Fox News Channel outperformed cable competitors MSNBC and CNN in the month of May, with primetime talk shows Hannity and Tucker Carlson Tonight ranking number one and number two, respectively, with viewers in the 25-54 age demographic.
Fox was the most-watched cable news channel for the 35th month in a row, according to Nielsen Media Research. In contrast, CNN experienced its lowest ratings since August 2015 and MSNBC since December 2016. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show saw its lowest viewership since President Donald Trump took office and CNN's Cuomo Prime Time had its lowest ratings since the show's launch.
Overall, Fox shows took 10 of the top 15 spots for cable news programs, with Hannity, Tucker Carlson Tonight, The Ingraham Angle and The Five taking top spots both overall and in the 25-54 age demographic. During primetime hours, Fox averaged a total of 2,388,000 viewers, beating CNN’s 761,000 and MSNBC’s 1,654,000 total viewers. Within the 25-54 demographic Fox secured 377,000 viewers, well above CNN’s 185,000 and MSNBC’s 242,000.
Fox performed even better in daytime numbers, with a total average of 1,342,000 viewers, against CNN’s 553,000 and MSNBC’s 912,000. In the 25-54 demographic, Fox averaged 231,000, beating CNN's 137,000 and MSNBC's 134,000.
Additionally, Fox's late-night comedy weekend shows beat out their competitors. The Greg Gutfeld Show, which airs on Saturdays, held an average of 1,813,000 total viewers, beating ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! and NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and CBS’s Late Late Show with James Corden, each of which secured a little over 1 million viewers on average.
Fox's town hall interviews with 2020 Democratic candidates have also beat CNN's and MSNBC's night time programs, with a recent town hall for South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg beating ratings for the other networks combined. Similarly, Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I., Vt.) Fox town hall beat out every other 2020 Democratic town hall on any network.