Fox News Chanel averaged 2.4 million viewers during the 8 to 11 P.M. Eastern hours for the week of July 7th through the 13th. It's the third week in a row that conservative-leaning Fox News has led the ratings.
According to Neilson, that is better than NBC and shows like Chicago Fire, CBS, and dramas like Tracker, FBI, and NCIS, and ABC Abbot Elementary. Liberal news, such as CNN and MSNBC, has seen a decline in year-over primetime viewership by 13% and 15% respectively. Meanwhile, Fox News primetime viewership has increased 25%.
Tim Graham of Media Research Center says part of the reason for this is that Americans are streaming most of their entertainment TV through Hulu or Amazon or Netflix.
“The unique appeal of a Fox News is going to be greater than that dramatic expanse of choices you have now in watching fictional television programming,” Graham says.
In fact, Graham says the number of Americans who are streaming content is about the same or greater than broadcast and cable television combined. But, he says, Fox News also has found a way to make their news programming entertaining as well.
Fox News has made an effort to expand into new media, as seen in partnering with the conservative variety podcast Ruthless and signing Gen Z conservative podcaster Brett Cooper to the company. Fox also bought the conservative sports streaming service Outkick a couple years ago, but that is not all.
“They have created innovative shows that haven't succeeded elsewhere. Fox creates The Five. MSNBC tried a show like that; it just did not take off,” Graham continues.
He says Fox News is also winning the late-night battle, because Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel and the rest have become political advertisements.
“Comedy is not the main item. They're not trying to make you laugh. They're trying to say all the right things about politics, and that's why Gutfeld is drawing an audience. That's still a comedy show. It certainly has a point of view but it's about making you laugh,” explains Graham.
