Upon the first week of a calendar year following a presidential or midterm election marks the start of a new Congress. The leader of the political party that holds the majority of the House of Representatives is usually elected as House Speaker. Once elected, Congress can proceed with governing. However, that wasn’t the case in 2023, and Fox News led the cable news coverage of the unusual circumstance.
For our lifetimes, the procedure to elect a Speaker of the House has been swift. And on Jan. 3, the first work day of 2023, it was expected to be no different. With the GOP attaining a slim majority in the House from the 2022 midterms, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Kevin McCarthy, former House Minority Leader representing Republicans for the past four years, would become Speaker.
But because of the small sect of GOP members from the “Freedom Caucus”, McCarthy did not receive the majority of votes needed to win, forcing multiple re-votes. (ensing dissension among Republican’s own ranks, 212 Democrat congressmembers repeatedly voted for newly-installed Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to be Speaker.
By Jan. 4, there was no confirmed Speaker. By Jan. 5, still no confirmed Speaker. And by Jan. 6, the two-year anniversary of the insurrection at the Capitol, nothing after fourteen voting attempts.
It all came to a head as it approached midnight Eastern when a visibly frustrated McCarthy confronted Rep. Matt Gaetz from Florida, the most-known Freedom Caucus member. Of course, cable news was there to capture that moment, leading to some of the respective networks’ best audience figures of the week (ending Jan. 8).
At least eight million tuned in to just the three major cable news outlets to witness the spectacle within the 11:00 PM-midnight ET hour on Jan. 6, according to Nielsen Media Research — a figure made even more impressive considering it was late night on a Friday night, the second-least watched night of television for the week in U.S. households.
Fox News Channel easily led in total viewers with 3.42 million, followed by MSNBC (2.49 million) and CNN (2.1 million). Based on the key 25-54 demographic, the ranking positions changed: CNN (575,000) scored victory in the hour (and the top hour for the week in all of cable news), with FNC (523,000) close behind, followed by MSNBC (388,000).
The fifteenth House vote took place within the midnight ET hour, which resulted in McCarthy finally becoming Speaker — the most rounds of ballots since the 44 rounds from 1860 in the lead up to the Civil War. He was officially sworn in during the 1:00-2:00 AM ET hour.
Like the 11:00 PM hour, the three aforementioned networks were similarly ranked, total viewership-wise, in subsequent hours; FNC took over the 25-54 lead after midnight ET:
15th round of House votes for Speaker (late Jan. 6/early Jan. 7 @ midnight-1 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.760 million viewers; 435,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.764 million viewers; 314,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 1.497 million viewers; 380,000 adults 25-54
McCarthy sworn in as Speaker of the House (late Jan. 6/early Jan. 7 @ 1-2 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.821 million viewers; 335,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.043 million viewers; 195,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.962 million viewers; 268,000 adults 25-54
For the week’s all-day live Speaker vote coverage and analysts from Jan. 3-6, FNC remained potent by leading in all dayparts while MSNBC and CNN each got sizable boosts from their respective norms.
More than 29 hours of MSNBC coverage (including the aforementioned three concluding hours on Friday late night) averaged 1.68 million total viewers which included 235,000 adults 25-54. CNN’s 22 hours drew 1.45 million viewers with 308,000 adults 25-54.
Cable news averages for January 2-8, 2023:
Total Day (Jan. 2-8 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.444 million viewers; 191,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.950 million viewers; 120,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.740 million viewers; 154,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.142 million viewers; 38,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.116 million viewers; 19,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.115 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.107 million viewers; 30,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.008 million viewers; 9,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (Jan. 2-7 @ 8-11 p.m.; Jan. 8 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.062 million viewers; 252,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.374 million viewers; 166,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.918 million viewers; 204,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.177 million viewers; 53,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.180 million viewers; 67,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.133 million viewers; 24,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.125 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.115 million viewers; 19,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.052 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. 1/3/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.851 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 1/5/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.592 million viewers
3. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 1/4/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.498 million viewers
4. Fox News At Night (FOXNC, Fri. 1/6/2023 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.423 million viewers
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 1/3/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.336 million viewers
6. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 1/5/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.263 million viewers
7. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 1/6/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.220 million viewers
8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 1/6/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.213 million viewers
9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 1/4/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.990 million viewers
10. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Tue. 1/3/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.882 million viewers
22. 11th Hour with S. Ruhle “House Speaker Vote” (MSNBC, Fri. 1/6/2023 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.492 million viewers
32. CNN Tonight “The Speaker Vote” (CNN, Fri. 1/6/2023 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.095 million viewers
425. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1304” (CNBC, Wed. 1/4/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.313 million viewers
426. Varney & Company (FBN, Tue. 1/3/2023 10:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.313 million viewers
432. Forensic Files (HLN, Thu. 1/5/2023 12:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.305 million viewers
457. Highway Thru Hell “(1101) Hell And High Water” (TWC, Sun. 1/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.263 million viewers
504. Newsnation: Rush Hour (NWSN, Tue. 1/3/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.228 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. CNN Tonight “The Speaker Vote” (CNN, Fri. 1/6/2023 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.575 million adults 25-54
2. Fox News At Night (FOXNC, Fri. 1/6/2023 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.523 million adults 25-54
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 1/3/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.493 million adults 25-54
4. Erin Burnett Outfront (CNN, Thu. 1/5/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.466 million adults 25-54
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 1/4/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.462 million adults 25-54
6. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 1/3/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.447 million adults 25-54
7. Fox News At Night (FOXNC, Fri. 1/6/2023 12:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.435 million adults 25-54
8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 1/5/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.428 million adults 25-54
9. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 1/5/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.426 million adults 25-54
10. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, Thu. 1/5/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.399 million adults 25-54
13. 11th Hour with S. Ruhle “House Speaker Vote” (MSNBC, Fri. 1/6/2023 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.388 million adults 25-54
231. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1304” (CNBC, Wed. 1/4/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.122 million adults 25-54
253. Forensic Files (HLN, Mon. 1/2/2023 8:30 PM, 30 min.) 0.115 million adults 25-54
514. Banfield (NWSN, Thu. 1/5/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.050 million adults 25-54
526. Highway Thru Hell “(1101) Hell And High Water” (TWC, Sun. 1/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.049 million adults 25-54
584. Varney & Company (FBN, Fri. 1/6/2023 10:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.042 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
