Fox News finished third to both CNN and MSNBC across the board in the ratings on Friday for the third straight day—the first time since September 2000.
In the wake of President Donald Trump inciting an insurrectionist mob to storm the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s election, cable news viewers flocked to CNN and MSNBC for live coverage of the riots and fallout.
On Wednesday, CNN averaged 5.941 million total viewers and 2.074 million in the key 25-54 demographic for the entire day, compared to MSNBC’s 4.543 million viewers overall and 1.106 million demo audience and Fox News’ total audience of 3.464 million and 852,000 in the demo.
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The disparity increased on Thursday, with CNN drawing 3.854 million total viewers, MSNBC averaging 3.321 million, and Fox pulling in 1.935 million for the day. CNN also led in the demo, nabbing 1.193 million with MSNBC finishing second at 653,000 and Fox bringing in the rear at 384,000.
The streak continued on Friday as CNN finished first once again with 3.121 million total viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 2.816 million and FNC’s 1.702 million. In the total day demo, CNN drew 878,000 viewers, compared to MSNBC’s 512,000 and Fox News’ 320,000. MSNBC, meanwhile, experienced its highest-rated week ever, averaging a total of 3.1 million viewers.
Fox News, which finished 2020 as the most-watched network in cable news history, has seen a ratings decline since the election, resulting in the conservative-leaning channel overhauling its weekday lineup on Monday.
