The hurricane season of 2023 has been unique in that it affected Hawaii and the West Coast first. The fires in Maui back in early August were fueled by hurricane winds from the Pacific Ocean. By mid-August, Hurricane Hillary peaked at Category 4 strength but lessened to a tropical storm as it made landfall in Southern California — the area’s first in 84 years. The Weather Channel tracked Hillary on Aug. 20. From 1 PM to midnight ET, coverage averaged 473,000 viewers including 119,000 within the key 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research — approximately quadruple the figures the network draws on a daily basis.
Then, in late August, the Category 3 Hurricane Idalia was headed towards the southeast, including Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. It’s the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend region, the nook between the panhandle and peninsula, in more than 125 years. Italia was also the third hurricane to hit the state of Florida within the past 12 months.
Weather Channel delivered its most-watched week in 11 months — since Hurricane Ian hit Florida on Sep. 28, 2022. Coverage tracking Idalia began on Tuesday, Aug. 29th for an average of 713,000 total viewers including 181,000 adults 25-54.
When Idalia made landfall in Florida on the following Wednesday morning, Aug. 30th, an average of 1.19 million viewers and 265,000 adults 25-54 had tuned in from 8 a.m. to noon Eastern; its 9 a.m. hour ranked eighth for the week among cable news within the demo. As the following ratings track indicates, most of those who watched in the morning stayed with Weather Channel throughout the early and late afternoon hours:
- 7:00-8:00 a.m. ET: 0.973 million viewers; 246,000 adults 25-54
- 8:00-9:00 a.m. ET: 1.216 million viewers; 270,000 adults 25-54
- 9:00-10:00 a.m. ET: 1.335 million viewers; 288,000 adults 25-54
- 10:00-11:00 a.m. ET: 1.183 million viewers; 275,000 adults 25-54
- 11:00 a.m.-noon ET: 1.033 million viewers; 228,000 adults 25-54
- Noon-1:00 p.m. ET: 0.888 million viewers; 211,000 adults 25-54
- 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET: 0.786 million viewers; 172,000 adults 25-54
- 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET: 0.723 million viewers; 154,000 adults 25-54
- 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET: 0.721 million viewers; 152,000 adults 25-54
- 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET: 0.755 million viewers; 178,000 adults 25-54
- 5:00-6:00 p.m. ET: 0.647 million viewers; 143,000 adults 25-54
- 6:00-7:00 p.m. ET: 0.542 million viewers; 123,000 adults 25-54
- 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET: 0.477 million viewers; 139,000 adults 25-54
- 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET: 0.438 million viewers; 134,000 adults 25-54
Cable news averages for August 28-September 3, 2023:
Total Day (Aug. 28-Sep. 3 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.095 million viewers; 130,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.860 million viewers; 86,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.515 million viewers; 104,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.283 million viewers; 71,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.172 million viewers; 14,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.136 million viewers; 37,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.120 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.117 million viewers; 27,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.054 million viewers; 9,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (Aug. 28-Sep. 2 @ 8-11 p.m.; Sep. 3 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.714 million viewers; 199,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.351 million viewers; 133,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.609 million viewers; 131,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.261 million viewers; 24,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.087 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. 8/30/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.819 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 8/28/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.775 million viewers
3. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 8/29/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.728 million viewers
4. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 8/28/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.711 million viewers
5. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 8/31/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.685 million viewers
6. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Mon. 8/28/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.584 million viewers
7. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Wed. 8/30/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.572 million viewers
8. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Tue. 8/29/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.490 million viewers
9. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 9/1/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.422 million viewers
10. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 8/30/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.405 million viewers
71. America’s Morning Headquarters (TWC, Wed. 8/30/2023 9:00 AM, 60 min.) 1.335 million viewers
147. Inside Politics (CNN, Wed. 8/30/2023 12:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.913 million viewers
453. Varney & Company (FBN, Fri. 9/1/2023 10:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.334 million viewers
466. Forensic Files (HLN, Sat. 9/2/2023 11:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.305 million viewers
553. Fast Money Halftime Report (CNBC, Mon. 8/28/2023 12:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.225 million viewers
733. Newsnation Prime (NWSN, Sat. 9/2/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.151 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Mon. 8/28/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.354 million adults 25-54
2. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 8/29/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.348 million adults 25-54
3. Hannity (FOXNC, Mon. 8/28/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.335 million adults 25-54
4. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 8/28/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.334 million adults 25-54
5. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Wed. 8/30/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.328 million adults 25-54
6. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Mon. 8/28/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.310 million adults 25-54
7. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 8/30/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.298 million adults 25-54
8. America’s Morning Headquarters (TWC, Wed. 8/30/2023 9:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.288 million adults 25-54
9. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 8/30/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.287 million adults 25-54
10. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 8/29/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.287 million adults 25-54
15. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 8/28/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.273 million adults 25-54
25. The Lead With Jake Tapper (CNN, Tue. 8/29/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.229 million adults 25-54
312. Forensic Files (HLN, late Sun. 9/3/2023 1:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.090 million adults 25-54
533. The Exchange (CNBC, Mon. 8/28/2023 1:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.051 million adults 25-54
620. Duck Family Treasure (FBN, Sat. 9/2/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.041 million adults 25-54
641. Cuomo (NWSN, Fri. 9/1/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.040 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
