With week two in the books, the reshuffled Fox News weekday primetime lineup continues to deliver audience growth on a week-to-week basis for the network.
For the full week of July 24, Fox News averaged 1.895 million primetime viewers, per live plus same day data from Nielsen. That’s the largest average audience on basic cable, more total viewers than MSNBC and CNN combined, and +2% from the week prior (July 17, 2023). The network also averaged 191,000 A25-54 viewers in primetime, No. 8 on basic cable and +6% from the week prior. In total day viewing, Fox News averaged 1.12 million total viewers. That’s the largest audience on all of basic cable for the 30th consecutive week, and +3% from the week prior. Additionally, Fox averaged 148,000 A25-54 in total day, No. 3 among basic cable networks and steady with the week prior.
Switching networks, MSNBC took the No. 2 spot in total primetime viewers this past week, averaging a total of 1.21 million viewers in the daypart. That’s +1% from the week before. However, the network averaged 117,000 A25-54 viewers in the daypart, which is No. 21 on basic cable and -3% from the week before. In total day, NBCU’s politics-focused cable channel struggled relative to the previous week. While still No. 2 on all of basic cable, the network averaged 779,000 total viewers, -2% from the prior week. Additionally, MSNBC averaged 77,000 A25-54, tied for No. 17 among all cable networks with CNN and -8% from the previous week.
CNN averaged 531,000 total primetime viewers this past week, up +2% from the week before, and No. 12 on basic cable overall. However, the network averaged just 97,000 A25-54 demo viewers in primetime, -1% from the week before and No. 26 on all of basic cable. In total day, CNN posted week-to-week growth in multiple measurements. The network averaged 431,000 total viewers (No. 4 on basic cable) and 77,000 A25-54 (tied for No. 17 on basic cable with rival MSNBC). That’s +1%, and+3 %, respectively, from what the network averaged in those two measurements the previous week.
How did the aforementioned trio of cable news networks fare against the same week one year ago? The trends are mixed. Fox News, for instance, shed -11% in total primetime viewers, -31% in the primetime demo, -16% in total day viewers and -24% in the total day demo vs. the year-ago week of July 25, 2022. MSNBC, on the other hand, closed some of the year-over-year gap, improving +6% in total primetime viewers, +16% in the primetime demo, +10% in total day viewers and +8% in the total day demo relative to the year-ago week. CNN’s trend is poor with no breaking news to match last year’s. The network is -14% in total primetime viewers, -19% in the primetime demo, -11% in total day viewers and -19% in the total day demo vs. the year-ago week. This week’s Trump indictment news could help reverse that trend. Nielsen ratings for the week to date will be released next Tuesday, Aug. 8.
Week of July 24 cable news ratings, Monday-Sunday (Nielsen live-same-day data):
| PRIME | Fox News | MSNBC | CNN |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 1,895,000 | 1,207,000 | 531,000 |
| • A25-54: | 191,000 | 117,000 | 97,000 |
| TOTAL DAY | Fox News | MSNBC | CNN |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 1,161,000 | 760,000 | 431,000 |
| • A25-54: | 138,000 | 77,000 | 77,000 |
On the cable news programming front, The Five is the No. 1 show on cable news for the 13th consecutive week, averaging 2.73 million total viewers at 5 p.m. for the week of July 24.
Fox News had eight of the 10 most-watched daily cable news shows this past week, including each of the top six.
The 8 p.m. Jesse Watters Primetime secured second place on cable news for the week behind The Five with a 2.49 million viewer average. That’s up from debut week, way up from the interim 8 p.m. offering, but down from the Tucker Carlson era.
Hannity finished third in average total viewers with a 2.355 million viewer average at 9 p.m. Gutfeld!, in its new 10 p.m. timeslot, finished No. 4 in total viewers for the second consecutive week and averaged more than two million viewers (2.02 million), followed by the new 7 p.m. The Ingraham Angle (1.96 million), Special Report with Bret Baier improved to No. 6 (1.85 million at 6 p.m.), followed by MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell finished No. 6 (1.6 million at 10 p.m.), Fox News’ Outnumbered (1.53 million at Noon ET), The Faulkner Focus (1.425 million at 11 a.m.) and MSNBC’s Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace (1.425 million from 4-6 p.m.) rounding out the top 10.
Fox News has the top 13 cable news shows of the week among Adults 25-54, led once again by The Five (278,000). Coming in at No. 2 is Gutfeld! (262,000), his primetime colleagues Hannity (231,000) and Jesse Watters Primetime (217,000), followed by Special Report with Bret Baier (189,000), The Ingraham Angle (185,000) Outnumbered (166,000), America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino (165,000), The Faulkner Focus (161,000), and America Reports with Sandra Smith and John Roberts (153,000 from 2-4 p.m. ET).
Lastly, below are the basic cable network rankers — sorted by average total viewers followed by Adults 25-54.