Fox News Channel continues to dominate the cable landscape. Of the top 100 cable telecasts in total viewers for the week of Dec. 13, the network aired 62 of them.
Each of the three significant outlets had something to tout about with their respective news offerings on the broadcast network front.
ABC’s five signature news shows performed well in the fourth quarter of 2021. According to Nielsen Media Research, their evening newscast “World News Tonight” averaged 8.160 million total viewers and 1.411 million among the key 25-54 demographic for the week of Dec. 13-17. That marked their 159th weekly victory (over NBC and CBS) of the past 160 weeks in total viewers, as well as their 88th win of the last 90 weeks in adults 25-54. In addition, “World News Tonight” has ranked No. 1 in total viewers for six consecutive seasons and both adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 for three straight seasons.
In the morning, ABC’s “Good Morning America” averaged 3.327 million total viewers for the fall 2021 season-to-date (from Sep. 20-Dec. 19), which ranks as the No. 1 morning newscast for the tenth consecutive year. In addition, ABC’s “The View,” with approximately 2.3 million viewers, rates No. 1 in the total audience among daytime network talk shows and news programs (most notably including the third and fourth hours of NBC’s “Today”).
ABC’s public affairs program “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” earned its fourth consecutive Sunday morning victory among adults 25-54. On Dec. 19, “This Week” delivered 470,000 viewers within that key demo, while CBS’ “Face the Nation” (465,000 adults 25-54 for the show’s first half-hour) and NBC’s “Meet the Press” (445,000 adults 25-54) were close behind. The recent demo victories have propelled “This Week” to its first overall Sunday morning lead among adults 25-54 at this point of the TV season (Sep. 20-Dec. 19) since 2015-16.
And finally, ABC’s long-running “20/20” accomplished something it has not done since the fall of 2015: topped NBC’s “Dateline” in all key figures to become Friday’s No. 1 newsmagazine. From Sep. 20 thru Dec. 19, “20/20” — which has recently increased its emphasis on true crime investigation content — averaged 4.128 million total viewers, 1.17 million adults 25-54, and 842,000 adults 18-49.
Over at CBS, it was business as usual for the venerable “60 Minutes” and “CBS Sunday Morning.” “60 Minutes” remained the No. 1 news program of all of television, as well as a top-10 show overall in total viewers. It averaged 9.71 million viewers, with 1.86 million of them in the key adults 25-54 demographic; in the fourth quarter of 2021, those figures more than doubled their nearest prime time news competitor (the aforementioned “20/20” from ABC).
“CBS Sunday Morning” marked its 18th consecutive year as the #1 Sunday morning news program (since 2003) across viewers and all key demographics. For Fall 2021, it delivered 5.532 million viewers, with 930,000 of them in adults 25-54. That success has transferred to its lead-out “Face The Nation” with host Margaret Brennan, as it earned the honor as the most-watched public affairs broadcast for the second straight year. 3.17 million total viewers, on average, tuned in to “Face The Nation” this fall, ahead of ABC by 271,000 viewers and of NBC by 327,000 viewers.
The recently-revamped “CBS Mornings” with Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, and Nate Burleson continued to improve upon recent weeks. For Dec. 13-17, it posted 2.6 million viewers (largest since August 2021), 578,000 of them in the adult 25-54 demo (best since May 2021), and 325,000 among women 25-54. In addition, the Dec. 18 edition of “CBS Saturday Mornings,” which reported on the rise of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant and the several closures because of it, delivered 2.11 million total viewers — the show’s largest mark since Feb. 6, 2021 (the day before the CBS broadcast of Super Bowl LV).
While more people watch ABC weekday mornings, advertisers still love NBC’s “Today.” For Dec. 13-17, the morning program drew 877,000 viewers within the 25-54 demographic, a +37,000 advantage over runner-up ABC’s “GMA.” “Today” has won 324 out of the last 329 weeks (a 6 year+4 month span) based on adults 25-54.
As an aside, Bret Baier anchored the Dec. 19 edition of the Sunday morning program “Fox News Sunday” — that delivered 1.01 million total viewers and 241,000 adults 25-54. That was a decline of -100,000 total viewers and -25,000 in 25-54 from the previous Sunday, where its former regular anchor Chris Wallace had announced his departure from Fox’s news department. Wallace will soon reappear on the upcoming streaming service CNN+, which will launch in early 2022.
Cable news averages for December 13-19, 2021:
Total Day (December 13-19 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.379 million viewers; 213,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.727 million viewers; 77,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.517 million viewers; 99,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.204 million viewers; 61,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.144 million viewers; 34,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.123 million viewers; 22,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.114 million viewers; 18,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.105 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (December 13-18 @ 8-11 p.m.; December 19 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.241 million viewers; 336,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.347 million viewers; 156,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.665 million viewers; 132,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.205 million viewers; 67,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.162 million viewers; 50,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.142 million viewers; 32,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.142 million viewers; 27,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.048 million viewers; 5,000 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 (Fox News Channel, Wed. 12/15/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.457 million viewers
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (Fox News Channel, Tue. 12/14/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.423 million viewers
3. The Five (Fox News Channel, Mon. 12/13/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.332 million viewers
4. The Five (Fox News Channel, Tue. 12/14/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.266 million viewers
5. The Five (Fox News Channel, Wed. 12/15/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.259 million viewers
6. The Five (Fox News Channel, Thu. 12/16/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.173 million viewers
7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (Fox News Channel, Mon. 12/13/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.119 million viewers
8. Hannity (Fox News Channel, Wed. 12/15/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.016 million viewers
9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (Fox News Channel, Thu. 12/16/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.950 million viewers
10. The Five (Fox News Channel, Fri. 12/17/2021 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.923 million viewers
16. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Tue. 12/14/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.428 million viewers
144. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, Tue. 12/14/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.013 million viewers
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
