Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday, Sep. 8 at the age of 96. As Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, she had spent the last 70 years on the throne. Her firstborn, her son Charles is now known as King Charles III.
Earlier that morning, several members of the royal family had rushed to her side at Balmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland, after her health took a turn for the worse. By 2 p.m. Eastern, all the world’s news outlets reported the news of her passing.
In the U.S., CNN led cable within the 2-3 p.m. ET hour based on the key 25-54 demographic with 489,000 viewers within that age range, according to Nielsen Media Research. Fox News Channel was close behind with 377,000, followed by MSNBC (141,000) in a distant third place. Among total viewers, Fox News (2.275 million) easily led the hour, over CNN (1.8 million) and MSNBC (1.19 million).
Observing the three-hour period for coverage from 2-5 p.m. ET on Sep. 8, the key demo and total viewer rankings remained the same for CNN (427,000 adults 25-54/1.58 million total viewers), Fox News Channel (345,000 adults 25-54/2.1 million total viewers) and MSNBC (153,000 adults 25-54/1.36 million total viewers from 2-6 p.m. ET).
Coverage of the Queen’s death represented significant increases for all the cable news outlets, as it follows:
CNN (2-5 p.m. ET)
From the previous day (Sep. 7, 2022 — Obamas portraits reveal at White House): +179 percent in adults 25-54, +86 percent in total viewers
From the prior Thursday (Sep. 1, 2022): +280 percent in adults 25-54, +132 percent in total viewers
From the one-year ago Thursday (Sep. 9, 2021): +209 percent in adults 25-54, +106 percent in total viewers
Fox News Channel (2-5 p.m. ET)
From the previous day (Sep. 7, 2022): +65 percent in adults 25-54, +46 percent in total viewers
From the prior Thursday (Sep. 1, 2022): +64 percent in adults 25-54, +38 percent in total viewers
From the one-year ago Thursday (Sep. 9, 2021): +33 percent in adults 25-54, +34 percent in total viewers
MSNBC (2-6 p.m. ET)
From the previous day (Sep. 7, 2022 — Obamas portraits reveal at White House): +31 percent in adults 25-54, +23 percent in total viewers
From the prior Thursday (Sep. 1, 2022): +20 percent in adults 25-54, +3 percent in total viewers
From the one-year ago Thursday (Sep. 9, 2021): +47 percent in adults 25-54, +44 percent in total viewers
The Sep. 8 editions of evening news programs ABC’s “World News Tonight” (1.32 million adults 25-54/7.75 million total viewers) and the “CBS Evening News” (868,000 adults 25-54/4.8 million total viewers), and the Sep. 9 editions of morning news programs ABC’s “Good Morning America” (761,000 adults 25-54/3.1 million total viewers) and NBC’s “Today” (816,000 adults 25-54/2.97 million total viewers) each scored the week’s best key figures for their respective programs.
Over on the Queen’s homeland of the United Kingdom, nearly 16 million Britons viewed the first announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. According to U.K.’s Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB), 9.7 million of that amount tuned in to BBC One, BBC’s flagship channel with an additional 840,000 for its BBC2 simulcast; 3.7 million were watching ITV.
Cable news averages for September 5-11, 2022:
Total Day (Sep. 5-11 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.390 million viewers; 204,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.721 million viewers; 77,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.605 million viewers; 122,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.174 million viewers; 54,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.123 million viewers; 33,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.115 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.106 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.095 million viewers; 21,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (Sep. 5-10 @ 8-11 p.m.; Sep. 11 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.017 million viewers; 271,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.022 million viewers; 100,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.696 million viewers; 136,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.198 million viewers; 61,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.194 million viewers; 63,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.159 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.116 million viewers; 26,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.065 million viewers; 8,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.046 million viewers; 6,000 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. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 9/6/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.513 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 9/8/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.351 million viewers
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 9/7/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.331 million viewers
4. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 9/7/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.300 million viewers
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 9/6/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.291 million viewers
6. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Tue. 9/6/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.962 million viewers
7. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Wed. 9/7/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.941 million viewers
8. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 9/7/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.859 million viewers
9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 9/8/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.858 million viewers
10. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 9/9/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.782 million viewers
44. CNN Special Coverage “Queen Elizabeth II Dies At 96” (CNN, Thu. 9/8/2022 2:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.804 million viewers
50. Alex Wagner Tonight (MSNBC, Tue. 9/6/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.719 million viewers
182. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 611” (HBO, Fri. 9/9/2022 10:00 PM, 57 min.) 0.860 million viewers
318. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 9/11/2022 11:11 PM, 35 min.) 0.568 million viewers
384. The Daily Show (CMDY, Wed. 9/7/2022 11:00 PM, 33 min.) 0.380 million viewers
394. Forensic Files “Hells Kitchen” (HLN, Wed. 9/7/2022 11:30 PM, 30 min.) 0.357 million viewers
468. Jay Leno’s Garage (CNBC, Wed. 9/7/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.264 million viewers
383. Kudlow (FBN, Tue. 9/6/2022 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.383 million viewers
636. America’s Morning Headquarters (TWC, Wed. 9/7/2022 9:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.186 million viewers
735. Newsnation: Rush Hour (NWSN, Mon. 9/5/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.142 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 9/6/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.557 million adults 25-54
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 9/7/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.519 million adults 25-54
3. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 9/8/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.507 million adults 25-54
4. CNN Special Coverage “Queen Elizabeth II Dies At 96” (CNN, Thu. 9/8/2022 2:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.489 million adults 25-54
5. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 9/7/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.429 million adults 25-54
6. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 9/6/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.425 million adults 25-54
7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 9/8/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.418 million adults 25-54
8. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 9/7/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.416 million adults 25-54
9. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 9/6/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.416 million adults 25-54
10. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Tue. 9/6/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.413 million adults 25-54
116. Alex Wagner Tonight (MSNBC, Tue. 9/6/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.181 million adults 25-54
117. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 9/11/2022 11:11 PM, 35 min.) 0.181 million adults 25-54
142. The Daily Show (CMDY, Wed. 9/7/2022 11:00 PM, 33 min.) 0.159 million adults 25-54
147. Forensic Files “Hells Kitchen” (HLN, Wed. 9/7/2022 11:30 PM, 30 min.) 0.156 million adults 25-54
196. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 611” (HBO, Fri. 9/9/2022 10:00 PM, 57 min.) 0.133 million adults 25-54
344. Jay Leno’s Garage (CNBC, Wed. 9/7/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.088 million adults 25-54
543. Kudlow (FBN, Tue. 9/6/2022 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.053 million adults 25-54
558. Weekend Recharge (TWC, Sat. 9/10/2022 10:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.050 million adults 25-54
872. Newsnation: Rush Hour (NWSN, Fri. 9/9/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.021 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
