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Fox News has another top-rated cable news program, and the network has former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany to thank for it.
Her show, “Outnumbered,” is crushing the competition on other major news channels — primarily CNN and MSNBC — in her time slot, according to the newest viewership data released earlier this week.
In addition to drawing in more overall viewers, ‘Outnumbered’ also topped competitors in the 25-54 age demographic which is sought after most by advertisers.
“‘Outnumbered’ got almost three times as many viewers as CNN’s ‘Inside Politics’ and did more than triple MSNBC’s show in the timeslot, Andrea Mitchell Reports, which continues to hemorrhage viewers,” Slay News reported on Tuesday, citing Monday’s viewership figures. “McEnany’s daytime show also crushed some of CNN’s primetime lineup, beating Don Lemon 1.768M to 649K.”
Here are the viewership figures for the ‘Outnumbered’ timeslot, which airs at noon EDT:
Fox, OUTNUMBERED: 1,768,000
CNN, INSIDE POLITICS: 605,000
MSNBC, ANDREA MITCHELL REPORTS: 580,000
Newsmax, JOHN BACHMAN NOW: 152,000
Newsnation, BLUE BLOODS: 171,000
In addition, Fox News essentially dominates the day in total viewers:
CNN: 539,000
Fox News: 1.71 million
MSNBC: 917,000
Here is the breakdown for the 25-54 Demo:
CNN: 110,000
Fox News: 229,000
MSNBC: 112,000
While August has started off well for Fox News, the network dominated July ratings as well, just as it has for more than a year.
“FNC just completed its 18th consecutive month as the most-watched basic cable network in total day, averaging 1.35 million total day viewers in July 2022, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. Fox also averaged 194,000 adults 25-54 in total day for July. Compared to the previous month of June, however, Fox News lost -2% in total day viewers and -8% in the total day demo. How about Fox News primetime? The network remains far and away No. 1 in cable news, but shed -3% in total primetime viewers and -8% among the primetime demo vs. June,” Ad Week reported.
The report added:
On the programming front, The Five continued to make history, finishing the month of July as the most-watched cable news show for seven out of the past eight months. The roundtable talk program averaged 3.2 million total viewers, and 410,000 in the 25-54 demo at 5 p.m.
At 8 p.m., Tucker Carlson Tonight completed the month as the top-rated program among adults 25-54, averaging 482,000 in the measurement, and finishing No. 2 in total viewers with a 3.1 million average. Additionally, Fox News delivered The network the four-most-watched cable news shows and the top 15 of the top 16 cable news programs in the 25-54 demo for the month of July 2022.
Popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who regularly brings in around 3 million viewers to his show, joked recently that he’s not even aware of his record-setting ratings.
“I don’t know how to read a ratings chart,” Carlson said. “Ask anyone who works for me or has worked with me. I never look at the ratings. I’m not on the ratings email. I’m not even on email.”
During a forum, host Ben Smith pressed Carlson on ratings and networks trying to push a message, which was a joke of a question.
“But you’re in the ratings business, fundamentally,” Smith said.
“Slow down — I don’t know what my ratings are, and I mean that,” Carlson replied. “You may not believe me. I don’t own a TV, that’s true.”
In April 2020, Carlson broke the record for the most-watched cable news program in U.S. history, cracking more than 4.5 million viewers on average for that quarter.
Beyond Carlson, Fox News overall has continued to crush all cable news programs in the ratings.
Fox News aired 72 of the 100 most-watched cable news telecasts.
“Fox News Channel dominated basic cable from July 11-17, finishing with the largest average audience for the 28th consecutive week,” Fox News reported.
“Fox News averaged 1.4 million viewers last week, while no other basic cable channel surpassed the one-million viewer mark. Fox News also came out on top during the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m., averaging 2.2 million viewers compared to 1.3 million for second-place MSNBC,” the report added. “It was the 74th straight week that Fox News outdrew CNN and MSNBC among both total and primetime viewers.”
