The two biggest news stories of the week — one global and one domestic — dominated the cable landscape for the week ending Aug. 29.
With live breaking news coverage in the wake of the deadly explosions at Afghanistan’s Kabul airport from Thursday, Aug. 26, Fox News Channel widened its lead over its cable competition. Their most-watched hour was 5-6 p.m. ET when President Biden addressed the bombing, averaging 5.85 million total viewers and 1.16 million within the key adults 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research. CNN merely eclipsed MSNBC in total viewers (1.78 million vs. 1.74 million), but had the clearer advantage in 25-54 (407,000 vs. 216,000). Note: MSNBC’s figures were only from 5:24-5:54 p.m. ET.
As for coverage of the day’s other briefings from Washington, D.C., also from Aug. 26:
The Pentagon
- Fox News (3:00-4:00 p.m. ET): 3.552 million viewers; 711,000 adults 25-54
- CNN (3:00-4:00 p.m. ET): 1.569 million viewers; 308,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC (3:00-3:27 p.m. ET): 1.122 million viewers; 182,000 adults 25-54
The White House
- Fox News (6:00-7:00 p.m. ET): 4.237 million viewers; 833,000 adults 25-54
- CNN (6:00-7:00 p.m. ET): 1.490 million viewers; 388,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC (6:08-6:48 p.m. ET): 1.435 million viewers; 210,000 adults 25-54
In the prime time window, Fox News not only continued to lead the cable news networks, averaging 4.7 million viewers and 946,000 A25-54 from 8-11 p.m. on Aug. 26, but also bested the broadcast networks in each key ratings category. In addition, Afghanistan coverage has boosted Fox News to be the No. 1 network in total viewers in all of television in weeknight prime time (Monday thru Friday) for the second consecutive week. For Aug. 23-27, averaged 3.46 million total viewers, beating NBC (2.96 million), CBS (2.56 million) and ABC (2.51 million).
The Weather Channel has seen increased attention in August which marks the annual start of hurricane season. This past week, the network reached its zenith for the year, to date, due to the tracking of Hurricane Ida which ultimately made landfall in New Orleans and other neighboring Louisiana towns on Sunday, Aug. 29 — the exact date of the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and its devastation upon the same region. The Category-4 storm knocked out power to several cities and caused massive flooding; the peak of its effects (from 5-6 p.m. ET on Aug. 29) ranked as the week’s sixth-largest cable news telecast in adults 25-54 delivery (718,000 viewers within the demo). While Ida has encompassed the vast majority of coverage, The Weather Channel has also focused on the fires of Northern California which have raged for the past three weeks and have turned the normally pristine atmosphere of resort town Lake Tahoe into an ashy landscape with a blood-red sky. Nearly 700 homes have been destroyed.
Here are the cable news averages for August 23-29, 2021.
Total Day (August 23-29 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.864 million viewers; 333,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.792 million viewers; 101,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.753 million viewers; 168,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.402 million viewers; 100,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.196 million viewers; 64,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.160 million viewers; 26,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.134 million viewers; 33,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.092 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (August 23-28 @ 8-11 p.m.; August 29 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 3.104 million viewers; 537,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.411 million viewers; 185,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.962 million viewers; 231,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.471 million viewers; 130,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.228 million viewers; 75,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.187 million viewers; 60,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.172 million viewers; 32,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.057 million viewers; 7,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top MSNBC, The Weather Channel and CNN programs with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 5.850 million viewers
2. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 5.445 million viewers
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.992 million viewers
4. Special Report with Bret Baier (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.237 million viewers
5. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 8/24/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.165 million viewers
6. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.750 million viewers
7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 8/25/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.711 million viewers
8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 8/23/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.697 million viewers
9. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 8/27/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.694 million viewers
10. Fox News Primetime (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.653 million viewers
32. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Thu. 8/26/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.565 million viewers
34. Weather Channel Live “Live Coverage: Tracking Ida” (TWC, Sun. 8/29/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.543 million viewers
109. The Lead With Jake Tapper (CNN, Thu. 8/26/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.784 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top CNN and MSNBC programs with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.160 million adults 25-54
2. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.094 million adults 25-54
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.958 million adults 25-54
4. Special Report with Bret Baier (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.833 million adults 25-54
5. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.785 million adults 25-54
6. Weather Channel Live “Live Coverage: Tracking Ida” (TWC, Sun. 8/29/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.718 million adults 25-54
7. The Story (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 3:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.711 million adults 25-54
8. Fox News Primetime (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.682 million adults 25-54
9. Your World with Neil Cavuto (FOXNC, Thu. 8/26/2021 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.682 million adults 25-54
10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 8/23/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.668 million adults 25-54
55. The Lead With Jake Tapper (CNN, Thu. 8/26/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.407 million adults 25-54
66. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Thu. 8/26/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.390 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
