After parting with the network’s most popular host, Tucker Carlson, Fox News has taken a substantial hit in its ratings. Fox News has long dominated the cable news market, with viewership and ratings far ahead of competitors like CNN, MSNBC, and others. However, the tides could be turning on Fox News after MSNBC beat the conservative news network in total primetime viewers for the first time in five years.
Reports show that MSNBC beat both Fox News and MSNBC in ratings among total primetime viewers and key demographic viewers aged 25-54. This is the first time this has occurred since 2018. This past week MSNBC was number one in this metric averaging 1.52 million total viewers, the largest audience it has achieved since the 2022 midterms. Furthermore, the network averaged 172,000 viewers in the primetime bracket, more than any other news network.
A couple of distinct trends are driving this trend in viewership within the cable news market. Firstly, CNN is struggling with left-leaning viewers after recent controversies. Therefore, those seeking a liberal persuasion of news are turning to MSNBC for its panel of left-leaning hosts and content. Moreover, Fox News has lost a significant chunk of conservative viewers after Tucker Carlson’s exit, who was the network’s powerhouse.
Following Tucker Carlson leaving Fox News, the network saw plummeting ratings for May. The American Tribune reported that Fox News lost nearly one-third of its total viewers and almost half of the critical primetime 25-54 advertising demographic. Data showed that in May, Fox News averaged 1.09 million daytime viewers and 1.42 million primetime viewers. Regarding the 25-54 demographic, Fox only brought in roughly 126,000 daytime viewers and 135,000 primetime viewers.
These results are dismal compared to what they averaged with Tucker Carlson on the channel. In April, Fox News averaged 1.29 million daytime viewers with 2.07 million primetime viewers. In the 25-54 category, the channel attained 161,000 daytime viewers and 240,000 primetime viewers. This constitutes a 32 percent decline in primetime viewership and a 44 percent drop in the 25-54 age demographic.
While things may look rough for Fox News Channel, Tucker Carlson is thriving with his new Twitter-exclusive show “Tucker On Twitter.” In fact, some say he is more influential than he was at Fox News. This claim is substantiated by the enormous levels of viewership that Carlson is able to obtain through broadcasting his show on Twitter instead of cable news. The metrics Tucker is obtaining suggest he is leaving Fox News in the dust in terms of total viewership.
The American Tribune recently reported on Tucker Carlson’s newfound success on Twitter, highlighting how his episodes reach view counts in the tens of millions in only a matter of hours. One social media user pointed out that Tucker’s latest episode only took 14 hours to reach an astounding 43 million views and stated the host is “more powerful now than he was at Fox.” Compare that to the average viewership during May for Fox News. As of writing this article, Tucker Carlson has racked up over 400 million views on content related to his new show in just a few weeks. Furthermore, looking at what levels of viewership can be attained on social media versus cable news could have implications for the future of cable news channels.
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