Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN saw week-to-week viewership decline in total viewers during the week which started on Labor Day.
Nevertheless, with Nielsen live plus same day data for the week of September 4, 2023 officially in, Fox News remained in its usual position as the top-rated cable news network in total viewers and among Adults 25-54.
For the week, Fox News averaged 1.55 million viewers and 174,000 Adults 25-54 in primetime, -10% and -13% respectively, from what Fox averaged the previous week (Aug. 28). The 1.55 million total primetime viewer average is No. 2 on all of basic cable, and the 174,000 A25-54 primetime viewer average is No. 7 on all of basic cable.
FNC averaged 1.03 million total viewers and 131,000 A25-54 viewers in total day, -6% and +1%, respectively, from the week prior. The No. 1.03 million total viewer average is No. 2 on all of basic cable, while the 131,000 A25-54 average is also No. 2 on all of basic cable.
Fox News’ 35 consecutive week winning streak in total day viewers was broken this past week by ESPN, which saw substantial audience growth driven by the second week of the college football season, namely Texas-Alabama on Saturday.
Elsewhere in the cable news universe, MSNBC averaged 1.02 million viewers and 103,000 Adults 25-54 in primetime, -24% and -% respectively, from what the network averaged the previous week (Sept. 4). The 1.02 million total primetime viewer average is No. 3 on all of basic cable, and the 103,000 A25-54 primetime viewer average is No. 21 on all of basic cable (tied with FX and TV Land)
In total day, MSNBC averaged 732,000 total viewers and just 80,000 A25-54 viewers, -15% and -7%, respectively, from the week prior. The 732,000 total viewer average is No. 3 on all of basic cable, while the 80,000 A25-54 average is No. 14 on all of basic cable.
CNN averaged 586,000 viewers and 108,000 Adults 25-54 in primetime, -4% and -18% respectively, from what the network averaged the previous week (Sept. 4). The 586,000 total primetime viewer average is No. 9 on all of basic cable, and the 108,000 A25-54 primetime viewer average is No. 18 on all of basic cable.
In total day, CNN averaged 473,000 total viewers and 83,000 A25-54 viewers, -8% and -20%, respectively, from the week prior. The 473,000 total viewer average is No. 4 on all of basic cable, while the 83,000 A25-54 average is also No. 12 on all of basic cable.
Again, the week-to-week ratings losses were expected. The Nielsen week started on Labor Day, traditionally one of the lower-rated cable news days of the year.
Relative to the year-ago week of Sept. 5, 2022, which also happened to start on Labor Day (but featured live breaking news coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing), Fox News posted year-over-year decline of -23% in total primetime viewers and -36% in the primetime demo. The network is also still trending in the wrong direction when it comes to total day viewing, shedding -26% in total day viewers and -36% in the total day demo. MSNBC, on the other hand, fared relatively well. The network dropped only -0.1% in total primetime viewers, gained +3% in the primetime demo, +2% in total day viewers and +4% in the total day demo from the same week in 2022. CNN fared similar to Fox, down -16% in total primetime viewers, -21% in the primetime demo, -22% in total day viewers and -32% in the total day demo versus the week of Sept. 5, 2022.
Week of September 4 cable news ratings, Monday-Sunday (Nielsen live-same-day data):
| PRIMETIME | Fox News | MSNBC | CNN |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 1,550,000 | 1,021,000 | 586,000 |
| • A25-54: | 174,000 | 103,000 | 108,000 |
| TOTAL DAY | Fox News | MSNBC | CNN |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 1,032,000 | 732,000 | 473,000 |
| • A25-54: | 131,000 | 80,000 | 83,000 |
Below are the basic cable network rankers — sorted by average total viewers followed by Adults 25-54.
Week of Sept. 4 (Total Viewers)
Week of Sept. 4 (Adults 25-54)
PROGRAMMING
The Five remained in first place among all daily cable news programming. At 5 p.m. ET, the network’s panel talk news offering averaged a cable news-high 2.58 million total viewers and 251,000 A25-54 viewers for the week of Sept. 4, 2023.
Fox News had the six most-watched daily cable news offerings for the second consecutive week. Jesse Watters Primetime secured second place among all daily cable news shows with a 2.2 million total viewer average at 8 p.m. Hannity remained in third place with a 1.935 million total viewer average at 9 p.m., with Gutfeld!’s 1.79 million at 10 p.m. and Special Report With Bret Baier‘s 1.77 million at 6 p.m. rounding out the top five.
Six through 10 in total viewers: The Ingraham Angle ( 1.74 million at 7 p.m.), with MSNBC shows The Beat With Ari Melber (1.64 million at 6 p.m.), The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell ( 1.59 million at 10 p.m.), Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace ( 1.565 million at 4-6 p.m.), and All In With Chris Hayes (1.44 million at 8 p.m.) rounding out cable news’ 10 most-watched of the week.
Fox News boasts nine of the top among Adults 25-54. The Five leads the way with a 251,000 average, edging Gutfeld! by +5,000 viewers (246,000). Following The Five and Gutfeld! are Jesse Watters Primetime (224,000), Hannity (212,000) and The Beat With Ari Melber (176,000).
Six through 10 in the key A25-54 demo are Fox News offerings Special Report With Bret Baier (171,000), Outnumbered (170,000 at 12 p.m. ET), The Ingraham Angle (167,000), The Faulkner Focus (163,000) and America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino (163,000).
Below, the Cable News’ Top 15
*Data is from Nielsen and in live-plus-same-day format.