OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Fox News host Sean Hannity is not only continuing to dominate his prime-time slot on the network but he’s blowing away the next-closest competitor, and by a lot. According to Mediaite on Monday, during Friday’s schedule, Hannity managed to bring in five times the viewers of CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
In a summary of last year’s cable news ratings, Adweek reported, “Anderson Cooper 360 remained the network’s most-watched show, having averaged 868,000 total viewers in 2022.” That put him at 23rd overall in cable news programs.
Mediaite noted that Hannity managed to bring in 2.2 million total viewers the previous Friday, which blanketed Cooper’s less-than-stellar 441,000 viewers. In fact, MSNBC’s Alex Wagner even beat out Cooper with 1.34 million total viewers, still a distant second place behind the Fox News powerhouse.
And while CNN’s website is among the top Internet news destinations, the legacy broadcast network is struggling, especially with the most essential advertising demographic. “CNN struggled across primetime averaging only 438,000 total viewers and 91,000 viewers in the key 25-54 age demographic, significantly behind MSNBC and Fox News,” Mediaite noted.
The Western Journal reported that the report “said Fox News averaged 1.64 million viewers for the day” while “[s]econd place MSNBC hit 824,000, while CNN had only 447,000 viewers. In the key 25-54 demographic, Fox News led with 215,000 viewers, followed by MSNBC with 92,000 and CNN with 90,000.”
The outlet added:
Fox News earned an average of 2.22 million total viewers from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., while second-place MSNBC had 135,000 and CNN had 91,000 viewers. And in the 25-54 demo, the networks had 277,000, 135,000, and 91,000, respectively, according to Mediaite.
In April, not only did Hannity become the longest-running prime-time cable news host ever, but the conservative network also continued to dominate the competition in viewership. Fox News issued a statement celebrating the fact that Hannity had been with the network for 25 years, saying, “FOX News Channel’s (FNC) Sean Hannity has notched yet another industry milestone, becoming the longest-running primetime cable news host in television history.
“Today marks 25 consecutive years, six months, and 15 days at the helm of a primetime cable news program, breaking the previous longstanding record held by the late talk show host Larry King. As cable news’ most enduring personality, Hannity has been a staple of FNC’s primetime lineup since the launch of the network in 1996, where his candid style and passionate commentary have made him one of the most prominent and influential voices in the country,” the statement added.
“Sean’s authenticity and insightful commentary have created one of the most enduring connections with our audience and it’s been an honor to watch him over the years. A FOX News original, he has helped innovate the industry, and we are incredibly proud of his extraordinary success,” Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said of Hannity’s longevity and success.
Hannity himself said, “I am extremely grateful to FOX News Media and to our loyal, dedicated viewers whom I am proud to serve every night.”
Fox News has long dominated its competitors.
“Fox News’ lowest-rated show in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age demographic nearly doubled MSNBC’s highest-rated show in the demo on Tuesday,” Mediaite reported in late October. “Fox News not only swept the demo across all time slots, its lowest-rated show still outperformed CNN and MSNBC’s highest-rated program by a wide margin. Fox’s America Reports at 2 p.m. was its lowest performer in the demo, bringing in 221,000 viewers.”
“CNN’s top-rated show in the demo, meanwhile, was Erin Burnett’s OutFront — bringing in 147,000 demo viewers. MSNBC’s top-rated show was its 9 p.m. MSNBC Prime, which brought in 116,000 demo viewers, a little more than half of America Reports’ 221,000,” the report added.
A Fox News statement at the time added:
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 2021 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report stated FOX News leads the news industry in both brand loyalty, engagement, and expectations while a 2022 Brand Keys poll showed FNC dominating morning and evening news in customer loyalty engagement. Owned by Fox Corporation, FNC is available in nearly 80 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top 15 programs in the genre.
