It is well known in the television world that conservative-leaning Fox News always manages to dominate the cable news ratings.
Since its launch in 1996, Fox News’ soaring popularity has left an undeniable impact on national politics.
That is why Wednesday’s news that MSNBC had unseated Fox News as the overall top-rated cable news channel, even if just for a day, could send shockwaves through the political world.
It wasn’t that Americans were simply watching MSNBC.
It’s what they were watching: The Jan. 6 committee hearing in primetime.
The Democrat-controlled public hearings have been drawing eyeballs since debuting on June 9. They attracted even more attention after former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson‘s explosive sworn testimony that former President Donald Trump demanded to be taken to the U.S. Capitol after his rally before the riot, and lunged for the steering wheel of the presidential SUV after being denied by the U.S. Secret Service.
Critics quickly dismissed Hutchinson’s claims, but the dramatic headlines and attention her testimony created were undeniable.
That propelled MSNBC’s coverage of the Jan. 6 committee hearing on Tuesday to the top of the ratings.
According to AdWeek, MSNBC’s 1,796,000 daytime viewers just topped Fox News Channel’s 1,767,000 total. In primetime, MSNBC’s ratings again topped Fox News, 2,704,000 to 2,671,000.
CNN remained a distant third at 1,113,000 daytime viewers and 1,194,000 primetime viewers, AdWeek reported.
Tuesday’s viewership, especially during primetime, represents a dramatic rating twist. On average, Fox News had 2,200,000 primetime viewers over the past week while MSNBC had just 1,460,000.
According to a poll by The Associated Press--NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, opinions on the hearing breakdown predictably along political lines.
Before Tuesday, the poll said 56 percent of Americans have followed news about the Democrat-controlled congressional hearings, but only 42 percent said they had watched or listened.
The first broadcast hearing received its highest ratings, but before Tuesday overall the hearings had received small overall ratings.
Seventy-five percent of Democrats and 42 percent of Republicans say they followed news about the hearings. More Democrats than Republicans also say they tuned in, 58 to 27 percent, according to The Associated Press. 86 percent of Democrats — but only 10 percent of self-identified Republicans — say Trump should be charged with a crime.
Among Republicans, 68 percent say he should not be charged and 21 percent say they don’t know.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article