The Lead
A presidential inauguration is a once-every-four-year opportunity for the news television industry to show one of the grander spectacles in American political life. And for that opportunity, more viewers tuned into Fox News than anywhere else.
The network set a new high water mark for its presidential inauguration coverage, as it averaged 11.4 million during the 11:30 AM-1 PM ET timeslot on Monday afternoon, when Donald Trump took the oath of office to officially be sworn in as the 47th President in United States history.
Of the 11.4 million viewers, 2.4 million were in the key Adults 25-54 demographic.
The next closest challenger to Fox News in the cable news world was CNN, which featured an average audience of 1.9 million viewers during the window. MSNBC averaged 938,000 total viewers.
Meanwhile, on the network news side, the ratings race was significantly tighter than in the cable news world. ABC News eeked out a total ratings win, with 4.9 million total viewers in the timeframe. It topped NBC News, which saw 4.8 million total viewers, and CBS News with 4.6 million.
In the key demographic, NBC was first with 1.3 million while ABC (1.2 million) and CBS (1.1 million) were close behind.
The good ratings news for Fox News continued as it debuted The Will Cain Show on Tuesday afternoon. Cain stepped into the timeslot previously occupied by Your World with Neil Cavuto. During its inaugural episode, the show averaged 3.5 million viewers and 451,000 in the Adults 25-54 demographic.
The Tuesday show was the highest-rated daytime debut in history and was the second-highest-rated broadcast in the 4 PM ET window since 2021. It was up 106% in total viewers and 128% in the coveted demographic compared to the 2024 average for the timeslot.
NewsNation Sets New Record High
Also seeing an inauguration day high was NewsNation. The cable news outlet saw its highest total day viewership average in network history on Monday, January 20th. For the duration of Inauguration Day, the network averaged 134,000 total viewers, with 32,000 in the key Adults 25-54 demographic.
Additionally, Elizabeth Vargas Reports set a new record high, as that program earned 143,000 total viewers. Chris Cuomo’s primetime program, meanwhile, saw it’s highest ever viewership in the key demographic, with 60,000 viewers.
That performance on Inauguration Day came on the heels of the network besting MSNBC in primetime in the key demo on Saturday, January 18th with its primetime special Hunting UFOs. The program, which aired at 8 PM ET, saw more viewers from the Adults 25-54 demographic than each MSNBC primetime program on the same day.
Face the Nation Leads Meet the Press, This Week, and FOX News Sunday
The race for supremacy in the Sunday political affairs program continues to be won by CBS News’ Face the Nation.
On Sunday, January 19th, the program helmed by Margaret Brennan scored 2.8 million total viewers, earning the top spot in the category. The program has continually earned the most viewers since Brennan co-anchored the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate alongside Norah O’Donnell in October.
ABC News’ This Week with George Stephanopoulos was second with 2.4 million viewers, while Meet the Press was close behind with 2.3 million total viewers for NBC News.
In the key demographic, the NBC News show moderated by Kristen Welker earned the top spot with 473,000 viewers while Face the Nation finished with 468,000 viewers. The Stephanopoulos-led show was third with 363,000.
FOX News Sunday, anchored by Shannon Bream, saw an average total audience of 1.2 million viewers, with 266,000 coming from the key demographic.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
