TV Ratings War: Fox News Crushes ABC In Primetime As CBS Slumps To Historic Low
Fox News Channel outpaced ABC in weekday primetime viewership during the week of May 18th, while CBS Evening News continued a multi-week ratings decline.
According to Nielsen Media Research Big Data + Panel data, Fox News averaged over 2.6 million weekday primetime viewers and 248,000 in the key 25-54 age demographic. That topped ABC’s primetime draw of 2.1 million viewers. Across the full week, Fox News pulled in nearly 2.3 million viewers for Monday-Sunday primetime and maintained a total day average of 1.5 million viewers.
Meanwhile, CBS Evening News averaged 3.9 million viewers and 608,000 in the 25-54 demo. The performance marks the program’s seventh consecutive week drawing under 4 million viewers when factoring in all weekday airings.
The afternoon panel show The Five led the week’s cable news ratings, averaging 3.5 million viewers and 324,000 in the 25-54 demographic. In the evening blocks, Special Report with Bret Baier drew 2.6 million viewers at 6 PM ET, followed by The Ingraham Angle with 2.5 million viewers at 7 PM ET. Jesse Watters Primetime brought in 3.1 million viewers at 8 PM ET, Hannity captured 2.5 million viewers at 9 PM ET, and Fox News @ Night with Trace Gallagher finished the late-night block at 11 PM ET with 1.5 million viewers.
At 10 PM ET, the late-night show Gutfeld! averaged over 2.8 million primetime viewers and 306,000 in the demo. This outpaced broadcast competitors in the same space, including ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1.6 million viewers; 244,000 in 25-54) and NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (1.4 million viewers; 355,000 in 25-54).
Fox News daytime programs also ahead of several broadcast network shows. America’s Newsroom, The Faulkner Focus, and America Reports each averaged 1.8 million viewers, while Outnumbered drew 1.9 million and The Story with Martha MacCallum brought in 1.8 million. These numbers ahead of NBC’s Today with Jenna & Sheinelle (1.4 million) and ABC’s GMA3 (1.3 million). At 4 PM ET, The Will Cain Show averaged 2.1 million viewers, ahead of CBS Mornings’ 1.9 million viewers.
Weekend programming saw The Big Weekend Show hit 1.7 million viewers on Saturday, making it the highest-rated cable news program of the day. Kayleigh McEnany’s Saturday In America followed with over 1.6 million viewers, while Fox News Live anchored by Aishah Hasnie brought in nearly 1.4 million. In Saturday primetime, My View with Lara Trump and Life, Liberty, & Levin each pulled in 1.5 million viewers, while Fox News Saturday Night with Jimmy Failla drew 1.3 million.
On Sunday, Sunday Morning Futures anchored by Maria Bartiromo topped the daytime cable news lineup with 1.7 million viewers. The Sunday Briefing, hosted by Jacqui Heinrich, pulled in nearly 1.6 million viewers, and the Sunday edition of The Big Weekend Show drew over 1.4 million. Mike Emanuel’s Fox News Live brought in nearly 1.3 million viewers. In Sunday primetime, Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy led with nearly 1.3 million viewers, followed by Life, Liberty, & Levin at 1.2 million and One Nation with Brian Kilmeade at 1.1 million.