Fox News, CNN and MSNBC had a lot of news to cover during the busy third quarter of 2016. Morning shows, standard newscasts and political opinion shows make up the Top 21 programs in the world of cable news. Which show was the most popular among the key demo of adults age 25-54 during Q3? Click here to find out.
21. MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews” averaged 244,000 viewers among the key news demo.
20. “Happening Now” on Fox News averaged 260,000 demo viewers during the third quarter.
19. “Your World with Neil Cavuto” maintained momentum despite its namesake missing the summer following heart surgery.
18. CNN’s “Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” averaged 275,00 viewers among the key demo.
17. MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” tied Blitzer with 275,000 demo viewers.
16. “Fox & Friends” averaged 278,000 to dominate cable morning news programs among the demo. MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and CNN’s “New Day” finished below 200,000 viewers.
15. “Shepard Smith Reporting” tied Fox News’ “Outnumbered” by averaging 284,000 viewers between age 25-54.
14. Fox News’ “Outnumbered” is extremely popular considering its noon ET time slot, averaging 284,000 viewers.
13. “America’s Newsroom” with Martha MacCallum and Bill Hemmer on FNC fell short of the 300,000-plateau with 294,000 demo viewers.
12. MSNBC’s “Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” averaged 301,000 viewers to finish as the second-most popular show on MSNBC.
11. “Erin Burnett OutFront” averaged 326,000 viewers among the key demo to finish as CNN’s third-most watched show.
10. “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon” cracks the Top 10 with 339,000 viewers among the key demo.
9. The late-night replay of “The O’Reilly Factor” racked up 341,000 average viewers, topping most live shows on cable.
8. MSNBC’s most-watched program is “The Rachel Maddow Show” with 361,000 demo viewers.
7. “On the Record with Brit Hume” has thrived since Greta Van Susteren surprised the media world by leaving Fox News in early September, averaging 371,000 viewers in the third quarter that reflects both hosts.
6. Fox News’ “The Five” is regularly among the most-watched shows on cable with an average of 371,000 demo viewers.
5. CNN’s most-watched show is “Anderson Cooper 360,” which averaged 384,000 demo viewers.
4. “Special Report with Bret Baier” is so popular that Fox News recently added a Sunday version.
3. “The O’Reilly Factor” dominated total viewers, but finished behind two colleagues in the key demo.
2. Fox News’ “Hannity” averaged 564,000 viewers in the key demo, as the Donald Trump supporter continues to make news on a regular basis.
1.Megyn Kelly has plenty to smile about, finishing the third quarter as the most-watched show on cable news among the key demo, averaging 569,000 viewers between age 25-54.
