“World News Tonight” anchor David Muir recorded an exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which aired on ABC on March 7th. Zelenskyy answered U.S. and NATO concerns over his pleas for a no-fly zone over his country and offered a message to the American people.
This edition of the evening news program delivered 8.98 million total viewers and 1.71 million in the key 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research. It easily bested their competition, “NBC Nightly News” (7.84 million viewers / 1.53 million adults 25-54) and the “CBS Evening News” (5.69 million viewers / 0.92 million adults 25-54).
CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” has continued to remain late night’s most-watched program. Like Colbert’s previous nightly show, “The Colbert Report,” the talk show has featured several government figures and media insiders, more so than their talk show competition. With discussions in recent weeks surrounding the Ukrainian crisis, here are how each of those editions (in total viewers) with their respective guests had drawn:
• Feb. 23 — Journalist John Heilemann; political adviser Mark McKinnon; Jennifer Palmieri, former White House communications director: 1.99 million
• Feb. 24 — Journalist Julia Ioffe: 2.35 million
• Mar. 1 — Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT): 2.16 million
• Mar. 2 — Fiona Hill, former Russia adviser to the White House: 1.99 million
• Mar. 7 — CNN’s Anderson Cooper: 2.42 million
• Mar. 9 — Michael McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia: 2.43 million
• Mar. 10 — Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine: 2.37 million
In addition, on Feb. 28 (attracting 2.23 million), Colbert paid tribute to the program’s exiting showrunner Chris Licht, who had been with “Late Show” for the past six years. He will be the new CEO of CNN, replacing the recently-resigned Jeff Zucker.
With the exception of Feb. 23 (the start of Russia’s invasion), “The Late Show” posted late night’s top total audience on all of television for each aforementioned date.
Over on cable, Fox News Channel, CNN, and MSNBC (in this order) remained cable television’s three most-watched networks (based on total viewers in total day data) for the third consecutive week, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its third week.
Cable news averages for March 7-13, 2022:
Total Day (March 7-13 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.820 million viewers; 350,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.887 million viewers; 230,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.771 million viewers; 108,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.217 million viewers; 64,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.152 million viewers; 21,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.141 million viewers; 35,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.126 million viewers; 22,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.110 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (March 7-12 @ 8-11 p.m.; March 13 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.825 million viewers; 528,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.216 million viewers; 178,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 1.133 million viewers; 340,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.240 million viewers; 72,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.213 million viewers; 26,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.175 million viewers; 67,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.152 million viewers; 27,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.045 million viewers; 7,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top MSNBC program with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 3/8/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.371 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 3/7/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.245 million viewers
3. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 3/8/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.038 million viewers
4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 3/7/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.007 million viewers
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 3/9/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.989 million viewers
6. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 3/10/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.912 million viewers
7. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 3/9/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.871 million viewers
8. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 3/10/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.791 million viewers
9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 3/10/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.571 million viewers
10. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 3/11/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.517 million viewers
78. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Wed. 3/9/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.881 million viewers
124. The Lead with Jake Tapper (CNN, Mon. 3/7/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.427 million viewers
• Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, Fri. 3/11/2022 10:01 PM, 58 min.) 0.884 million viewers
• Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 3/13/2022 11:01 PM, 30 min.) 0.664 million viewers
• Daily Show (CMDY, Wed. 3/09/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.436 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top MSNBC program with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 3/8/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.878 million adults 25-54
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 3/7/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.785 million adults 25-54
3. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 3/7/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.747 million adults 25-54
4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 3/9/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.743 million adults 25-54
5. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 3/10/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.720 million adults 25-54
6. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 3/8/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.686 million adults 25-54
7. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 3/8/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.662 million adults 25-54
8. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 3/10/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.659 million adults 25-54
9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 3/10/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.651 million adults 25-54
10. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Tue. 3/8/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.639 million adults 25-54
28. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, Mon. 3/7/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.485 million adults 25-54
135. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Wed. 3/9/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.292 million adults 25-54
172. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 3/13/2022 11:01 PM, 30 min.) 0.263 million adults 25-54
• Daily Show (CMDY, Wed. 3/09/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.183 million adults 25-54
• Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, Fri. 3/11/2022 10:01 PM, 58 min.) 0.151 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
