Former President Trump was arrested and arraigned in a New York City courthouse and two Black Tennessee lawmakers were expelled from the state’s legislature over gun reform protests last week (one has since been voted back in), events which are seemingly tailor made for wall-to-wall cable news coverage. While MSNBC and CNN saw substantial Nielsen ratings growth in a variety of measurements and dayparts by covering these breaking news events, Fox News Channel remained at the top of the heap.
Fox News is indeed the most-watched network on basic cable for the week of April 3, 2023, averaging 2.36 million total primetime viewers and 1.43 million total day viewers. The network also averaged 394,000 adults 25-54 in primetime, No. 4 on basic cable, and 189,000 adults 25-54 in total day, No. 2 on basic cable.
How does that stack up against comparable weeks?
In primetime, the network gained +1% in total viewers and +7% in A25-54 from the previous week (beginning March 27). In total day, the network also gained +1% in total viewers and +6% among Adults 25-54. As expected, the breaking news events influenced more growth in the A25-54 demo than among older viewers.
On the other hand, Fox continues to trend in the wrong direction on a year-over-year basis. The network shed -0.2% in total primetime viewers, -16% of its audience from the primetime demo, -5% in total day viewers, and -21% of its audience from the total day demo versus the week of April 4, 2022.
MSNBC had another strong ratings week, and was the second-most-watched network on all of basic cable for the week of April 3. MSNBC averaged 1.50 million total primetime viewers and 950,000 total day viewers. The network also drew 172,000 Adults 25-54 in primetime and 124,000 Adults 25-54 in total day, No. 12 and No. 6, respectively, on basic cable.
MSNBC gained +3% in total primetime viewers and held steady in primetime demo viewing. The real growth came in dayside and total day. MSNBC gained +8% in total day viewers and +13% in the total day demo from the prior week.
Relative to the year-ago week (April 4, 2022), MSNBC is up an impressive +49% in total primetime viewers and +44% in total day viewers, +51% in the primetime demo and +68% in the total day demo.
CNN saw audience growth, as is often the case when the news cycle is heavy. The network finished No. 7 on basic cable in average total primetime viewers (717,000) up four spots from the prior week, and No. 4 in total day viewers (586,000), unchanged from the prior week. CNN moved past MSNBC in the key A25-54 demo, finishing the week No. 11 in primetime (180,000), up four spots from the week prior, and No. 3 in total day demo (133,000), up four spots from the week prior.
CNN posted more week-to-week viewer growth than its competitors Fox News and MSNBC, gaining +15% in total primetime viewers, +21% in the primetime demo, +15% in total day viewers and +22% in the total day demo from the previous week. Compared with the year-ago week, CNN is +4% in total primetime viewers, +9% among A25-54 in primetime, flat in total day total viewers and -1.5% among A25-54 watching across total day.
Week of April 3, 2023 cable news ratings, Monday-Sunday (Nielsen live-same-day data):
| PRIME | Fox News | MSNBC | CNN |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,358,000 | 1,501,000 | 717,000 |
| • A25-54: | 304,000 | 172,000 | 180,000 |
| TOTAL DAY | Fox News | MSNBC | CNN |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 1,429,000 | 950,000 | 586,000 |
| • A25-54: | 189,000 | 124,000 | 133,000 |
In terms of individual programming, Tucker Carlson Tonight marked its fifth consecutive week as cable news’ most-watched show, averaging 4.035 million total viewers at 8 p.m. this past week.
On Tuesday April 4, the network carried former President Trump’s post-arraignment remarks live from Mar-a-Lago. The decision to carry the remarks live paid off, ratings wise, as Fox earned its largest 8 p.m. audience since 2020 with over 6.7 million viewers.
The Five came in second with an average of 3.42 million viewers at 5 p.m. Jesse Watters Primetime secured third place with a 2.97 million total viewer average at 7 p.m., Hannity took fourth place by averaging 2.95 million total viewers at 9 p.m., with Special Report with Bret Baier rounding out cable news’ top five with a 2.425 million total viewer average.
Fox News had the 10 most-watched cable news shows of the week, including Your World with Neil Cavuto making an appearance at No. 8 (1.94 million viewers on average at 4 p.m.).
MSNBC’s Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace was the most-watched non-Fox News cable news offering with 1.84 million viewers from 4-6 p.m. (No. 11 overall).
Tucker Carlson Tonight continues to draw the most Adults 25-54 on cable news, as the network’s 8 p.m. hour averaged a whopping 586,000 viewers from the measurement this past week. The Five came in second with 406,000 A25-54 viewers on average at 5 p.m., Hannity (388,000), Jesse Watters Primetime (362,000) and The Ingraham Angle (318,000 at 10 p.m.) round out the top five in the key A25-54 demo.
Fox News had the top seven cable news shows among Adults 25-54. CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 took eighth place in the demo (276,000).
Below, the basic cable network rankers — sorted by average total viewers followed by A25-54.