It is an uncommon phenomenon in the news media, a field often marked by constant change and shifting business models.
Fox News Channel, however, has defied the odds, emerging as the No. 1 rated cable news network for 17 consecutive years, this according to rating numbers released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. Fox News executives credit a devoted audience and good journalism for the victory.
“We are thrilled to kick off 2019 with a major milestone in marking 17 consecutive years as the number one cable news network due in no small part to our incredibly loyal audience. Our premiere team of journalists and opinion hosts continue to dominate the competition, proving once again they are the best in the business,” said FOX News CEO Suzanne Scott and FOX News President Jay Wallace said in a joint statement.
Basic numbers reveal all: Fox News averaged 1.3 million viewers during the day, compared to 1.1 million for MSNBC and 821,000 for CNN. In all-important primetime, Fox News drew 2.2. million, MSNBC 1.9 million and CNN 1.2 million.
Evening favorite Sean Hannity remains a heavy draw with 3 million viewers, followed by Tucker Carson with 2.8 million.
The network has done very well in major political programming as well, often outpacing the “Big Three” broadcast networks ABC, NBC and CBS. Consider that the first GOP presidential debate on Aug. 5, 2015 was hosted by a Fox News team which included then-anchor Megyn Kelly. It drew an unprecedented 24 million viewers — emerging as the highest rated cable news program in history.
Fox News also won in the 2018 midterm elections, besting all competition from both broadcast and cable news rivals during their coverage with 7.8. million viewers. NBC came in second with 5.7 million viewers, followed by ABC (5.2 million), CNN (5 million) and MSNBC (4.7 million). CBS landed in last place with 3.9 million viewers.
In addition, Fox News also marks 31 consecutive months as the most watched network in the entire cable realms throughout the day, beating such heavyweight favorites as HGTV and the Hallmark Channel. In primetime, Fox News landed in second place, with sports-heavy ESPN in the top slot.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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