On Tuesday, July 27, the House select committee held a hearing investigating the events of Jan. 6. Four of the officers who had been at the U.S. Capitol on that fateful day — DC Metropolitan Police Officers Daniel Hodges and Michael Fanone, plus Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Sgt. Aquilino Gonell — testified about the physical and mental toll they experienced from the insurrection. Dunn said to the committee, “More than six months later, January 6 still isn’t over for me,”, then later added, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking professional counseling. What we went through that day was traumatic.“
The focus on mental health is especially relevant amidst recent pronouncements in the sports world about the topic from superstar tennis player Naomi Osaka, gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Michael Phelps.
MSNBC and CNN shared top honors in cable news for covering the hearing. From 9 a.m.-1:21 p.m. Eastern on July 27, MSNBC averaged 1.479 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. This bested CNN’s four-hour average (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) by 100,000 viewers. Among adults 25-54, CNN was the clear victor averaging 235,000 viewers within the key demographic; MSNBC drew 158,000.
Fox News Channel trailed their competition during the House hearing with an average of 817,000 viewers and 115,000 adults 25-54 from 9:32 a.m. thru 1 p.m. Eastern.
The following is an hourly breakdown of CNN and Fox News during the July 27 hearing:
CNN 9-10 a.m. — 0.771 million viewers; 102,000 adults 25-54
FNC 9:32-10 a.m. — 0.953 million viewers; 124,000 adults 25-54
CNN 10-11 a.m. — 1.126 million viewers; 176,000 adults 25-54
FNC 10-11 a.m. — 0.835 million viewers; 107,000 adults 25-54
CNN 11 a.m.-noon — 1.405 million viewers; 212,000 adults 25-54
FNC 11 a.m.-noon — 0.818 million viewers; 127,000 adults 25-54
CNN noon-1 p.m. — 1.502 million viewers; 256,000 adults 25-54
FNC noon-1 p.m. — 0.736 million viewers; 108,000 adults 25-54
On the positive front for Fox News, they extended their overall winning streak over MSNBC and CNN in total day and prime time viewers to 24 weeks. In addition, they also topped an Olympics-infused USA Network for the second consecutive week; for the week ending Aug. 1, FNC bested USA by +351,000 viewers in total day (1.179 million vs. 778,000) and by +284,000 viewers in prime time (1.986 million vs. 1.702 million). USA Network did manage to lead all of cable among adults 25-54 in each time frame (301,000 in total day; 661,000 in prime time).
Here are the cable news averages for July 26-August 1, 2021 — Fox News Channel extended their streak to 24 weeks being cable’s top network in total viewers based on total day data.
Total Day (July 26-August 1 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.129 million viewers; 170,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.751 million viewers; 99,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.558 million viewers; 110,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (July 26-31 @ 8-11 p.m.; August 1 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.986 million viewers; 272,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.127 million viewers; 157,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.706 million viewers; 150,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top MSNBC and CNN programs with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 7/27/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.013 million viewers
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 7/28/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.878 million viewers
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 7/29/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.835 million viewers
4. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 7/27/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.766 million viewers
5. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 7/28/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.675 million viewers
6. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 7/26/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.660 million viewers
7. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 7/29/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.642 million viewers
8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 7/26/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.583 million viewers
9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 7/30/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.518 million viewers
10. Hannity (FOXNC, Mon. 7/26/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.439 million viewers
18. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Tue. 7/27/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.934 million viewers
34. Investigation Insurrection (CNN, Tue. 7/27/2021 1:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.516 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top MSNBC, CNN, CNBC and HLN programs with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 7/28/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.454 million adults 25-54
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 7/27/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.449 million adults 25-54
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 7/26/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.394 million adults 25-54
4. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 7/28/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.380 million adults 25-54
5. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 7/27/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.376 million adults 25-54
6. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 7/29/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.372 million adults 25-54
7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 7/30/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.349 million adults 25-54
8. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 7/29/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.341 million adults 25-54
9. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 7/26/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.338 million adults 25-54
10. Hannity (FOXNC, Mon. 7/26/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.334 million adults 25-54
15. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Tue. 7/27/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.302 million adults 25-54
17. Investigation Insurrection (CNN, Tue. 7/27/2021 1:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.297 million adults 25-54
123. Forensic Files II “The Black Hole” (HLN, Sun. 8/1/2021 11:30 PM, 30 min.) 0.163 million adults 25-54
126. Summer Olympic Prime Plus (CNBC, Thu. 7/29/2021 12:00 AM, 120 min.) 0.162 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
