The new prime time lineup at Fox News is off to a solid start: it won every time slot from 7 to 11 p.m. last week, and gained on its own ratings from the week before. The new lineup, a reshuffling of the schedule in the wake of Tucker Carlson’s firing in late April, bested the competition on MSNBC and CNN in both total viewers and the key 25-54 age demographic.
Jesse Watters Primetime with host Jesse Watters, who moved into Carlson’s old 8 p.m. slot from 7 p.m., drew 2.3 million viewers and 198,000 in the demo — handily beating out both CNN and MSNBC.
While the first week of Watters’ numbers did not match the total audience that Carlson came to command over the course of his seven years in prime time, they improved upon the ratings of Fox News Tonight, the show that immediately replaced Carlson. That show, which featured a rotating cast of Fox News hosts, struggled mightily in the ratings as viewers expressed outrage over the firing.
The Ingraham Angle with host Laura Ingraham, which now airs at 7 p.m., brought in 1.9 million total viewers and 163,000 in the demo, beating the competition on CNN and MSNBC.
Hannity with host Sean Hannity at 9 p.m. brought in more than quadruple the ratings of his direct competitor, CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins. Hannity received a major boost last Tuesday with his town hall with former President Donald Trump following the news that he was the target of another federal investigation, making it the network’s highest-rated program of the week and drawing 2.8 million viewers.
Gutfeld! with host Greg Gutfield scored the highest ratings in prime time at 10 p.m. in the 25-54 demo, nothing a 46 percent increase in demo viewers, and bringing in 1.9 million average total viewers.
Here are the cable news ratings breakdowns for the week, according to Nielsen:
Primetime (M-F 7-11PM/ET)
FNC: 2,131,000 and 202,000 A25-54
CNN: 594,000 and 112,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 1,394,000 and 143,000 A25-547PM/ET
FNC’s The Ingraham Angle: 1,890,000 and 163,000 A25-54
CNN’s Erin Burnett Outfront: 643,000 and 123,000 A25-54
MSNBC’s The ReidOut: 1,173,000 and 141,000 A25-548PM/ET
FNC’s Jesse Watters Primetime: 2,315,000 and 198,000 A25-54
CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360: 666,000 and 113,000 A25-54
MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes: 1,306,000 and 135,000 A25-549PM/ET
FNCs Hannity: 2,375,000 and 206,000 A25-54
CNN’s The Source: 564,000 and 110,000 A25-54
MSNBC’s Alex Wagner Tonight: 1,360,000 and 132,000 A25-5410PM/ET
FNC’s Gutfeld! 1,945,000 and 241,000 A25-54
CNN’s CNN Primetime: 508,000 and 104,000 A25-54
MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell: 1,736,000 and 166,000 A25-54
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
