Fox News Channel achieved a remarkable feat in December, securing all 400 of the most-watched cable news telecasts based on total viewership. Leading the charge was "The Five," which drew a staggering 4.4 million viewers on December 9th, making it the highest-rated cable news program of the month. Other episodes of "The Five," featuring Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Dana Perino, Jeanine Pirro, and rotating co-hosts Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr., consistently ranked among the top 20 most-watched programs. "Jesse Watters Tonight" also contributed to Fox News's dominance, with its December 3rd and 4th episodes achieving high viewership.
Fox News's comprehensive lineup, including programs like "Special Report with Bret Baier," "The Ingraham Angle," "Gutfeld!," "Hannity," "Outnumbered," "America Reports," "The Story," "The Faulkner Focus," "America’s Newsroom," "Your World," "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo," "FOX & Friends," "FOX & Friends Weekend," "Fox News @ Night," "The Big Weekend Show," "Life, Liberty and Levin," "One Nation with Brian Kilmeade," "MediaBuzz," and "Fox News Live," consistently outperformed all offerings from CNN and MSNBC.
In a stark contrast, MSNBC's most-watched program, "The Rachel Maddow Show," only managed to attract 1.4 million viewers on December 9th, placing it at 401st in the overall rankings. CNN's top performer, "CNN News Central," fared even worse, attracting 700,000 viewers on the same date and ranking 682nd.
While Fox News's consistent dominance in cable news viewership is well-established, sweeping the top 400 programs is an unprecedented achievement. This underscores the ongoing challenges faced by MSNBC and CNN in attracting viewers, particularly in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election.
Fox News's success extended throughout 2024, culminating in the network's highest share of the cable news audience since 2015. Averaging 1.5 million total daily viewers and 2.4 million primetime viewers, Fox News has maintained its number one position in both categories for nine consecutive years. Furthermore, the network saw a substantial year-over-year audience growth of 21% for total day viewership and 30% for primetime viewership compared to 2023. This impressive performance marks 23 consecutive years of Fox News leading cable news in both total day and primetime viewership.
