Fox News Channel kicked off 2023 by crushing viewership of other cable news networks during the week of the House Speaker vote.
Fox News, which finished 2022 as the most-watched cable news channel for the 21st consecutive year, averaged 1.4 million viewers from Jan. 2-8 to finish No. 1 among all basic cable offerings. ESPN finished second with 1.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 950,000 and CNN’s 740,000. Along the way, Fox News outdrew MSNBC and CNN during every single hour of the entire week.
On Friday night, when Rep. Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House, special coverage on "FOX News @ Night" averaged 3.4 million viewers to thump competition. McCarthy, R-Calif., was finally elected House speaker on a historic 15th ballot after four days of voting in the longest speaker’s election since before the Civil War.
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The ordeal captivated cable news consumers as McCarthy had to overcome the opposition of a band of anti-establishment Republicans.
"The Five" averaged 3.5 million viewers to finish as the most-watched program in cable news, which also finished 2022 as the No. 1 cable news program despite airing hours before the primetime window that historically dominates viewership.
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During the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m., Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers compared to 1.4 million for MSNBC and 918,000 for CNN.
Fox News also beat MSNBC and CNN among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, averaging 191,000 total day demo viewers and 252,000 during primetime to top cable news in both categories. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" averaged 413,000 demo viewers to finish as the most-watched show in the critical category.
Fox News finished 2022 as the most-watched cable network in all of television for the seventh straight year. It was the network’s third highest-rated year ever, while CNN and MSNBC each saw their lowest-rated years of all time in various categories. FNC programs made up 92 of the top 100 cable news shows during 2022.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
