Not all that long ago, there was a time when Fox News, CNN, and even MSNBC had several news programs competing against one another for the top spot in the ratings.
Fox News was almost always still the overall winner. Still, there were several years during Donald Trump’s presidency that CNN could muster its fair share of top finishes, mostly because its Trump-Derangement-Syndrome-centric programming kept its weak-minded viewers glued to the screen.
But now the situation has become rather embarrassing for CNN, as the cable news ratings for last week show that the network is all but dead, with one single Fox News program hauling in better ratings than seven of CNN’s programs combined, including its primetime lineup.
The ratings for Friday, Jan. 13, were astonishing, with Fox News’ The Five commanding the number one spot in all of cable news television.
Cable News Rankings Fri Jan 13
1⃣@TheFive @JesseBWatters @JudgeJeanine @GeraldoRivera @MarthaMacCallum* @PlanetTyrus*
2⃣@TuckerCarlson
3⃣@JessePrimetime
4⃣@BretBaier
5⃣@SeanHannity
6⃣@GutfeldFox!
7⃣@OutnumberedFNC
8⃣🔟@AmericaNewsroom @DanaPerino @BillHemmer
9⃣@JulieBanderas* pic.twitter.com/dXWHvHJpv0— RoadMN 📈 (@RoadMN) January 17, 2023
While that’s extremely impressive on its own, observers quickly pointed out that The Five’s ratings were so high that the popular afternoon program managed to beat all of CNN’s late afternoon and primetime programming combined.
“The 5pm hour on Fox News had more viewers than the combined CNN audiences of @jaketapper at 5pm, @wolfblitzer at 6pm, @ErinBurnett at 7pm, @andersoncooper at 8pm/9pm and @thelauracoates and @AlisynCamerota at 10pm/11pm,” one Twitter user wrote.
Here’s a quick clip of the Jan. 13 episode of the popular Fox show.
I think it is worth asking how and why this story is breaking now. #TheFive pic.twitter.com/dbZFZHmRM9
— Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) January 14, 2023
Joe Concha, columnist for The Hill and regular Fox News contributor, weighed in on the remarkable contrast between one single Fox News show and CNN’s entire stable of primetime programming.
“In all my years covering this stuff, I have ^never* seen anything like this before. One show at 5pm (The Five) beats *seven hours of programming combined* on a rival network (CNN)? That’s insane,” Concha tweeted.
In all my years covering this stuff, I have ^never* seen anything like this before. One show at 5pm (The Five) beats *seven hours of programming combined* on a rival network (CNN)? That's insane. https://t.co/AXtXft1lzJ
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) January 18, 2023
Not surprisingly, there was at least one Fox News hater in the comments who attempted to argue that the right-leaning network’s ratings are so high simply due to the loyalty of “angry old white people.” Concha quickly shut down that idea, as Fox News dominated the first 17 spots on the ratings chart of the coveted 25-54 demographic, which is really the only demo that matters to most advertisers.
Nope. Winning the younger demo too. pic.twitter.com/5d3NNNqYXA
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) January 19, 2023
Another Twitter user summarized the data perfectly, writing, “It’s almost like CNN really sucks…”
It looks as though Fox News is kicking off 2023 with a bang in the ratings department, continuing its 2022 success, as it was named the top-rated cable news network for the seventh consecutive year.
The Hill noted:
Fox News notched its seventh consecutive year as the top-rated cable news network in 2022. In total day viewers during the year, Fox averaged 1.4 million compared to 733,000 who watched MSNBC and 568,000 who watched CNN, according to Nielsen Media Research figures.
In the advertiser-rich weekday prime-time slot, Fox came in first with an average of 2.3 million viewers in 2022, with MSNBC netting 1.2 million and CNN coming in third with an average of 730,000.
With personalities like Greg Gutfeld, who also happens to be leading network television late-night comedy shows in the ratings with his own show called Gutfeld!, and popular hosts like Jesse Watters and Tucker Carlson, Fox News will undoubtedly continue to dominate the cable news game.
PJ Media’s Matt Margolis on Gutfeld’s rise to ratings domination:
From where I sit, it was inevitable for conservative comedy to eclipse left-wing comedy. Why? Because the left isn’t funny anymore. They’ve become so beholden to the outrage mob that they’ve essentially castrated their comedic cajones. When was the last time Saturday Night Live! was legitimately funny? How many times have you watched a movie that is ten, twenty, or more than thirty years old and thought, “They couldn’t make that joke anymore?”
So it shouldn’t be shocking that Republican viewers have flocked to Gutfeld! Comedy doesn’t belong to the left. Frankly, their constantly taking offense to jokes means they’ve forfeited comedy to the right.
Congrats to the co-hosts of The Five for the ongoing success, and for the love of God, please limit future appearances by Geraldo Rivera.
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