It was not a surprise that the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season achieved blockbuster ratings. But the fact that this Aug. 23 event on Fox News still managed to do so without GOP frontrunner Donald Trump was impressive. According to Nielsen Media Research, it drew a combined 13 million viewers across Fox News Channel (FNC), Fox Business Network (FBN), Fox Nation and Fox News Digital — their digital properties drove an average minute audience of nearly 200,000 between 9-11 PM/ET, marking the platform’s highest day of minutes watched on the Fox News livestream this year.
The debate, held at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee and was co-moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, was the most-watched non-sports telecast on cable of 2023, to date. In addition, only the Denver Nuggets’ series-clinching victory over the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals (13.08 million) topped the debate for the largest audience for a scheduled prime time event since the Academy Awards back in March.
Although it was far less than the 24 million who watched the first presidential debate on FNC in August 2015 (which first featured Donald Trump as a candidate), the Aug. 23 debate topped more than 70 percent of all presidential primary debates in the last two cycles (2016 and 2020), including FNC’s Iowa debate in January 2016 sans Trump (12.5 million).
While the debate was being held, Tucker Carlson’s 46-minute interview with Trump was posted on X/Twitter. Figures for views on the social media platform are vastly different from Nielsen’s tabulations. Their current main indicators are something called post views which track impressions and reach that each post attracts.
But the numbers of those who actually watched the video of the interview are unclear. Still, here is some impression data for it tracked throughout that night, as it has accrued the most total impressions for a Carlson episode on his X/Twitter account, to date.
Post: “Ep. 19 Debate Night with Donald J Trump”
Original post time: Wednesday, August 23, 2023 @ 8:55 PM ET
Aug. 23, 2023 at 9:00 p.m. ET
Post views: 10.8 million
Aug. 23, 2023 at 9:06 p.m. ET
Post views: 21.4 million
Aug. 23, 2023 at 9:39 p.m. ET
Post views: 73.8 million
Aug. 23, 2023 at 9:59 p.m. ET
Post views: 75.4 million
Aug. 23, 2023 at 10:22 p.m. ET
Post views: 77.9 million
The post nearly doubled in impressions in the overnight…
Aug. 24, 2023 at 5:27 a.m. ET
Post views: 140.0 million
As Trump was getting booked in Atlanta for his fourth indictment:
Aug. 24, 2023 at 3:54 p.m. ET
Post views: 233.0 million
Aug. 24, 2023 at 6:56 p.m. ET
Post views: 241.0 million
Aug. 24, 2023 at 7:42 p.m. ET
Post views: 242.0 million
Aug. 24, 2023 at 8:50 p.m. ET
Post views: 246.0 million
FNC was not the sole cable news outlet to see an uptick for this week, for on Aug. 24 was the day Trump got booked on charges in Fulton County in Georgia. Ten days prior, a grand jury in Georgia returned ten indictments in the probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn that state’s 2020 election results.
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern
- MSNBC (4-6 p.m. ET): 1.997 million viewers; 205,000 adults 25-54
- Fox News Channel: 1.430 million viewers; 186,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 1.075 million viewers; 274,000 adults 25-54
5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern
- Fox News Channel: 2.981 million viewers; 321,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC (4-6 p.m. ET): 1.997 million viewers; 205,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 1.165 million viewers; 269,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.032 million viewers; 1,000 adults 25-54
6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern
- MSNBC: 2.136 million viewers; 252,000 adults 25-54
- Fox News Channel: 2.005 million viewers; 247,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 1.314 million viewers; 319,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.051 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern (Trump arrest/mug shot)
- ABC (7:39-8:00): 3.906 million viewers
- CBS (7:33-7:51): 3.526 million viewers
- MSNBC: 3.144 million viewers; 418,000 adults 25-54
- Fox News Channel: 2.674 million viewers; 343,000 adults 25-54
- NBC (7:30-8:00): 2.279 million viewers
- CNN: 2.023 million viewers; 502,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.062 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern (Trump arrest/mug shot)
- MSNBC: 3.355 million viewers; 477,000 adults 25-54
- Fox News Channel: 3.098 million viewers; 393,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 2.153 million viewers; 544,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.088 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54
As an addendum to our ratings tracks from last week, here is an update on how each news outlet’s average viewerships have done for Trump coverage:
Fox News Channel prime time averages (8-11 p.m.)
- August 24, 2023 (Trump’s 4th arraignment): 2.678 million viewers; 361,000 adults 25-54
- August 14, 2023 (Trump’s 4th indictment): 2.195 million viewers; 254,000 adults 25-54
- August 3, 2023 (Trump’s 3rd arraignment): 2.268 million viewers; 262,000 adults 25-54
- August 1, 2023 (Trump’s 3rd indictment): 2.194 million viewers; 279,000 adults 25-54
- June 13, 2023 (Trump’s 2nd arraignment): 2.420 million viewers; 295,000 adults 25-54
- June 8, 2023 (Trump’s 2nd indictment): 2.155 million viewers; 231,000 adults 25-54
- April 4, 2023 (Trump’s 1st arraignment): 4.403 million viewers; 713,000 adults 25-54
- March 23, 2023 (Trump’s 1st indictment): 3.440 million viewers; 484,000 adults 25-54
MSNBC prime time averages (8-11 p.m.)
- August 24, 2023 (Trump’s 4th arraignment): 2.824 million viewers; 410,000 adults 25-54
- August 14, 2023 (Trump’s 4th indictment): 3.089 million viewers; 415,000 adults 25-54
- August 3, 2023 (Trump’s 3rd arraignment): 1.831 million viewers; 233,000 adults 25-54
- August 1, 2023 (Trump’s 3rd indictment): 2.631 million viewers; 350,000 adults 25-54
- June 13, 2023 (Trump’s 2nd arraignment): 2.407 million viewers; 273,000 adults 25-54
- June 8, 2023 (Trump’s 2nd indictment): 2.485 million viewers; 342,000 adults 25-54
- April 4, 2023 (Trump’s 1st arraignment): 2.666 million viewers; 348,000 adults 25-54
- March 23, 2023 (Trump’s 1st indictment): 2.588 million viewers; 331,000 adults 25-54
CNN prime time averages (8-11 p.m.)
- August 24, 2023 (Trump’s 4th arraignment): 1.631 million viewers; 407,000 adults 25-54
- August 14, 2023 (Trump’s 4th indictment): 1.172 million viewers; 232,000 adults 25-54
- August 3, 2023 (Trump’s 3rd arraignment): 0.891 million viewers; 146,000 adults 25-54
- August 1, 2023 (Trump’s 3rd indictment): 1.059 million viewers; 208,000 adults 25-54
- June 13, 2023 (Trump’s 2nd arraignment): 0.948 million viewers; 220,000 adults 25-54
- June 8, 2023 (Trump’s 2nd indictment): 1.135 million viewers; 256,000 adults 25-54
- April 4, 2023 (Trump’s 1st arraignment): 1.754 million viewers; 487,000 adults 25-54
- March 23, 2023 (Trump’s 1st indictment): 1.248 million viewers; 333,000 adults 25-54
NewsNation prime time averages (8-11 p.m.)
- August 24, 2023 (Trump’s 4th arraignment): 0.074 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
- August 14, 2023 (Trump’s 4th indictment): 0.117 million viewers; 20,000 adults 25-54
- August 3, 2023 (Trump’s 3rd arraignment): 0.098 million viewers; 9,000 adults 25-54
- August 1, 2023 (Trump’s 3rd indictment): 0.091 million viewers; 16,000 adults 25-54
- June 13, 2023 (Trump’s 2nd arraignment): 0.122 million viewers; 26,000 adults 25-54
- June 8, 2023 (Trump’s 2nd indictment): 0.136 million viewers; 23,000 adults 25-54
- April 4, 2023 (Trump’s 1st arraignment): 0.170 million viewers; 30,000 adults 25-54
- March 23, 2023 (Trump’s 1st indictment): 0.149 million viewers; 25,000 adults 25-54
In a reversal to the overall slight waning trend of coverage viewership from the early summer, MSNBC scored their largest figures in prime time on a Trump arraignment date. FNC and CNN each performed their respective best prime times since Trump’s first arraignment in April.
Following his mug shot, Trump appeared as a guest on a special 90-minute edition of Newsmax’s “Greg Kelly Reports.” The show drew 966,000 total viewers including approximately 85,000 within the key 25-54 demographic. Comparatively, within the first month of the post-Carlson era at FNC, “Greg Kelly Reports” averaged 336,000 viewers and 42,000 adults 25-54 (for weeknights Apr. 24-May 26, 2023).
Cable news averages for August 21-27, 2023:
Total Day (Aug. 21-27 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.323 million viewers; 180,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.991 million viewers; 115,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.613 million viewers; 117,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.199 million viewers; 18,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.139 million viewers; 41,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.147 million viewers; 22,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.132 million viewers; 32,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.111 million viewers; 26,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.051 million viewers; 9,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (Aug. 21-26 @ 8-11 p.m.; Aug. 27 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.812 million viewers; 438,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.595 million viewers; 184,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.830 million viewers; 179,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.367 million viewers; 33,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.078 million viewers; 11,000 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. Republican Presidential Debate (FOXNC, Wed. 8/23/2023 9:00 PM, 123 min.) 11.062 million viewers
2. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 8/23/2023 11:03 PM, 57 min.) 4.391 million viewers
3. Countdown To The Debate (FOXNC, Wed. 8/23/2023 8:30 PM, 30 min.) 3.729 million viewers
4. All In with Chris Hayes “Trump Arraignment Fulton County Prime Special” (MSNBC, Thu. 8/24/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.355 million viewers
5. The Reidout “Trump Arraignment Fulton County Prime Special” (MSNBC, Thu. 8/24/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.144 million viewers
6. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Thu. 8/24/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.098 million viewers
7. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 8/24/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.981 million viewers
8. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 8/21/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.807 million viewers
9. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 8/21/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.798 million viewers
10. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 8/22/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.760 million viewers
25. Anderson Cooper 360 “Trump Georgia Arrest” (CNN, Thu. 8/24/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.153 million viewers
51. Republican Presidential Debate (FBN, Wed. 8/23/2023 9:00 PM, 123 min.) 1.741 million viewers
170. Greg Kelly Reports (NMX, Thu. 8/24/2023 9:00 PM, 90 min.) 0.966 million viewers
439. Forensic Files (HLN, late Fri. 8/25/2023 2:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.290 million viewers
446. Weather Channel Live “Live Coverage: Tropical Threat” (TWC, Sun. 8/27/2023 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.278 million viewers
461. Fast Money Halftime Report (CNBC, Wed. 8/23/2023 12:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.263 million viewers
721. Cuomo (NWSN, Wed. 8/23/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.141 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. Republican Presidential Debate (FOXNC, Wed. 8/23/2023 9:00 PM, 123 min.) 2.414 million adults 25-54
2. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 8/23/2023 11:03 PM, 57 min.) 0.886 million adults 25-54
3. Countdown To The Debate (FOXNC, Wed. 8/23/2023 8:30 PM, 30 min.) 0.620 million adults 25-54
4. Anderson Cooper 360 “Trump Georgia Arrest” (CNN, Thu. 8/24/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.544 million adults 25-54
5. Erin Burnett Outfront “Trump Georgia Arrest” (CNN, Thu. 8/24/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.502 million adults 25-54
6. All In with Chris Hayes “Trump Arraignment Fulton County Prime Special” (MSNBC, Thu. 8/24/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.477 million adults 25-54
7. The Reidout “Trump Arraignment Fulton County Prime Special” (MSNBC, Thu. 8/24/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.418 million adults 25-54
8. Alex Wagner Tonight “Trump Arraignment Fulton County” (MSNBC, Thu. 8/24/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.403 million adults 25-54
9. Republican Presidential Debate (FBN, Wed. 8/23/2023 9:00 PM, 123 min.) 0.401 million adults 25-54
10. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Thu. 8/24/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.393 million adults 25-54
212. Forensic Files (HLN, late Fri. 8/25/2023 2:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.121 million adults 25-54
318. Greg Kelly Reports (NMX, Thu. 8/24/2023 9:00 PM, 90 min.) 0.085 million adults 25-54
416. The Earth Unlocked “(204) Wetlands” (TWC, Sun. 8/27/2023 2:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.065 million adults 25-54
478. Closing Bell “Overtime” (CNBC, Thu. 8/24/2023 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.056 million adults 25-54
717. Elizabeth Vargas Reports (NWSN, Fri. 8/25/2023 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.031 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
