FNC Tops Cable News and CBS During Debate Simulcast, Outpaces all of Cable News Television for Pre- and Post-Debate Coverage
NEW YORK – September 11, 2024 — FOX News Media’s (FNM) simulcast of ABC’s presidential debate between Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump garnered 14.4 million viewers, topping NBC, CBS and cable news last night, averaging 14,367,000 viewers and 3,905,000 in the A25-54 demographic across FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX Network, FOXNews.com and FOX Nation, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. Additionally, FNM posted increases in viewers and in A25-54 over the June 27th debate while CNN was down nearly 60% in viewers.
During the debate from 9-10:45 PM/ET, FNC averaged 9.1 million viewers and 1.9 million in A25-54, topping CBS and all of cable news. FBN delivered 295,000 and 62,000 in A25-54, FOX Network garnered 4.8 million viewers and 1.9 million in the A25-54 demographic and FNM’s digital and streaming platforms drew an audience of 165,000. FNC’s special FOX News Democracy 2024 pre-debate coverage with anchors Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum, Jesse Watters, Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity from 8:15-9 PM/ET was the most-watched in all of television with 5.6 million viewers and 1.1 million in A25-54.
Throughout FNC’s primetime coverage of the event, the network topped CBS, NBC and cable news with 7.8 million viewers and 1.6 million in A25-54. At 8 PM/ET, Jesse Watters Primetime’s delivered an audience of 4.7 million viewers and 789,000 in A25-54. After the debate, Hannity’s live program from the spin room at 11 PM in Philadelphia was the most-watched in television with 4.8 million viewers and 1.1 million in A25-54. At 12 AM/ET, FOX News @ Night with Trace Gallagher drew an audience of 2.2 million viewers and 556,000 in A25-54, sweeping the cable news competition across the board. FNC’s full special coverage of the debate from 8 PM – 1 AM/ET delivered 6.1 million viewers and 1.3 million in A25-54, outpacing cable news across the board.
FOX News Media’s digital properties, according to Adobe Analytics, YouTube Analytics and Meta, delivered a strong day of engagement across key performance indicators, seeing gains across the board compared to the first debate between President Biden and former President Trump. FOX News Digital delivered 2.3 million livestream views between 9-11 PM/ET. During the debate, the network’s digital platforms, including FOX Nation, saw an average minute audience of 165,000. Additionally, FOX News Go’s unique viewing devices were up 209% compared to the average weekday this year and its media initiates were up 174% vs. the average weekday in 2024.
On social media, FOX News Media properties were number one in total social engagement among the news competitive set. The platforms garnered 1.2 million social interactions across Facebook, X and Instagram, seeing 24% more interactions than ABC News, according to Emplifi.
DATA FROM NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH
9-10:45PM/ET
FNC: 9,062,000 P2+; 1,942,000 A25-54
FOX: 4,845,000 P2+; 1,901,000 A25-54
FBN: 295,000 P2+; 62,000 A25-54
CNN: 4,389,000 P2+; 1,575,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 6,381,000 P2+; 1,236,000 A25-54
ABC: 19,049,000 P2+; 6,596,000 A25-54
NBC: 10,075,000 P2+; 3,744,000 A25-54
CBS: 6,189 ,000 P2+; 1,904,000 A25-54
9-11 PM/ET
FNC: 9 million P2+; 1.9 million A25-54
CNN: 4.4 million P2+; 1.6 million A25-54
MSNBC: 6.5 million P2+; 1.2 million A25-54
8-11PM/ET
FNC: 7,776,000 P2+; 1,622,000 A25-54
CNN: 3,628,000 P2+; 1,262,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 5,589,000 P2+; 1,028,000 A25-54
8:15-9PM/ET
FNC: 5.6 million P2+; 1,083,000 A25-54
CNN: 2.2 million P2+; 699,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 4.1 million P2+; 650,000 A25-54
FOX News Media operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Digital, FOX News Audio, FOX News Books, the direct-to-consumer streaming services FOX Nation and FOX News International and the free ad-supported television service FOX Weather. Currently the number one network in all of cable, FNC has also been the most watched television news channel for 22 consecutive years, while FBN is the top business channel on cable. Owned by Fox Corporation, FOX News Media reaches nearly 200 million people each month.
