Fox News Channel has consistently pulled the highest ratings of all big three cable news giants. Sure enough, the network remained ahead of both CNN and MSNBC during the month of March and the first quarter of 2022, according to Nielsen data released by Adweek.
However, Fox News has also seen some surprises in the data.
For the last two quarters, the network has found unexpected success with The Five, a talk show hosted by a panel.
The Five airs at 5 p.m. on weekdays, and it sometimes cuts away to breaking news. Still, despite its undesirable timeslot, The Five has pulled the largest number of total viewers of any cable news program in the last two quarters — more than Hannity, more than Tucker Carlson Tonight, and more than Jesse Watters Primetime.
Megan Albano, senior vice president at Fox News, offered her theory about the success of the show. “The hosts do a good job of taking the issues seriously, but not taking themselves seriously,” she told Variety Tuesday.
The five hosts — Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Jesse Watters, Jeanine Pirro, and Geraldo Rivera — discuss all kinds of current events, from international affairs to pop culture.
For example, they opened their Monday broadcast by debating whether Will Smith could be prosecuted for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. Then Jeanine Pirro cracked a joke about Cecily Strong’s recurring impersonation of her on Saturday Night Live.
In other words, The Five has found a way to work around audience burnout.
The Fox News senior vice president also attributed the show’s success to “a built-in checks and balances system.” In her view, the hosts can push each other, and so they all enjoy more room to think out loud.
However, other networks have found less success with the format of The Five. MSNBC used to air a similar show called The Cycle… but canceled it after three years.
MSNBC still hosts a panel of talk show hosts on Morning Joe, but the network is still seeing more success with its primetime pundits, like the guest hosts on The Rachel Maddow Show.
In fact, MSNBC has been hemorrhaging viewers. The liberal “news” network shed a whopping 46 percent of its total primetime viewers from the previous quarter, after it temporarily lost its biggest star: Rachel Maddow.
CNN is faring slightly better. The cable news channel, known for its sensational tone, has seen its ratings rise in March during Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine. The network seems to have survived the departure of former anchor Chris Cuomo.
Still, Fox News reigned supreme in the first quarter. It was home to each of the ten most-watched shows on cable news.
Amid all these viewers, the network may raise ad prices to compete with satellite networks like NBC and ABC.
“When we look at the pricing and distribution, we’re competing now on ratings with the broadcast networks,” Fox News kingpin Rupert Murdoch told Variety. “So we don’t compare ourselves in pricing to other cable channels. So it’s really almost a broadcast retransmission pricing.”
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