Fox News Channel finished May as the most-watched cable network for the 47th consecutive month, as viewers flocked to hear the latest information on everything from the coronavirus pandemic to the nationwide protests in the wake of George Floyd’s tragic death in police custody.
Fox News dominated primetime, averaging 3.4 million viewers between 8-11 p.m. to finish as the most-watched channel among all of basic cable during the month of May. MSNBC finished second, averaging 1.9 million followed by CNN, HGTV and TLC.
Fox News was also the most-watched network overall, averaging 1.9 million total viewers, followed by MSNBC with an average viewership of 1.2 million. CNN, HGTV, Food Network, Hallmark Channel, Nickelodeon, USA Network, A&E and History joined them among the Top 10.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” finished May as the most-watched program on cable news among the demographic of adults age 25-54, while “Hannity” finished No. 1 overall.
FNC outdrew CNN by a whopping 72 percent among total day and a staggering 108 percent in primetime. As a result, FNC has now topped both MSNBC and CNN for 221 consecutive months in each category.
“Hannity” averaged 4.23 million viewers to finish May as the most-watched show on cable news, while “Tucker Carlson Tonight” finished second, averaging 4.19 million. “The Five,” “The Ingraham Angle” and “Special Report with Bret Baier” rounded out the all-FNC top five, as MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” finished sixth.
“Special Report” and “The Five” have now beaten MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” for four straight months despite airing earlier in the day when there are historically fewer viewers.
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CNN’s most-watched program was “Cuomo Prime Time,” which finished No. 19 overall, behind 13 different Fox News and five MSNBC programs. A variety of Fox News daytime programs, such as “Outnumbered” and "Bill Hemmer Reports” finished ahead of Chris Cuomo’s CNN show despite its cushy 9 p.m. ET timeslot. Cuomo has been heavily criticized for a variety of topics in recent memory, ranging from seemingly misleading viewers about his own coronavirus quarantine to a series of widely panned interviews with his older brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
CNN’s most-watched program in May was “Cuomo Prime Time,” which finished No. 19 overall, behind 13 different Fox News and five MSNBC programs.
Overall, CNN saw its viewership drop by 15 percent in total viewers and by 20 percent in the demo for primetime compared to last year.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” finished as the most-watched program on cable news among the key demographic of adults age 25-54, averaging 700,000 viewers. “Hannity” averaged 672,000 viewers among the demo to finish second, followed by “The Five and “The Ingraham Angle.”
CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time" managed to finish fifth in the demo, despite its lackluster overall viewership, while MSNBC’s “Maddow” tied CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” for seventh place.
Both “Hannity” and “Tucker Carlson Tonight” outdrew broadcast heavyweights such as CBS’ “Face the Nation” and NBC’s “Today.”
“FOX & Friends,” “The Story with Martha MacCallum” and “FOX & Friends FIRST” are among the other FNC programs to top cable news in their respective timeslots, while “The Greg Gutfeld Show” surpassed CNN and MSNBC combined in total viewers.
Gutfeld even outdrew NBC’s “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
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The month saw Fox News grow 40 percent in total day and 44 percent in primetime compared to the same month last year. FNC also finished as the most-watched cable network among households earning over $100,000 per year and was No. 2 in weekday total day viewers in the younger demographic of people age 18-49.
All data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.
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