As reported last week, cable news was the main focus on TV for the week of Jan. 4, 2021 which was a whirlwind of current events in our nation, from the Georgia senate election results to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
CNN again showed it was the premier choice by viewers of cable news for breaking news. Wednesday, Jan. 6 marked CNN’s most-watched day in its network history (since 1980), averaging 5.221 million viewers, topping the previous record of 5.097 million on the day of the 2016 U.S. presidential election (Nov. 8, 2016).
Coverage of the U.S. Capitol riots especially propelled CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360”. The news program that aired in the 8 p.m. hour from Jan. 4-8 averaged 1.8 million adults 25-54, ranking as top prime time program within the demo in all of cable (including non-news shows).
On Sunday, Jan. 10 at 10 p.m., “CNN’s Special Report: The Trump Insurrection” anchored by Wolf Blitzer drew 3.319 million viewers and 883,000 among adults 25-54. It was cable’s most-watched non-sports telecast for the day; when including sports, the CNN special was runner-up to ESPN’s simulcast of the AFC Wild Card playoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans (5.58 million).
Each of the Big-3 broadcast networks also had something to boast about.
While stating “ABC World News Tonight with David Muir” as the top network evening news program is not a new development — it has topped its NBC and CBS competition since 2016 — it extended its season lead during the chaotic week, averaging 10.13 million viewers for Jan. 4-8, 2021; +1.56 million over “NBC Nightly News” (Nielsen did not count Jan. 6 in NBC’s weeknight average) and +2.61 million over the “CBS Evening News.” It was the most-watched week for “ABC World News Tonight” since May 4-8, 2020.
NBC public affairs program “Meet the Press” topped its direct competition on the morning of Sunday Jan. 10 among total viewers and adults 25-54. The Chuck Todd-hosted telecast averaged 4.515 million viewers (its best since Mar. 29, 2020) and 1.095 million adults 25-54 (its best since Apr. 12, 2020). Todd interviewed Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.); former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney; and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. For the sake of comparison, the half-hour edition of CBS’s “Face the Nation” (4.451 million viewers/829,000 adults 25-54) was close behind, followed by ABC’s “This Week” (3.941 million viewers/825,000 adults 25-54) and “Fox News Sunday” (1.460 million viewers/448,000 adults 25-54).
Later on Sunday night, an average of 14.8 million viewers checked out “60 Minutes” on CBS. Lesley Stahl interviewed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Scott Pelley reported on President Trump’s attempt to influence the state of Georgia’s vote count. This marked the fifteenth consecutive week the newsmagazine ranked in the top ten TV shows according to total viewers; also, it was its top edition since Oct. 25, 2020 and the No. 1 show of the week for non-sports telecasts (though, heavily assisted from the 28+ million of the Bears-Saints playoff that immediately aired prior to it) — +6.65 million more than the next most-watched non-sports show: ABC’s “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” from Jan. 7 (8.15 million viewers).
Here are the cable news prime time averages for Jan. 4-10, 2021:
Total Day (6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- CNN: 2.772 million viewers; 880,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 2.286 million viewers; 454,000 adults 25-54
- Fox News Channel: 1.680 million viewers; 335,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (Jan. 4-9 @ 8-11 p.m.; Jan. 10 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- CNN: 4.176 million viewers; 1,347,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 3.782 million viewers; 826,000 adults 25-54
- Fox News Channel: 3.188 million viewers; 592,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top Fox News program and its associated rank) in total viewers:
1. Breaking News: Mob Attacks U.S. Capitol (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 10.168 million viewers
2. Breaking News: Mob Attacks U.S. Capitol (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 10.051 million viewers
3. Breaking News: Mob Attacks U.S. Capitol (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 3:00 PM, 60 min.) 9.037 million viewers
4. Breaking News: Mob Attacks U.S. Capitol (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 8.807 million viewers
5. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 8.800 million viewers
6. Cuomo Prime Time (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 8.725 million viewers
7. MSNBC Special Coverage: Congress Certifies 2020 Election (MSNBC, Wed. 1/6/2021 8:06 PM, 54 min.) 8.448 million viewers
8. Erin Burnett Outfront (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 8.167 million viewers
9. CNN Tonight (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 7.748 million viewers
10. Rachel Maddow Show: Congress Certifies 2020 Election (MSNBC, Wed. 1/6/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 7.733 million viewers
13. Bill Hemmer Reports (FOXNC, Wed. 1/6/2021 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 6.532 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top MSNBC and Fox News programs and its associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. Breaking News: Mob Attacks U.S. Capitol (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.682 million adults 25-54
2. Breaking News: Mob Attacks U.S. Capitol (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.586 million adults 25-54
3. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.314 million adults 25-54
4. Cuomo Prime Time (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.277 million adults 25-54
5. Breaking News: Mob Attacks U.S. Capitol (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.149 million adults 25-54
6. Erin Burnett Outfront (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.065 million adults 25-54
7. Breaking News: Mob Attacks U.S. Capitol (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 3:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.057 million adults 25-54
8. CNN Tonight (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.001 million adults 25-54
9. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 11:00 PM, 80 min.) 2.554 million adults 25-54
10. CNN Special Coverage: Congress Certifies the 2020 Election (CNN, Wed. 1/6/2021 12:20 AM, 40 min.) 2.276 million adults 25-54
11. MSNBC Special Coverage: Congress Counts The Vote (MSNBC, Wed. 1/6/2021 8:06 PM, 54 min.) 2.207 million adults 25-54
17. Special Report with Bret Baier (FOXNC, Wed. 1/6/2021 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.691 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
