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Kevin McCarthy’s removal from his role as Speaker of the House Tuesday led to a bump in cable news viewership, with Fox News winning primetime with 2.68 million viewers.
McCarthy was ousted from his post with a vote of 216-210 in the chamber, a rebellion led by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz. McCarthy is the first person in U.S. history to be removed from the House speakership.
Although the news broke of McCarthy’s removal during the 4 p.m. hour, viewership on cable news saw higher numbers for primetime. McCarthy additionally held a long press conference during the 8 p.m. hour on Tuesday, excerpts of which aired on all three cable news channels.
Fox News was the No. 1 most-watched cable news channel in primetime Tuesday. MSNBC came in second place with 2.14 million viewers, while CNN lagged behind with 1.21 million viewers, according to Nielsen-live-plus-same-day figures.
The trend continued in the demo for primetime, with Fox News leading the pack with 337,000 viewers in the key cable demographic among adults 25-54. MSNBC came in second with 261,000 viewers, and CNN came in a close third with 259,000 viewers in the demo.
At 8 p.m., Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” scored 3.09 million total viewers. MSNBC’s “All in With Chris Hayes” saw 2.13 million total viewers, and CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” saw 1.55 million viewers.
In the demo, CNN’s 8 p.m. programming hour, which carried McCarthy’s full press conference, came out on top with 319,000 viewers in the 25-54 age range. MSNBC followed with 276,000 viewers, and Fox News came in third with 226,000 viewers in the demo.
At 9 p.m., Fox News’ “Hannity” scored 2.70 million total viewers. MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight” came in second with 2.03 million total viewers, and CNN’s “The Source With Kaitlan Collins” finished third with 1.18 million total viewers.
Fox News scored 319,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo for the 9 p.m. hour, with MSNBC nabbing 261,000 viewers and CNN securing 242,000 viewers.
During the 10 p.m. programming hour, Fox News’ “Gutfeld!” nabbed 2.26 million total viewers, with MSNBC’s “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell” right on their tail with 2.25 million total viewers. CNN’s “CNN Primetime,” hosted by Abby Phillip, finished third with 902,000 total viewers.
Fox News came in first with 374,000 viewers in the 25-54 age range, for the 10 p.m. hour demo. MSNBC came in second with 246,000 viewers, and CNN finished third with 216,000 viewers.
At 11 p.m., MSNBC shot back up to first place with “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle,” which scored 1.43 million total viewers. Fox News’ “Fox News at Night” followed with 1.23 million total viewers and CNN’s “CNN Tonight” with host Laura Coates came in third with 684,000.
Fox News came in first in the 11 p.m. demo, with 226,000 viewers in the 25-45 age range. MSNBC came in second with 211,000 viewers, and CNN came in third with 177,000 viewers.
