FNC Finishes 2019 as Most-Watched Basic Cable Network for Fourth Consecutive Year
Hannity Reigns Cable News for Third Year in a Row, Notching an All-Time High in Program History
Tucker Carlson Tonight Finishes Year as Second Highest-Rated Cable News Program and Secures its Highest-Rated Year Ever
FNC Ranks as a Top Five Network in Primetime in All of Television
NEW YORK – December 31, 2019 – FOX News Channel (FNC) notched its highest-rated year in primetime in its 23-year history with 2.5 million viewers and finished the year as the most-watched network in basic cable for the fourth consecutive year in both primetime and total day (1.4 million) among total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. FNC also ranks as a top five network in primetime in all of television for 2019. Additionally, Hannity was the number one program in cable news for the third consecutive year with 3.3 million viewers and 531,000 in A25-54.
In a joint statement on the network’s record ratings, FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and FOX News Media President & Executive Editor Jay Wallace said, “Once again, FOX News Channel’s team of leading journalists and opinion hosts have led the network to a record-breaking ratings year as the number one network in all of cable for the fourth consecutive year. FNC continues to exert its dominance in cable television as the country experiences what may be one of the most fervent news cycles in history and we are proud to provide our audience with news and opinion they can trust across a variety of programming.”
In cable news, FNC secured eight of the top 15 programs in total viewers and nine of the top 15 in the 25-54 demo. Additionally, FNC’s Hannity, Tucker Carlson Tonight, The Ingraham Angle, The Five and Special Report with Bret Baier claimed five of the top six programs in the younger 18-49 demo.
Kicking off FNC’s evening programming at 5PM/ET, The Five averaged 2.6 million viewers and 395,000 in the 25-54 demo, ranking fifth in both categories and securing its second highest-rated year ever in total viewers. At 6PM/ET, the network’s political news program Special Report with Bret Baier averaged 2.2 million viewers and 357,000 in the 25-54 demo and at 7PM/ET, The Story with Martha MacCallum delivered 2 million viewers and 331,000 in the 25-54 demo. Tucker Carlson Tonight at 8PM/ET, was the second most-watched program for the year in total viewers with 3.1 million and 512,000 in the 25-54 demo and notched its highest-rated year in total viewers. In primetime, for the third consecutive year, Hannity (9PM/ET) topped all of cable news with 3.3 million viewers and 531,000 in the 25-54 demo while garnering its most-watched year ever in total viewers. At 10PM/ET, The Ingraham Angle ranked fourth in viewers with 2.6 million viewers and fourth in the 25-54 demo with 424,000. FOX News @ Night with Shannon Bream at 11PM/ET closed out the year with 1.4 million viewers and 280,000 in the 25-54 demo.
The FOX & Friends franchise which starts at 4AM/ET with FOX & Friends First delivered 575,000 viewers and 132,000 in the 25-54 demo while FOX & Friends (6-9 AM/ET) continued to dominate all cable news morning shows and even topping CNN’s primetime programming 8-11PM/ET, averaging 1.5 million viewers and 282,000 in the 25-54 demo. America’s Newsroom, FNC’s three hour news program at 9AM/ET, secured 1.6 million viewers and 252,000 in the 25-54 demo. At noon, Outnumbered garnered 1.6 million viewers and 253,000 in the 25-54 demo. Outnumbered Overtime with Harris Faulkner delivered 1.4 million viewers and 230,000 with the 25-54 demo. Additionally, The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino secured 1.4 million viewers and 220,000 in the 25-54 demo while Shepard Smith Reporting/FOX News Reporting garnered 1.3 million viewers and 209,000 with A25-54. Your World with Neil Cavuto garnered 1.5 million viewers and 233,000 in the 25-54 demo.
On the weekends, FNC continued to dominate the competition, beating them in every hour in total viewers on Saturdays and Sundays from 6AM to 11PM/ET. FOX & Friends Weekend (Saturdays and Sundays, 6-10AM/ET) topped CNN and MSNBC combined in total viewers and A25-54 (1,355,000 P2+; 242,000 A25-54). On Saturdays, FNC outperformed combined viewership of CNN and MSNBC with several programs, including Watters World at 8PM/ET (1,752,000 P2+; 214,000 A25-54) Justice with Judge Jeanine at 9PM/ET (2,042,000 P2+; 227,000 A25-54) and The Greg Gutfeld Show at 10PM/ET (1,791,000 P2+; 259,000 A25-54). Additionally, Justice with Judge Jeanine and The Greg Gutfeld Show delivered their highest-rated years in each program’s history. Cavuto Live (Saturdays at 10AM/ET) also crushed the competition with 1,362,000 viewers and 223,000 in the 25-54 demo. Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo (Sundays at 10AM/ET) also led cable news programming on Sundays with 1,487,000 viewers and 261,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 11AM/ET, Media Buzz with Howie Kurtz came in at 1,340,000 viewers and 226,000 in the 25-54 demo and The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton ended the year with 1,276,000 viewers and 167,000 in the 25-54 demo. Finally, Sunday’s Life, Liberty and Levin with Mark Levin secured 1,384,000 viewers and 182,000 in the 25-54 demo.
Top Five Networks in Primetime in All of Television for 2019
NBC: 5.3 million total viewers
CBS: 5.1 million total viewers
ABC: 4.1 million total viewers
FOX: 4.0 million total viewers
FNC: 2.5 million total viewers
Nielsen Cable News Ratings for 2019 (12/31/18-12/29/19) vs. 2018 (01/01/18-12/30/18)
Primetime:
FNC: 2,488,000 P2+ (up 2%); 391,000 A25-54 (down 16%)
CNN: 971,000 P2+ (down 2%); 255,000 A25-54 (down 21%)
MSNBC: 1,734,000 P2+ (down 4%); 278,000 A25-54 (down 21%)
Total Day:
FNC: 1,401,000 P2+ (down 2%); 240,000 A25-54 (down 15%)
CNN: 647,000 P2+ (down 8%); 163,000 A25-54 (down 24%)
MSNBC: 981,000 P2+ (down 1%); 152,000 A25-54 (down 23%)
About FOX News
FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The number one network in cable, FNC is a unit of FOX News Media and has been the most watched television news channel for more than 17 consecutive years. According to a 2019 Suffolk University poll, FOX News is the most trusted source for television news or commentary in the country, while a 2019 Brand Keys Emotion Engagement Brand Analysis survey found that FOX News was the most trusted cable news brand. Owned by FOX Corporation, FNC is available in nearly 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.
