The Jan. 6th committee hearings investigating the insurrection at the Capitol rolled on for another week. Its sixth daytime edition (and seventh overall), which took place on July 12, focused on former President Donald Trump’s connections with the extremist groups that formed the mobs that stormed the Capital.
Aside from the June 28th appearance from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson (rising to 13.2 million on that day), daytime hearings have averaged within the range of 10.5-11.0 million viewers combined across multiple networks; July 12th was no exception.
On the cable side, three patterns remained consistent:
- MSNBC is the Top Cable News Outlet in Hearings Coverage Among Total Audience
With its audience primarily left-leaning, it’s no surprise the committee hearings uncovering plots and instances from the former President is of high interest on the network. Yet, it continues to outpace its competition among total viewers. Only once has MSNBC attracted less than 3 million for any hearing; that occurred for its morning slot on June 13 (2.49 million), the committee’s first daytime portion.
On July 12 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, MSNBC averaged 3.26 million total viewers and 439,000 within the key 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research. Those respective figures were able to top CNN and Fox News within the same time slot; only FNC’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (535,000) managed to top it for the entire day of July 12 in adults 25-54.
- Hearings Coverage Has Steadily Grown in CNN Daytime
As a solid runner-up to MSNBC, CNN’s coverage of the hearings on July 12 drew 2.61 million among total viewers and came just 7,000 shy of MSNBC in adults 25-54 (432,000).
CNN’s overall viewing for the daytime hearings have generally trended upward in recent weeks. Its first week (June 13 and June 16) hovered around the 1.35 million viewer mark; by June 21, it rose to 2.07 million; and, by June 23, it grew again to 2.43 million, with the caveat being that afternoon hearing began at the later time of 3 p.m. Eastern.
CNN’s telecast of the hearing featuring Hutchinson on June 28 and the aforementioned July 12th each delivered over 2.6 million viewers.
For five of the seven hearings that have taken place thru July 12, CNN has been the clear 25-54 demo leader in news.
- Fox News Continues Lagging Behind with Committee Hearings
If the data is any indication, the Fox News audience would rather watch their network’s hosts opine about the hearings than watch the actual hearings themselves.
While CNN’s viewership has grown for these hearings, Fox News has experienced the opposite trajectory within the same daytime windows. Its live hearings coverage has only drawn over one million viewers once, back on the morning of June 13. Even the highlighted Hutchinson appearance from June 28 had mustered just 900,000 viewers on the outlet.
For July 12, FNC averaged 847,000 total viewers and 127,000 adults 25-54 for the entire three hours; viewership declined at each passing hour — a stark occurrence for the usually potent outlet: from 1-2 p.m. ET, 968,000 total viewers including 158,000 aged 25-54; from 2-3 p.m. ET, 849,000 total viewers including 120,000 aged 25-54; and, from 3-4 p.m. ET, 723,000 total viewers including 103,000 aged 25-54.
Nonetheless, as the following network averages detail, the committee hearings have been a mere blip in Fox News Channel’s weekly dominance on cable (and TV overall).
Cable news averages for July 11-17, 2022:
Total Day (July 11-17 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.366 million viewers; 202,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.824 million viewers; 89,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.564 million viewers; 113,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.170 million viewers; 51,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.126 million viewers; 14,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.125 million viewers; 30,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.099 million viewers; 17,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.099 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (July 11-16 @ 8-11 p.m.; July 17 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.176 million viewers; 311,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.309 million viewers; 132,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.660 million viewers; 146,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.205 million viewers; 66,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.196 million viewers; 52,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.146 million viewers; 17,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.132 million viewers; 25,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.065 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.044 million viewers; 4,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 7/11/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.312 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 7/13/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.282 million viewers
3. January 6th Hearings “Day 6” (MSNBC, Tue. 7/12/2022 1:00 PM, 180 min.) 3.260 million viewers
4. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 7/11/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.220 million viewers
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 7/13/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.181 million viewers
6. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 7/14/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.171 million viewers
7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 7/14/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.148 million viewers
8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 7/12/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.142 million viewers
9. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 7/15/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.009 million viewers
10. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 7/12/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.001 million viewers
18. Jan. 6th Hearings “Day 6” (CNN, Tue. 7/12/2022 1:00 PM, 180 min.) 2.607 million viewers
• Spicer & Co. (Newsmax, Tue. 7/12/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.299 million viewers
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
