We previously indicated how the absence of Tucker Carlson Tonight significantly narrowed the lead margin of Fox News over MSNBC, and heightened the possibility of MSNBC to, for at least one week, take over the cable news lead in prime time. During the week ending June 11, that feat by MSNBC was reached.
Highlighted by Donald Trump’s second indictment post-presidency, as reported on June 8 — this time, the Department of Justice changed him for the possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, MSNBC found itself in rare territory by topping cable news in prime time in both total viewers and within the key 25-54 demographic (as indicated in the cable network averages below) for June 5-11. Not since Trump’s second impeachment hearings back in mid-February 2021 has MSNBC been No. 1 at night.
MSNBC’s entire prime time lineup on June 8 — All In with Chris Hayes, Alex Wagner Tonight, and Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell — made up the top three cable news programs of the week among adults 25-54; they also all ranked in the week’s top-9 cable news telecasts in total viewers (rankings listed below).
Coverage also benefited MSNBC’s late afternoon and early evening on the following day (June 9). Both Deadline: White House and The Beat with Ari Melber had also landed in cable news’ top ten telecasts of the week in the 25-54 demo (also listed below).
All prime-time cable news programs received a boost on June 8, as compared to their time slot results from June 5-7:
“All In with Chris Hayes” (MSNBC): 2.316 million viewers (+69 percent from June 5-7); 348,300 adults 25-54 (+132 percent)
“Alex Wagner Tonight” (MSNBC): 2.530 million viewers (+81 percent from June 6-7); 359,700 adults 25-54 (+122 percent)
“Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” (MSNBC): 2.608 million viewers (+65 percent from June 5-7); 319,400 adults 25-54 (+133 percent)
“11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle” (MSNBC): 1.719 million viewers (+70 percent from June 5-7); 251,200 adults 25-54 (+103 percent)
“Fox News At Night” (FNC): 1.904 million viewers (+20 percent from June 5-7); 177,100 adults 25-54 (+34 percent)
“Hannity” (FNC): 2.304 million viewers (+23 percent from June 5-7); 245,100 adults 25-54 (+62 percent)
“The Ingraham Angle” (FNC): 2.256 million viewers (+49 percent from June 5-7); 270,600 adults 25-54 (+79 percent)
“Gutfeld!” (FNC): 1.801 million viewers (+15 percent from June 5-7); 252,800 adults 25-54 (+12 percent)
Two-hour edition of “Anderson Cooper 360 ” (CNN): 1.248 million viewers (+82 percent from June 5-7); 267,500 adults 25-54 (+127 percent)
Special Coverage at 8 p.m. (Newsmax): 520,820 viewers (+10 percent from “Eric Bolling The Balance” June 5-7); 48,500 adults 25-54 (+7 percent)
Special Coverage at 9 p.m. (Newsmax): 384,900 viewers (+43 percent from “Chris Plante Right Squad” June 5-7); 46,300 adults 25-54 (+77 percent)
“Greg Kelly Reports” (Newsmax): 374,400 viewers (+33 percent from June 5-7); 34,400 adults 25-54 (+1 percent)
“Cuomo” (NewsNation): 159,800 viewers (+8 percent from June 5-7); 17,700 adults 25-54 (-25 percent)
“Dan Abrams Live” (NewsNation): 158,200 viewers (+61 percent from June 5-7); 35,900 adults 25-54 (+333 percent — not a typo!)
“Banfield” (NewsNation): 89,000 viewers (+9 percent from June 5-7); 15,400 adults 25-54 (+20 percent)
On the broadcast network side, where they broke into original programming on their affiliates at about 7:30 p.m. ET on June 8, ABC (3.95 million viewers) topped NBC (2.12 million). (CBS’ data was not available.)
In other news highlights for the week of June 5:
On the afternoon of June 7, northern winds from the Canadian wildfires caused an ominous-looking orange haze that hovered over the skies of the northeastern portion of the United States, especially over New York City. For 1-4 p.m. Eastern on June 7, Weather Underground on The Weather Channel averaged 111,000 viewers. Putting this figure in context, the same 3-hour window for June 5-6 and 8-9 drew an average of 68,000 viewers.
Later at night on June 7, CNN televised a live town hall from Des Moines featuring former Vice President and current presidential candidate Mike Pence. The event, hosted by Dana Bash, posted 631,900 viewers including 127,511 adults 25-54 from 9-10:36 p.m. Eastern. Compared to Nikki Haley’s CNN town hall from June 4, Pence (like Haley, had aired opposite ah NBA Finals on ABC telecast) outdrew it in total viewers by +60,000 but fell slightly short of it in the key 25-54 demo (-5,500). A midnight Eastern rebroadcast of Pence drew 251,410 viewers including 89,611 adults 25-54.
Cable news averages for June 5-11, 2023:
Total Day (June 5-11 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.090 million viewers; 127,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.932 million viewers; 109,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.491 million viewers; 94,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.172 million viewers; 16,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.157 million viewers; 38,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.110 million viewers; 26,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.107 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.088 million viewers; 17,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (June 5-10 @ 8-11 p.m.; June 11 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- MSNBC: 1.521 million viewers; 172,000 adults 25-54
- Fox News Channel: 1.506 million viewers; 139,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.677 million viewers; 131,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.311 million viewers; 32,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.191 million viewers; 43,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.128 million viewers; 29,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.120 million viewers; 23,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.117 million viewers; 30,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.117 million viewers; 18,000 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, Wed. 6/7/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.765 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 6/5/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.645 million viewers
3. Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell “DOJ Indicts Trump, Maddow A Block” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.608 million viewers
4. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 6/8/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.588 million viewers
5. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 6/9/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.579 million viewers
6. Alex Wagner Tonight “DOJ Indicts Trump Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.530 million viewers
7. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 6/6/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.479 million viewers
8. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 6/5/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.456 million viewers
9. All In with Chris Hayes “DOJ Indicts Trump Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.316 million viewers
10. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 6/8/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.304 million viewers
76. Anderson Cooper 360 “Trump Federal Indictment” (CNN, Thu. 6/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.306 million viewers
306. Eric Bolling The Balance (NMX, Mon. 6/5/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.541 million viewers
431. Forensic Files (HLN, late Fri. 6/9/2023 3:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.313 million viewers
476. Heavy Rescue: 401 “(713) Deep, Steep And Stuck” (TWC, Sun. 6/11/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.267 million viewers
479. Kudlow (FBN, Wed. 6/7/2023 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.264 million viewers
536. Fast Money Halftime Report (CNBC, Tue. 6/6/2023 12:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.233 million viewers
579. We Are Not Alone: UFO (NWSN, Sun. 6/11/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.217 million viewers
871. FBI Files (COURT TV, Sun. 6/11/2023 1:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.117 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. Alex Wagner Tonight “DOJ Indicts Trump Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.360 million adults 25-54
2. All In with Chris Hayes “DOJ Indicts Trump Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.348 million adults 25-54
3. Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell “DOJ Indicts Trump, Maddow A Block” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.319 million adults 25-54
4. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 6/5/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.309 million adults 25-54
5. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 6/7/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.298 million adults 25-54
6. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 6/8/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.274 million adults 25-54
7. Anderson Cooper 360 “Trump Federal Indictment” (CNN, Thu. 6/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.272 million adults 25-54
8. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Thu. 6/8/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.271 million adults 25-54
9. Deadline: White House “DOJ Trump Indictment Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Fri. 6/9/2023 4:00 PM, 120 min.) 0.270 million adults 25-54
10. The Beat with Ari Melber “DOJ Trump Indictment Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Fri. 6/9/2023 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.269 million adults 25-54
223. Forensic Files (HLN, late Mon. 6/5/2023 12:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.106 million adults 25-54
475. Eric Bolling The Balance (NMX, Wed. 6/7/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.059 million adults 25-54
498. Fast Money Halftime Report (CNBC, Wed. 6/7/2023 12:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.055 million adults 25-54
526. Cuomo (NWSN, Mon. 6/5/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.052 million adults 25-54
597. It Takes A Killer (COURT TV, late Tue. 6/6/2023 2:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.041 million adults 25-54
614. Deep Water Salvage “(208) Decontaminating The Depths” (TWC, Sun. 6/11/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.039 million adults 25-54
705. Mornings with Maria Bartiromo (FBN, Fri. 6/9/2023 8:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.031 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
