Fox News Channel continued to dominate all of basic cable during the month of October as the most-watched network in total day for the 40th consecutive month, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The network also notched its 214th straight month as the top cable news network, garnering 1.5 million viewers in total day and 2.7 million viewers in prime-time.
For the seventh month in a row, Sean Hannity’s eponymous program, Hannity (9PM/ET) placed number one in cable news in both total viewers and the 25-54 demo. Following Hannity, FNC’s Tucker Carlson Tonight, The Ingraham Angle and The Five made up four of the top five programs in cable news, and all of which marked yearly highs for the month of October. Additionally, Outnumbered Overtime anchored by Harris Faulkner delivered its first-ever monthly win over ABC News’ GMA 3, earning a 4 percent advantage in total viewers over the broadcast news competitor (1.5 million P2+ vs 1.4 million P2+).
Throughout total day and primetime, FNC continued to beat CNN and MSNBC in total viewers. FNC averaged 1,458,000 viewers in total day, trouncing CNN’s 774,000 and MSNBC’s 1,140,000. In total day demo, FNC averaged 243,000 ranking ahead of CNN with 190,000 and MSNBC with 180,000 viewers. In primetime, FNC secured 2,680,000, beating CNN’s 1,245,000 and MSNBC’s 1,961,000 viewers. With Adults 25-54, FNC garnered 406,000, topping MSNBC’s 327,000 and beating CNN’s 328,000 including their highly publicized Democratic Debates.
Kicking off FNC’s daytime programming, the 4AM/ET hour of Fox & Friends First averaged 522,000 viewers and 117,000 with A25-54. The 5AM/ET hour of Fox & Friends First had a total of 699,000 viewers and 154,000 in the demo. FNC’s signature morning show Fox & Friends (6-9AM/ET) marked 216 months as the number one cable news program in its timeslot, notching it’s highest-rated month of the year with an average of 1.5 million viewers and 285,000 in the demo, while CNN’s New Day only secured 579,000 viewers and 143,000 in A25-54 and MSNBC’s Morning Joe saw 1.2 million viewers and 209,000 in the demo. At 9AM/ET, America’s Newsroom pulled 1.6 million viewers and 230,000 with A25-54 while FNC’s 12PM/ET afternoon ensemble program Outnumbered, garnered 1.6 million viewers and 242,000 in the 25-54 category.
In the 2PM/ET hour, The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino saw 1.5 million viewers and 232,000 in the 25-54 demo, while the newly titled 3PM/ET hour, Fox News Reporting, averaged 1.4 million viewers and 215,000 with A25-54. Your World with Neil Cavuto at 4PM/ET delivered 1.5 million viewers and 244,000 in the 25-54 demo, beating CNN’s Jake Tapper in both categories.
During FNC’s early evening and primetime programming, The Five (5PM/ET) continued to dominate its timeslot in all of cable. The show delivered 2.7 million viewers and 424,000 in the demo, topping CNN and MSNBC in both categories. Anchored by chief political anchor Bret Baier at 6PM/ET, Special Report averaged 2.3 million viewers and 371,000 in the 25-54 demo. The Story with Martha MacCallum at 7PM/ET also marked a high for 2019 with 2.1 million viewers and 344,000 with A25-54.
At 8PM/ET, Tucker Carlson Tonight delivered 3.2 million viewers and 521,000 in the 25-54 category, ranking as the number two cable news program across the board for the month and also topping CNN and MSNBC combined in total viewers. Hannity at 9PM/ET continued as the most-watched cable news program in both categories for the seventh month in a row with 3.5 million viewers and 564,000 in the 25-54 demo, outpacing MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show’s 3.1 million and 550,000 in the demo, excluding specials. The Ingraham Angle (9PM/ET) hosted by Laura Ingraham, averaged 2.8 million viewers and 455,000 in the 25-54 demo, ranking fourth in all of cable news in both categories. Fox News @ Night with Shannon Bream earned its highest-rated month of 2019, drawing in 1.5 million viewers and 278,000 in the key 25-54 demo for the 11PM/ET program.
During the weekends, FNC’s late-night comedy program The Greg Gutfeld Show (Saturdays, 10PM/ET) delivered 1,902,000 viewers and 253,000 in the demo. Dominating late night programming, Gutfeld beat Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show in viewers and topped Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, TBS’ Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and Conan combined in total viewers.
Additionally, Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo (Sundays, 10AM/ET) garnered 1,715,000 viewers and 304,000 in the demo, beating the cable news competition in both categories. MediaBuzz hosted by Howie Kurtz was also up double digits versus the previous month both categories securing 1,375,000 viewers and 228,000 in the 25-54 demo, easily besting CNN’s Reliable Sources (907,000 in P2+; 193,000 in 25-54). The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton averaged 1,260,000 viewers and 150,000 in the demo, outpacing CNN and MSNBC in the 9PM/ET timeslot.
Additionally, a recent study measured by Phoenix TV Brand Effect ranked FNC as number one in advertising engagement across all television so far this year. Among total viewers and the advertiser-coveted 25-54 demographic, FNC scored the highest across all key ad performance metrics, beating networks such as HGTV and ESPN in terms of ad, brand, and message recall as well as ad likeability.