Fox's 'The Five' Makes History with Ratings Milestone Never Before Achieved by a Non-Primetime Show
Fox News led its cable competitors in the third quarter, marking the sixth straight quarter in which the network has topped its rivals.
The afternoon show “The Five” averaged 3.3 million viewers and was the most-watched cable news program for the quarter, according to Fox News, which cited Nielsen Media Research data.
The report said “The Five” racked up a notable achievement by being the first non-primetime cable news show to lead for four straight quarters.
The roundtable discussion show, whose regular hosts include Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Jesse Watters and Jeanine Pirro, airs weekdays at 5 p.m.
According to Deadline, the quarter saw an overall slump in cable news viewership. For example, Fox News’ third-quarter average of 2.19 primetime viewers was down 8 percent, while CNN’s average of 717,000 was down 13 percent.
The overall slump was more pronounced in the 25-54 age group, where Fox was down 23 percent, CNN was down 21 percent and MSNBC was down 22 percent.
However, Fox News noted there was a great disparity among cable networks in attracting those who were watching TV.
The network averaged 294,000 adults 25-54 during primetime, almost double that of second-place CNN, which drew just 150,000 from that key demographic. MSNBC was third at 127,000.
The third-quarter ratings show that of those watching, many were tuned into Fox News, with the network reporting that its programs made up 94 of the top 100 cable news programs.
Fox News crushes MSNBC, CNN in third quarter viewership as ‘The Five’ makes history https://t.co/JCfWyZvPHB
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 28, 2022
According to Deadline, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” averaged 3.2 million viewers, “Jesse Watters Primetime” averaged 2.7 million viewers, “Hannity” averaged 2.68 million viewers and “Special Report with Bret Baier” averaged 2.34 million.
CNN’s top-rated program was “Anderson Cooper 360,” which drew less than a million viewers on average and was ranked 24th in cable news shows, according to Fox News.
As for MSNBC, Forbes noted what happened to its once-powerhouse 9 p.m. weekday slot, which had been filled by Rachel Maddow.
Maddow now comes on once a week for “The Rachel Maddow Show” with “Alex Wagner Tonight” appearing on other weekday nights. Wagner’s show saw a 29 percent ratings drop among all viewers and a drop of nearly 50 percent in the 25-54 age group.
Fox News noted the ratings for the combined slot were an average of 1.9 million viewers, which made it MSNBC’s most-watched program.
According to Deadline, Fox News was also the king of total day viewership.
The network averaged 1.41 million viewers during the day, up 3 percent, with MSNBC second at 783,000, up 6 percent, and CNN trailing at 558,000, down 7 percent.
All the networks saw lower daytime numbers in the 25-54 age group, according to Deadline. Fox News dropped 13 percent, CNN dropped 17 percent and MSNBC dropped 11 percent.
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