Fox News Channel triumphs as most-watched network for Biden's State of the Union address

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Biden seemed angry: Brit Hume

Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume reacts to President Biden's third State of the Union address.

Fox News Channel was America's go-to network for President Biden's third State of the Union address on Thursday, drawing more viewers than any other network. 

A whopping 5.8 million average viewers turned to Fox News for Biden's speech, between 9:26-10:33 p.m. ET, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. A stunning 1.14 million of those viewers were in the advertiser-coveted demographic of ages 25-54. Fox News' telecast went up 24% among total viewers and 34% in the 25-54 demo since the 2023 State of the Union address.

Fox News Channel, FOX Business Network and FOX combined reached an average of 7.9 million viewers. 

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Fox News Channel was the most-watched network during President Biden's State of the Union address, reaching an average of 5.8 million total viewers. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

ABC came in second place with an average of 5.2 million total viewers, followed by NBC with 4.5 million, MSNBC with 4.4 million, CBS with 4.1 million and CNN with 2.6 million.

Fox News Channel dominated in primetime, averaging nearly 5 million total viewers and 874,000 in the key demo from 8-11 p.m. ET. MSNBC trailed in second with 3.7 million total viewers and 540,000 in the key demo while CNN came in a distant third with 2 million total viewers and 518,000 in the key demo. 

Additionally, Fox News Digital properties reached 1.6 million total livestreams during the State of the Union.

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Fox News' Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier co-anchored the network's special coverage of President Biden's State of the Union address. (Fox News Channel)

Fox News' Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum led the network's coverage of Biden's speech. They were joined by "The Five" co-hosts Dana Perino and Harold Ford Jr., "America Reports" co-anchor John Roberts and Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume. 

Fox News Channel's State of the Union victory follows its ratings success in February, finishing as the most-watched cable news network across total day viewership and primetime while beating MSNBC and CNN combined. 

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Fox News Channel averaged 1.3 million total day viewers to top all of basic cable, compared to 852,000 for MSNBC and 479,000 for CNN. During the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m., Fox News topped all of basic cable with 2.1 million viewers compared to 1.3 million for MSNBC and a dismal 573,000 for CNN.

Fox News has finished as the No. 1 cable news network in primetime for 37 months and has won total day viewership for 36 straight months. 

Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.