Week of April 8 Basic Cable Ranker: Fox Wins the Week, But CNN Sees Strong Gains

This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of April 8, 2024.

In-depth coverage of last Monday’s solar eclipse and the breaking news situation in the Middle East over the weekend led to week-to-week gains at the cable networks. CNN made significant gains, especially in the advertiser-coveted demo of Adults 25-54.

NETWORKS:

Nielsen live-plus-same-day data for the week of April 8 saw FNC average 2.094 million total viewers and 247,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was up in total viewers by +10% and +12% in the A25-54 demo, relative to the week prior (week beginning April 1).

In total day viewing, Fox News averaged 1.317 million total viewers and 167,000 A25-54 viewers. That’s a gain of +5% in total viewers and +10% in A25-54 from what Fox News averaged in those measurements the week prior. Among all basic cable networks, Fox News took first place in total primetime viewers but remained in 5th place in the primetime demo. In total day, the network held its No. 1 position in total viewers and rose two spots to take second place in the total day demo.

MSNBC’s primetime lineup averaged 1.158 million total viewers and 103,000 viewers from the A25-54 demo for the week. It was up by +8% in total viewers and +17% in the A25-54 demo from what the network averaged the week prior. In total day, MSNBC averaged 800,000 total viewers and 81,000 A25-54 viewers. That’s a +3% and +5% gain in total viewers and A25-54, respectively, from what the network averaged the week before. Among all basic cable networks, MSNBC went from fifth place to fourth in total primetime viewers and was in 20th place in the demo, rising three places from the week prior. During total day, it was the No. 2 network in total viewers—up one spot from the week before—and rose two spots from No. 13 to No. 11 in the total day demo.

CNN averaged 632,000 total primetime viewers and 127,000 A25-54 viewers in primetime for the week. The network saw massive gains from the previous week, up +28% in total viewers and +49% in the A25-54 demo. In total day, CNN had 494,000 total viewers and 93,000 viewers in the demo, a respective +13% and +29% gain compared to the previous week. CNN finished the week rising from 13th place to 10th place in primetime with total viewers and from 25th to the 13th spot in the demo from the week prior. It also went from No. 5 to No. 4 in total day viewers and jumped from 14th to 7th place in the demo.

How did the networks fare this week relative to a year ago? Fox News was down -1% in total primetime viewers and up +3% in the demo. In total day, it was down by -1% in total viewers and up +1% in the demo.

CNN was up +21% in total primetime viewers and +3% in the demo. The network was up by +10% in total day viewers but declined by -4% in the demo.

MSNBC was down -10% in total primetime viewers and -26% in the primetime demo. In total day, the network was flat in total viewers and down by -17% in the demo.

PROGRAMMING:

Fox once again had 12 out of the 15 most-watched cable news shows of the week, led by The Five (2.930 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET). The second hour of Deadline: White House with Nicole Wallace was MSNBC’s most-watched program, coming in at No. 8 (1.526 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET). MSNBC took the remaining two spots in the top 15, with the first hour of Deadline: White House at No. 11 (1.481 million viewers at 4 p.m. ET) and The Beat with Ari Melber at No. 13 (1.469 million viewers at 6 p.m. ET).

Gutfeld! Stayed at the top in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 304,000 A25-54 viewers at 10 p.m. ET. Fox News had 14 of the top 15 cable news shows in the demo overall, with MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber taking the final spot with 147,000 viewers at 6 p.m. ET.

Week of April 8 cable news ratings, Monday-Sunday (Nielsen Live+SD data):