News of the Boulder, Colorado gunman who killed ten people at a grocery store, including a police officer, broke on Monday Mar. 22 during the 5 p.m. ET hour. CNN and MSNBC provided extensive coverage from Colorado while Fox News opted instead to air its regular prime time programming.
In terms of total viewers on Mar. 22, Fox News topped its cable news competition with an average of 2.65 million from 8-11 p.m. ET, according to Nielsen Media Research. Similar to the order of recent weeks at night, MSNBC (2.18 million) was cable news’ runner-up and CNN (1.9 million) trailed both. However, upon comparison to the prior Monday (Mar. 15), MSNBC and Fox News each slipped slightly — down 6 percent and down 3 percent, respectively — while CNN rose 54 percent. From 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., CNN saw double-digit viewer percentage gains per hour, emphasizing its go-to outlet status for breaking news events:
Monday, Mar. 22, 2021 vs. Monday, Mar. 15, 2021
(all times Eastern; viewer figures in millions)
7-8 p.m. — 1.395 million (vs. 1.212 million; +15 percent)
8-9 p.m. — 1.935 million (vs. 1.4 million; +38 percent)
9-10 p.m. — 1.728 million (vs. 1.224 million; +41 percent)
10-11 p.m. — 2.027 million (vs. 1.065 million; +90 percent)
11 p.m.-midnight — 1.2 million (vs. 0.687 million; +75 percent)
midnight-1 a.m. — 0.832 million (vs. 0.646 million; +29 percent)
1-2 a.m. — 0.667 million (vs. 0.601 million; +11 percent)
2-3 a.m. — 0.532 million (vs. 0.472 million; +13 percent)
CNN led that night among the key adults 25-54 demographic for news programming, averaging an approximate 536,000 viewers from 8-11 p.m. Fox News averaged 419,000; MSNBC 314,000 — all three cable news networks well above average from their respective normal 25-54 levels.
The extra attention to this tragedy comes on the heels of the spa shootings in Atlanta, Ga. from just six days prior, where eight people — all of whom Asian — had died.
Over the weekend, Mehdi Hasan’s new Sunday night MSNBC program generated its first viral moment on Mar. 21, thanks to his fiery debate with Republican congressman Dan Crenshaw from Texas about the topic of immigration. The viewership figures of Hasan’s show have remained consistent since its Feb. 28 launch:
Feb. 28 — 654,000 viewers
Mar. 7 — 560,000 viewers
Mar. 14 — 585,000 viewers
Mar. 21 — 586,000 viewers
Hasan also hosts a weekday news program on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service.
As for the week ending Mar. 21, Fox News Channel notched its fifth consecutive week as No. 1 in all of cable with total viewers. Both MSNBC and CNN dipped to its lowest total viewer levels of 2021, to date, but they remain as the No. 2 and No. 3 most-watched cable networks overall in total day, respectively.
Here are the cable news averages for Mar. 15-21, 2021 — the total viewer figures were cable’s three best marks for the week in total day:
Total Day (Mar. 15-21 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.237 million viewers; 198,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.997 million viewers; 127,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.755 million viewers; 180,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (Mar. 15-20 @ 8-11 p.m.; Mar. 21 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.289 million viewers; 351,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.710 million viewers; 225,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 1.107 million viewers; 269,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top CNN program and its associated rank) in total viewers:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 3/15/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.196 million viewers
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 3/18/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.181 million viewers
3. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Tue. 3/16/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.176 million viewers
4. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 3/15/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.034 million viewers
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 3/16/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.022 million viewers
6. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Wed. 3/17/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.008 million viewers
7. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Thu. 3/18/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.978 million viewers
8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 3/17/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.967 million viewers
9. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 3/15/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.924 million viewers
10. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 3/18/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.888 million viewers
73. Cuomo Prime Time (CNN, Thu. 3/18/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.436 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top CNN program and its associated rank) among adults 25-54:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 3/15/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.542 million adults 25-54
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 3/17/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.527 million adults 25-54
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 3/18/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.526 million adults 25-54
4. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Tue. 3/16/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.513 million adults 25-54
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 3/16/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.468 million adults 25-54
6. Hannity (FOXNC, Mon. 3/15/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.450 million adults 25-54
7. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 3/17/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.429 million adults 25-54
8. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 3/15/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.426 million adults 25-54
9. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 3/18/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.419 million adults 25-54
10. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Thu. 3/18/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.414 million adults 25-54
15. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, Wed. 3/17/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.372 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
