New month, same result: The Five is the most-watched show on cable news.
Fox News’ weekday panel news analysis program marked a whopping 11th consecutive month at No. 1 in total viewers, averaging 3.31 million total viewers at 5 p.m. hour in February 2023. In addition to 11 consecutive months, that’s now 14 out of the past 15 months that the program has averaged more viewers than any other cable news show. That’s a notable achievement, particularly for a non-primetime offering.
Tucker Carlson Tonight remains the second-most-watched show on cable news. In February, the 8 p.m. news talk show averaged 3.30 million viewers. Jesse Watters Primetime is the third-most-watched cable news show for February (2.83 million), followed by Hannity (2.68 million) and Special Report with Bret Baier (2.44 million) rounding out the top five in average total viewers for February 2023.
Fox News Channel is home to the top 13 cable news shows in total viewers for the second month, with The Ingraham Angle, Gutfeld!, Outnumbered, America’s Newsroom and The Faulkner Focus rounding out the top 10; the same order as in January 2023.
The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell is MSNBC’s most-watched show for the month of February. The 10 p.m. program averaged more than 1.37 million total viewers — edging the network’s most-watched show for January (The Beat With Ari Melber).
Anderson Cooper 360 is CNN’s most-watched show in February, averaging just 673,000 total viewers at 8 p.m.; more total viewers than any other CNN offering.
Here are the 10 most-watched cable news shows for Feb. 2023, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen.
- Fox News | 5 p.m. /The Five: 3,310,000 / 19 telecasts
- Fox News | 8 p.m. / Tucker Carlson Tonight: 3,303,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 7 p.m./Jesse Watters Primetime: 2,833,000 / 18 telecasts
- Fox News | 9 p.m./ Hannity: 2,684,000 / 16 telecasts
- Fox News | 6 p.m. / Special Report with Bret Baier: 2,439,000 / 19 telecasts
- Fox News | 10 p.m./The Ingraham Angle: 2,056,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 p.m./Gutfeld! : 1,992,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 12 p.m. / Outnumbered: 1,755,000 / 18 telecasts
- Fox News | 9-10 a.m., 10-11 a.m. / America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino: 1,726,000 / 37 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 a.m. / The Faulkner Focus: 1,683,000 / 19 telecasts
Below, the full cable news program ranker sorted by most to fewest total viewers:
How about the top cable news shows among adults 25-54? After all, this is a demographic that advertisers of TV news still focus their ad dollars on.
Tucker Carlson Tonight remains No. 1 on cable news in A25-54 by a substantial margin, averaging 461,000 from the age range in February, up from the 448,000 it averaged in January. The Five came in second (371,000) with Hannity (355,000), Gutfeld! (322,000) and Jesse Watters Primetime (314,000) rounding out the top five.
America’s Newsroom made its way back into the top 10 with a 212,000 A25-54 average (No. 9 overall).
Fox News has the top 15 shows on cable news among adults 25-54. All In With Chris Hayes t is the top non-Fox News cable news offering among adults 25-54, coming in at No. 16 with a 142,000 A25-54 average in February. Anderson Cooper 360 is CNN’s top show among adults 25-54, averaging 133,000 (No. 20 overall).
Here are the top 10 cable news shows among adults 25-54 for Jan. ’23, as per live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen:
- Fox News| 8 p.m./ Tucker Carlson Tonight: 461,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 5 p.m. / The Five: 371,000 / 19 telecasts
- Fox News | 9 p.m. / Hannity: 355,000 / 16 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 p.m./Gutfeld!: 322,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 7 p.m. / Jesse Watters Primetime: 314,000 / 18 telecasts
- Fox News | 10 p.m./The Ingraham Angle: 281,000 / 17 telecasts
- Fox News | 6 p.m. / Special Report with Bret Baier: 275,000 / 19 telecasts
- Fox News | 12 p.m./Outnumbered: 218,000 / 18 telecasts
- Fox News | 1-2 p.m., 2-3 p.m. / America’s Newsroom: 212,000 / 37 telecasts
- Fox News | 11 a.m./The Faulkner Focus: 211,000 /19 telecasts
Below, the full cable news program ranker sorted by most to fewest adults 25-54: