Harris Faulkner’s “The Faulkner Focus” Town Hall with Former President Donald Trump Dominates Cable News with Over 3 Million Viewers
FOX News Becomes First Television Network of 2024 Political Season to Present Interviews with All Four Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates Within One Week
NEW YORK – October 17th, 2024 – FOX News Channel’s (FNC) Special Report with Bret Baier delivered 7.8 million viewers and 1,126,000 in the 25-54 demo during anchor Bret Baier’s exclusive interview with Vice President Kamala Harris from 6 – 6:30 PM/ET on October 16th, according to Nielsen Media Research. The interview was highest rated of the Harris-Trump political season and delivered the highest rated non-prime interview in the history of cable news outrating Harris’s appearances on 60 Minutes, The View, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CNN and MSNBC. For the full 6 PM/ET hour, Special Report drew 6.7 million viewers and 901,000 in the 25-54 demo. Combined with the show’s midnight airing (6-6:30 PM/ET and 12-12:30 AM/ET), Special Report’s interview with Vice President Harris nabbed 9.2 million viewers and 1.4 million in the 25-54 demo, beating ABC’s interview with President Biden before he dropped out of the race (8.5 million viewers). FNC averaged more than 12 million viewers on Wednesday between all three airings of its interviews with Vice President Harris (6 PM/ET & 12 AM/ET) and its town hall with former President Trump (11AM-12 PM/ET).
The network’s first formal interview with the vice president topped her appearance on CBS News’ 60 Minutes (5.7 million viewers), ABC’s The View (3.1 million viewers) and CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2.9 million viewers) as well as CNN and MSNBC’s Harris appearances. Special Report saw 189% growth with viewers and 285% growth in the 25-54 demo compared to its 2024-to-date average and was the top program on cable news on Wednesday.
Additionally, FNC’s The Faulkner Focus’ women’s issues town hall with former President Donald Trump in Georgia hosted by Harris Faulkner, nabbed 3.1 million viewers and 440,000 in the 25-54 demo, leading the cable news competition combined in its timeslot. This marked the show’s second highest-rated show since launch.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Pittsburgh, PA was the top-rated market in the country for the interview. FNC is the most watched cable news network in every swing state, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin per Nielsen. Additionally, more Independents and Democrats continued to tune in to FNC over any other network, according to data from Nielsen MRI Fusion, and the network was also number one among Hispanic and Asian viewers. According to a recent YouGov study, more Independents get their news from FOX News than from any of the competition.
FOX News Go also saw a strong day of engagement marking triple digital increases. According to Adobe Analytics, FOX News Go posted a 698% increase in content starts during the 6 PM/ET hour compared to an average weekday in 2024.
6 – 6:30 PM/ET
FNC: 7.8 million P2+; 1,126,000 A25-54
CNN: 805,000 P2+; 161,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 1.6 million P2+; 148,000 A25-54
6-7 PM/ET
FNC: 6.7 million P2+; 901,000 A25-54
CNN: 851,000 P2+; 181,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 1.6 million P2+; 150,000 A25-54
11 AM – 12 PM/ET
FNC: 3.1 million P2+; 440,000 A25-54
CNN: 522,000 P2+; 79,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 738,000 P2+; 99,000 A25-54
12 AM – 1 AM/ET
FNC: 1.3 million P2+; 273,000 A25-54
CNN: 422,000 P2+; 101,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 713,000 P2+; 76,000 A25-54
12 AM – 12: 30 AM/ET
FNC: 1.4 million P2+; 292,000 A25-54
CNN: 445,000 P2+; 114,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 768,000 P2+; 84,000 A25-54
