You are reading an exclusive WrapPRO article for free. Want to level up your entertainment career? Subscribe to WrapPRO.
Ratings for 2023’s second quarter are in, and cable news ratings are hitting the usual trends.
As expected, Fox News dominated among all of the measured ratings categories, beating competitors CNN and MSNBC in viewership in total day and primetime for the ninth consecutive quarter. The conservative news outlet also scored the highest number of primetime viewers in cable news for 86 consecutive quarters.
In terms of total viewership for total day, which measures from Monday through Sunday 6 a.m. to 6 a.m., Fox News took the No. 1 spot on the board with 1.16 million total viewers, while MSNBC came in second place with 796,000 total viewers and CNN came in third place with 463,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day figures.
We’re adjusting to this: In the key cable demo among adults ages 25-54, Fox News continued its sweep across CNN and MSNBC with a demo viewership of 140,000 during the total day while CNN and MSNBC found themselves in a statistical tie with 95,000 viewers (including repeat programming).
In primetime, Fox News led with 1.69 million total viewers as MSNBC scored 1.27 million total viewers and CNN averaged 573,000 total viewers. In the demo for primetime, Fox News averaged 179,000 adults 25-54, while MSNBC received 139,000 viewers in the demo and CNN averaged 126,000 viewers in the demo.
MSNBC had initially boasted a win against CNN in the demo for total day by using a specific metric that excluded re-airings of “Dateline” and “Meet the Press.” Using those metrics, MSNBC averaged 99,000 viewers in the demo from Monday through Sunday 6 a.m. to 6 a.m., while CNN scored a demo viewership of 95,000.
Note: this article has been updated to include the most up-to-date ratings.
