Fox News Channel thumps CNN, MSNBC during jam-packed November

Fox News Channel finished November with its largest audience among both total day and primetime viewers since the presidential election month of November 2020, topping CNN and MSNBC combined in each category. 

Fox News averaged 1.5 million viewers during the jam-packed news month that featured constant political and coronavirus news along with the high-profile trials of Kyle Rittenhouse and the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery. 

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ESPN finished second but failed to average one-million viewers, settling for an average audience of 904,000. Hallmark Channel, MSNBC and HGTV rounded out the top five as struggling CNN finished sixth with a dismal average audience of 495,000. 

Fox News averaged a whopping 2.6 million primetime viewers during the hours of 8-11 p.m., finishing second to only NFL-heavy ESPN in the category. MSNBC averaged 1.1 million to finish fourth and CNN failed to crack the top ten most-watched channels on basic cable with a bleak average primetime audience of 654,000 despite the month being packed with major news. 

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, History, Discovery Channel, Food network and TLC were among the 14 basic cable networks to outdraw CNN’s primetime lineup of Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon and the scandal-plagued Chris Cuomo. It was CNN’s lowest-rated month among primetime total viewers since 2015. 

Fox News also thumped cable news competition among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, averaging 264,000 viewers among the key category compared to 108,000 for CNN and only 78,000 for MSNBC. It was Fox News’ biggest share of cable news viewers among the demo since 2004. 

Fox News has now outdrawn CNN and MSNBC combined among both total viewers and the key demo for four-consecutive months. In addition, every Fox News weekday program gained viewers compared to last month. 

MSNBC’s struggles among the coveted demographic are staggering, as the progressive outlet finished behind 28 different basic cable channels in the category including: Bravo, SyFy, Lifetime, MTV, Freeform and Nickelodeon. 

CNN and MSNBC also struggles for relevancy among the advertiser-coveted demo during primetime. Fox News averaged 420,000 viewers in the category to finish behind only ESPN, while CNN settled for only 148,000 viewers and MSNBC was even worse with 140,000. 

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"Tucker Carlson Tonight" averaged 3.7 million viewers to finish as November’s most-watched cable news program. "The Five," "Hannity," "Special Report with Bret Baier," "The Ingraham Angle," "Fox News Primetime," "Outnumbered" and "Gutfeld!" all had larger audiences than anything CNN or MSNBC had to offer. Fox News had the eight most-watched cable news programs. In addition, it had 71 of the 100 most-watched cable telecasts of the month, compared to zero for CNN and MSNBC. 

MSNBC’s "The Rachel Maddow Show" was MSNBC’s most-popular show but finished ninth overall, a far cry from her popularity during the Trump era when she pushed the now-debunked Russian collusion narrative on a regular basis. 

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CNN struggled with their most-popular show finishing No. 24 overall, behind 15 Fox News and eight MSNBC programs. However, there is a silver lining for the liberal network as "Anderson Cooper 360" edged "Cuomo Prime Time" for CNN’s top show. 

The "Cuomo Prime Time" namesake is currently suspended after newly released documents revealed he aided his big brother, now-former New York Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo, amid sexual misconduct allegations. CNN sidelined Cuomo pending a review of the situation, but the "AC 360" victory means critics can no longer say the network’s most-popular host is suspended amid scandal. 

"Tucker Carlson Tonight" also closed the month strong, finishing the week of Nov. 22-28 with its most-watched week of the year as host Tucker Carlson sat down with Rittenhouse for an exclusive first interview following his acquittal. 

All data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.