Fox News Tops March And Q1 Ratings, But News Network Audiences Continue To Drop Versus 2022; CNN Sees Steep Primetime Decline
28.03.2023 - 21:15
/ deadline.com
Fox News topped March ratings, but all of the major news networks saw double digit erosion from the same month in 2022.
CNN saw some of the steepest declines, with it primetime audience down 61% from March of 2022, and dropping 73% in the 25-54 demo.
One factor: The lack of a dominant news story. The Ukraine war dominated the news cycle in the same period a year ago, and CNN actually saw a viewership spike back then.
But the network has been trying to retool its 9 PM ET hour, scheduling special townhalls and one-on-one interviews. The network has said that the programming is a bit of an experiment that has not seen a full promotional push, while sources say it has been talking to figures like Gayle King and Charles Barkley about hosting a weekly show in the slot. The network also is launching an overhaul of its daytime lineup next month.
While CNN beat MSNBC in the 25-54 primetime demo during the first quarter, it was edged out by the NBCU network during March.
Meanwhile, a bright spot among new show launches is MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki, which airs at Noon ET on Sunday. It averaged 1.06 million viewers in its second week, beating the competition on Fox News and CNN. In the 25-54 demo, it averaged 125,000 viewers, to CNN with 97,000 and Fox News with 140,000.
For the month, Fox News topped primetime with an average of 2.09 million viewers, down 27%, versus MSNBC with 1.14 million, down 12%, and CNN with 473,000, off by 61%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News topped with 245,000, down 54%, followed by MSNBC with 107,000, down 42%, and CNN with 100,000, down 73%.
In total day, Fox News averaged 1.32 million, down 27%, followed by MSNBC with 701,000, down 10%, and CNN with 425,000, down 52%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News