While “Roseanne” has lost some viewers from its staggeringly well-rated premiere, the ABC sitcom has attracted a big influx in Fox News fans since returning to broadcast.
An analysis by Samba TV found that between Week 1 and Week 2 of the revived series, the largest declines in viewership came from households who also watch younger-skewing networks — MTV2, Teen Nick, Cartoon Network, for examples — or channels targeting African American viewers, like BET, OWN, and TV One.
Conversely, the Week 2 audience for “Roseanne” saw a 65 percent increase among viewers who also watch Fox News. This, despite the overall viewer tally being down.
CNN and MSNBC viewers trended in the opposite direction, if you can believe that.
“The data suggests that publicity of the show as being supportive of right-leaning Trump voters compelled many of the viewers on that side of the aisle to tune-in, while left-leaning viewers tuned out,” a Samba spokesman said in a note to TheWrap.
ABC’s revival of “Roseanne” premiered last month, more than two decades after the show originally went off the air. Hailed as an honest portrayal of white working-class families with a politically conservative central character, the show debuted to a whopping 18.2 million viewers, heavily over-performing in Middle America.