Fox News has finally toppled ESPN as the most-watched network on cable even as CNN has lost a whopping 90 percent of its audience in the last year.
After 2021 came to an end, Fox became the number one basic cable network from Jan. 2-9 this year, the network reported.
But, CNN was not so fortunate:
CNN averaged 2.7 million viewers from Jan. 4-10 last year as the network experienced a brief post-election spike but plummeted to only 548,000 average viewers last week, for a stunning year-over-year drop of 80% of its total audience.
During the same time periods, Fox News averaged 1.4 million total viewers last week for only a 15% drop compared to the first full week of 2021, when a jam-packed news cycle that included the Capitol riot ensued. Fox News has now outdrawn CNN and MSNBC combined for 21 straight weeks. Fox also outdrew NFL-heavy ESPN’s 1.1 million viewers to finish as the most-watched basic cable option.
CNN’s eye-popping decline is even worse among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, as the liberal network shed 86% of its viewers and finished last week with only 113,000 average viewers in the critical category after averaging 822,000 a year ago.
Among the demographic of people age 18-49, CNN shed nearly 90% of its 2021 audience by dropping from 624,000 younger viewers to a dismal 73,000.
MSNBC also lost significant viewers, losing 67 percent of its total audience numbers, and a worse 83 percent of its younger viewers.
As Fox kicks off its great year, the network also announced its newest prime time host by noting that fan favorite Jesse Watters will be the permanent host for the 7 p.m. hour.
“Jesse Watters has been named host of FOX News Channel’s (FNC) 7 PM/ET hour, announced Suzanne Scott, CEO of FOX News Media,” the network said in a press release. “The one-hour program, entitled Jesse Watters Primetime, will launch on January 24th. Mr. Watters will remain a co-host of The Five, which is among the highest rated shows in cable news and will relinquish his weekend show Watters’ World. A new 8 PM/ET Saturday night program will be announced at a later date.”
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