Fox News has marked an unprecedented 71 consecutive quarters as the most-watched cable news channel of all, according to Nielsen Media Research — this amounts to almost 18 years in first place.
In the coveted prime-time viewing hours, Fox News garnered an average 2.4 million viewers during the third quarter of this year, according to Nielsen Media Research. MSNBC drew 1.6 million viewers, and CNN attracted 883,000.
Fox News also has a consistent audience. It is of note that the number of Fox News prime-time viewers dropped by just 1% compared to the same time period in 2018. The number fell by 18% during that time on MSNBC, however.
Of the top five programs in cable news, four were broadcast Fox News. The viewer numbers: “Hannity” (3.3 million), “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (3 million), MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” (2.6 million), “The Ingraham Angle” (2.7 million) and “The Five” (2.6 million).
Ms. Maddow’s ratings are at her lowest since the first quarter of 2017, according to a comparison with previous Nielsen numbers.
Fox News also continues to best its non-news cable rivals such as ESPN and HGTV. Fox News finished the month of September as the highest-rated network in the entire cable realm for the 39th month in a row in total viewers and landed the top spot in total viewers for prime-time as well.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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