Fox News’s “The Five” was the most-watched cable news show among total viewers for the month of October, the first time the 5 p.m. ET daily show accomplished that feat in its history. “The Five” first debuted in 2011.
In the process, it bumped fellow Fox News show “Tucker Carlson” out of the top spot, though Carlson still led among the news demographic of adults 25-54.
“The Five” narrowly edged “Tucker Carlson” with 3.11 million viewers compared to Carlson’s 3.08 million viewers. They were followed by Fox News’ “Hannity” (2.75 million), “Special Report With Bret Baier” (2.3 million) and “The Ingraham Angle” (2.19 million). Among the news demo, “Tucker Carlson” led with 483,000 to “The Five’s” 435,000 viewers.
However (and to be very expected), October was not a kind month for cable news compared to a year ago, when the contentious 2020 election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump was in full swing, along with a raging pandemic. Fox News still led among total day viewers and primetime with 1.4 million and 2.3 million viewers, respectively. That was down 38% and 53% from a year ago, but still much better than CNN and MSNBC.
CNN was down 65% in total day with an average of 487,000 viewers, and down 73% in primetime with 661,000 viewers. MSNBC dropped 54% in total day with 680,000 viewers, and dipped 56% in primetime with 1.2 million viewers.