over-year).
Fox & Friends won, but Morning Joe posted the most year-over-year audience growth.
The top 5 programs across cable news for August 2017:
Total Viewers:
- The Rachel Maddow Show (2,783,000)
- Hannity (2,679,000),
- Tucker Carlson Tonight (2,483,000),
- Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (2,352,000)
- The Five (2,351,000)
Adults 25-54:
- The Rachel Maddow Show (630,000)
- Hannity (590,000)
- Tucker Carlson Tonight (513,000)
- The Five (510,000)
- Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (506,000)