Post by the Scribe on Jun 27, 2021 18:15:34 GMT
BREAKING|Jan 16, 2021,12:29pm EST|449,390 views
Fox News Viewership Plummets: First Time Behind CNN And MSNBC In Two Decades
www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2021/01/16/fox-news-viewership-plummets-first-time-behind-cnn-and-msnbc-in-two-decades/?sh=6a046cc75342
Tommy Beer Forbes Staff
TOPLINE Fox News Channel, owned by Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp, has dominated the rating books since the start of the 21st-century, but over the first two weeks of 2021, it has averaged fewer viewers throughout the day than both CNN and MSNBC, and the numbers have been especially stark since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the subsequent impeachment of President Trump.
Protestors Call On Advertisers To Pull Their Ads From Fox News
Traffic on Sixth Avenue passes by advertisements featuring Fox News personalities, including Bret ... [+] GETTY IMAGES
KEY FACTS
While Fox News has dominated cable news for the better part of 20 years, it has also been the most-watched basic cable network for the past five years, with its highest ratings ever in 2020.
www.foxnews.com/media/fox-news-finishes-2020-as-most-watched-cable-news-channel-in-history
Yet Fox's ratings have dipped since Election Day, with average viewership reportedly down approximately 20% compared to pre-November levels.
view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/1610762672733bdaeda665d15/raw
Over the first full week of 2021 (Jan. 4 through Jan. 10), CNN ranked first among cable networks (roughly 2.8 million viewers per day; 4.2 million in primetime) followed by MSNBC (2.3 million per day ;3.8 million in primetime) and Fox News in third (1.7 million per day; 3.2 million in primetime).
www.reuters.com/article/us-fox-ratings/fox-news-lands-third-in-cable-news-ratings-with-riot-elections-coverage-idUSKBN29H32L
Over the first two weeks of 2021, Fox averaged nearly 800,000 fewer total day viewers than MSNBC, and around 1 million fewer than CNN, according to Mediate, and every day since Jan. 4, Fox has trailed both MSNBC and CNN in the crucial age 25-54 demographic.
www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-news-is-on-a-historic-run-at-last-place-in-cable-news-here-are-the-reasons-why/
Jan. 6, the day the U.S Capitol was ransacked, was CNN's most-watched day in the network's history, and in primetime that evening, CNN averaged 8.2 million viewers, nearly double the viewership of Fox News (4.6 million).
cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2021/01/07/yesterday-was-cnns-most-watched-day-in-history/
KEY BACKGROUND:
A Mediate post earlier this week detailed how the recent, historic news cycle has been "perfect fodder" for CNN and MSNBC. As those two networks zeroed in on chaos caused by pro-Trump supporters in and around the Capitol and the subsequent impeachment proceedings, Fox News has "opted to cover lesser stories, like tech censorship, in prime time." In addition, Newsmax and OAN, smaller rival networks that have been promoted by Trump, have chipped away at Fox's ratings. Many pundits have also pointed out the hypocrisy evident from popular Fox hosts in their coverage of the violent insurrectionists that attacked the Capitol. As of last Saturday, according to the New York Times, no Fox News prime-time star had blamed Trump for his role in inciting the riot that resulted in five deaths. On the night of Jan 6., Fox News' Tucker Carlson condemned the violence that took place, but he also expressed sympathy for many of the "deeply frustrated" Trump supporters who engaged in the attack, explaining that "millions of Americans sincerely believe the last election was fake," striking a sharp contrast to how Carlson and others have characterized protesters affiliated with the Black Lives Matters movement. Over the summer, Carlson described BLM as "poison," yet, Carlson referred to the pro-Trump mob as "kind of solid Americans." Fox News host Laura Ingraham told her viewers that night, without offering any evidence, that the rioters "were likely not all Trump supporters" and that "because of a small contingent of loons, these patriots have been unfairly maligned."
www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-news-is-on-a-historic-run-at-last-place-in-cable-news-here-are-the-reasons-why/
www.cnn.com/2020/12/08/media/newsmax-fox-news-ratings/index.html
www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/business/media/fox-news-trump-tv.html
www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2021/01/07/fox-news-host-who-called-blm-poison-says-pro-trump-mob-made-up-of-solid-americans/?sh=32bba2de6829
CRUCIAL QUOTE:
"The unified wall of support for Trump has splintered after last week's assault on the Capitol," said Mark Lukasiewicz, a former TV executive and who now serves as Dean of Hofstra's School of Communication. "Tristan Harris famously said that social networks are about 'affirmation, not information' — and the same can be said about cable news, especially in primetime."
view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/1610762672733bdaeda665d15/raw
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
In years past, Fox News has seen its audience dip after the election of Democratic presidents. This was evident in 2008 and 2012 when Barack Obama won, but the Network's ratings quickly bounced back. According to the L.A. Times, citing Nielsen data, Fox News "can fare better when railing against a White House administration rather than having to defend it."
TANGENT:
The New York Times reported earlier this week that "Trump TV” —a much-rumored media company the president might take after leaving office—“which could have posed a significant challenge for Fox News in 2021, now appears less of a threat." The Times cites industry experts who claim "the reputational damage" sustained by Trump "in the wake of the riots — and his abandonment by allies and donors — has severely hurt his ability to get a viable Fox News competitor off the ground."
www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/business/media/fox-news-trump-tv.html
BIG NUMBER:
$43 million. Sean Hannity, the highest-paid star on Fox, earned a total of $43 million in 2020, according to Forbes data.
www.forbes.com/profile/sean-hannity/?sh=36f0bd6c772e
FURTHER READING:
Trump Called BLM Protesters' Thugs' But Capitol-Storming Supporters' Very Special' (Forbes)
www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2021/01/06/trump-called-blm-protesters-thugs-but-capitol-storming-supporters-very-special/?sh=4971b1c83465
Fox News Host Who Called BLM' Poison' Says Pro-Trump Mob Made Up Of 'Solid Americans' (Forbes)
www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2021/01/07/fox-news-host-who-called-blm-poison-says-pro-trump-mob-made-up-of-solid-americans/?sh=32bba2de6829
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Tommy Beer
www.twitter.com/TommyBeer
I'm a New York-based news desk reporter for Forbes covering sports, politics and business. Please feel free to contact me via email (tsbeer7 [@] gmail.com) or Twitter (@tommybeer).