‘Gutfeld!’ Crushes the Highly Anticipated Return of ‘The Daily Show’ with Jon Stewart; Continues Dominance Over ‘Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’ ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!,’ ‘The Tonight Show,’ ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’ as Number One in Late Night Television
FNC Notches 96 Out of 100 Cable News Telecasts in February; CNN Nets Zero
‘The Five’ Reigns Supreme as Highest-Rated Program in Cable News Among Total Viewers, Gutfeld! Highest in 25-54 and 18-49 Demo
NEW YORK – February 27, 2024 – FOX News Channel (FNC) continued its ratings dominance for the month of February, notching 37 months atop primetime and 36 months in total day viewership; scoring its highest-rated month since October 2023. FNC closed out February with 96 of the top 100 cable news telecasts for the month, while the competition on CNN netted zero and MSNBC garnered just four. FNC was cable television’s most-watched across total day viewership and primetime and second in primetime 25-54 demo, behind only ESPN. Additionally, FNC continued to deliver month-over-month growth across its primetime audience in total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. FNC showed monthly growth, rising 8% in total day and 5% in primetime with 25-54 demo. Furthermore, the network continued to expand its audience share, occupying more than half the audience in total day and primetime viewers while also attracting the largest and most politically diverse audience, with more Independent viewers in both total day and primetime than CNN and MSNBC, according to MRI Fusion.
The network continued to trounce the competition across the board, posting a 179% advantage over CNN in total day viewers and 260% in primetime viewership. In total day, FNC nabbed 1.3 million viewers and 161,000 in the 25-54 demo and was the only cable news network to deliver over 1 million viewers in total day. FNC nearly tripled CNN (479,000) and beat CNN and MSNBC (852,000) combined in viewership. In primetime from 7-11 PM/ET, FNC netted over 2 million viewers and 222,000 in the 25-54 demo, again crushing CNN (601,000) and MSNBC (1.3 million) combined in total viewership. Throughout February, FNC secured the top six programs in cable news with viewers and the top 13 cable news shows in the 25-54 demo. Every FNC weekday program won across the board in both total viewers and 25-54.
FNC’s The Five, which has been the number one show in cable news for over nine consecutive quarters, continued its streak with total viewers, securing 3.1 million viewers and 283,000 with 25-54 demo. Evening newscast Special Report with Bret Baier (weeknights, 6 PM/ET), named the most reliable program in cable news according to Ad Fontes, averaged 2.3 million viewers and 220,000 in the 25-54 demo. This month, Baier presented an exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the first from the front lines of the war in Ukraine.
At 10 PM/ET Gutfeld!, which is the most “DVR’d” show in cable news among younger 25-54 demo viewers, made its mark as the highest-rated program among both younger 25-54 and 18-49 demos. Gutfeld delivered 2.2 million viewers and 325,000 in 25-54 demo and 203,000 in 18-49 demo. Gutfeld! has notably remained the most watched program in broadcast and cable among the competition, beating The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers and CBS’ After Midnight with total viewership. With the return of the much touted The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Gutfeld topped Stewart each week by double- and triple-digit percentages.
Leading FNC’s primetime lineup at 7 PM/ET, The Ingraham Angle garnered 2.3 million viewers and 222,000 in the 25-54 demo. Following at 8 PM/ET, Jesse Watters Primetime delivered 2.8 million viewers, 269,000 with 25-54 demo and 184,000 in 18-49, making it the highest-rated program in primetime among viewers. FNC’s Hannity (9 PM/ET) scored 2.4 million viewers and 248,000 in the 25-54 demo, outpacing the competition on MSNBC and CNN in both categories. Wrapping up the night, FOX News @ Night, anchored by Trace Gallagher in its 11 PM/ET timeslot, delivered 1.3 million viewers and 195,000 with A25-54.
From 5-6 AM/ET, FOX & Friends First delivered 569,000 viewers while FNC’s signature morning show FOX & Friends (weekdays, 6-9 AM/ET) finished February with over 1.1 million viewers and 151,000 in the demo, notching 36 consecutive months atop the 25-54 demo. FNC’s daytime lineup, kicking off with two-hour morning news program, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino (weekdays, 9-11 AM/ET), drew 1.6 million viewers and 196,000 in the 25-54 demo. The Faulkner Focus at 11 AM/ET, anchored by Harris Faulkner, also attracted 1.6 million viewers and 205,000 in the 25-54 demo and bested CNN and MSNBC across the board. At 12 PM/ET, Outnumbered earned 1.7 million viewers and saw 209,000 in the 25-54 demo. FNC’s Outnumbered continues to outpace the broadcast competition, beating both NBC’s The Kelly Clarkson Show and CBS’ The Drew Barrymore Show with total viewers. From 1-3 PM/ET, America Reports with John Roberts and Sandra Smith garnered 1.6 million viewers and 178,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 3 PM/ET, anchor and executive editor Martha MacCallum’s The Story averaged 1.5 million viewers and 169,000 in the 25-54 demo, while Your World with Neil Cavuto at 4 PM/ET nabbed 1.5 million viewers and 167,000 in the 25-54 category for the month.
FNC continued to excel against the competition on weekends throughout the month, outpacing CNN and MSNBC yet again across total day and primetime with viewers and winning every hour in total viewers on Saturdays. Cavuto Live (Saturday, 10 AM-12PM/ET) was the most-watched of the day in both categories with 1.4 million viewers and 175,000 with 25-54 demo. Following, FOX & Friends Saturday (6 AM – 10 AM/ET) was the second most-watched cable news program of the day in the 25-54 demo, netting 1.2 million viewers and 169,000 in the 25-54 demo. Life, Liberty & Levin, helmed by Mark Levin, garnered 1.3 million viewers and 115,000 in the 25-54 demo. FNC’s One Nation with Brian Kilmeade scored 1.1 million viewers and 115,000 in the 25-54 demo. Additionally, FOX Report with Jon Scott (weekends, 6 PM/ET) averaged over 1.2 million viewers and 132,000 with A25-54, while The Big Weekend Show drew 1.3 million viewers and 144,000 A25-54. FOX News Live garnered 1.1 million viewers and 128,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo.
In the second month of the newly Jimmy Failla helmed FOX News Saturday Night (10-11 PM/ET), the program continued to excel among its competition. In total viewership, Failla notched nearly 1 million viewers and 124,000 in the 25-54 demo. Failla beats CNN (350,000 P2+ and 61,000 A25-54) and MSNBC (556,000 P2+ and 48,000 A25-54) more than combined in total viewers and in the 25-54 demo. Notably, Saturday, February 24th marked Failla’s highest rated show yet with 1.2 million viewers and 174,000 in the 25-54 demo, rising 48% in total viewers and 87% in the demo versus prior week.
On Sundays, FNC’s Sunday Morning Futures at 10AM/ET hosted by Maria Bartiromo ranked first across with viewers averaging 1.7 million viewers and 189,000 with the 25-54 demo. MediaBuzz, hosted by Howard Kurtz at 11 AM/ET, delivered 1.3 million viewers and 146,000 in the 25-54 demo. Meanwhile, FNC’s Life, Liberty and Levin notched nearly 1.5 million viewers and 118,000 in the 25-54 demo. FNC’s Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy attracted an audience of 1.2 million viewers and 89,000 in 25-54 demo. Additionally, The Big Weekend Show scored 1.3 million total viewers and 122,000 in the 25-54 demo, while FOX & Friends Sunday notched over 1.1 million viewers and ranked second in the younger demo with 152,000 viewers in 25-54.
FEBRUARY 2024 RATINGS FOR THE TOP FIVE PROGRAMS IN CABLE NEWS:
Total Viewers: The Five (3,109,000), Jesse Watters Primetime (2,806,000), Hannity (2,362,000), The Ingraham Angle (2,294,000), Special Report (2,292,000),
Adults 25-54: Gutfeld! (325,000), The Five (283,000), Jesse Watters Primetime (269,000), Hannity (248,000), The Ingraham Angle (222,000)
Source: Nielsen. Live+SD. Feb-24 monthly ratings data. Average audience for cable news networks M-Sunday based on Total Day and Prime (6a-6a, 8P-11P), P2+, P25-54, P18-49. Cable News/Broadcast Program averages exclude repeats/specials and include the corresponding program name.
FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service and has been the number one network in basic cable for the last eight years and the most-watched television news channel for 22 consecutive years, currently attracting nearly 50% of the cable news viewing audience according to Nielsen Media Research. Notably, Nielsen/MRI Fusion has consistently shown FNC to be the network of choice for more Democrat and Independent viewers, with the most politically diverse audience in cable news. Additionally, a 2023 New York Times/Siena College poll found FNC as the leading single source of news for voters across the country. Owned by Fox Corporation, FNC is available in more than 70 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top 10 programs in the genre.
