The news business is alive and well. And it’s even better when you take advantage of obvious opportunities that your competitors are not interested in. In case you missed it, a parade was held on Saturday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. And Fox News owned the coverage.
During the 6-10 PM ET window, when the military parade was live, Fox News averaged 4.9 million viewers. The network’s coverage peaked with 5.5 million viewers during the 8 PM ET hour.
Fox likely benefited from its core audience being most enthusiastic about this parade. However, they undoubtedly benefited from the fact that ABC, CBS, and NBC pushed their coverage to their streams. At least NBC had an excuse, as they were broadcasting the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament.
Other cable networks broadcasting the parade were Newsmax, C-SPAN, and NewsNation. NewsNation saw a nearly 300% increase in total viewership compared to the same timeframe in previous weeks as it covered the U.S. Army parade. The network averaged just under 200,000 total viewers in the 6-10 PM ET timeslot.
While ABC, CBS, and the other cable networks likely concluded their audiences wouldn’t have an interest in watching the parade wall-to-wall, they let their bias against the administration cloud their judgment.
The parade was mocked by many of the President’s critics as a “President Trump quasi-birthday celebration,” given his birthday was also on Saturday. Some called it a “dark” celebration of military weapons. And there were many other angles taken by those who didn’t think it was appropriate.
While I disagree with those interpretations, that doesn’t matter. This was a missed opportunity for those news networks that chose not to air the parade. They allowed Fox News and NewsNation to capture the entire audience, while also showing an unwillingness to cover the biggest news story of the weekend, despite it being a quiet weekend with little compelling content, except for the U.S. Open. And for the record, Fox News’ coverage beat the U.S. Open ratings, with the golf broadcast averaging 3.4 million viewers on Saturday.
For some background, the U.S. Army parade celebrating its 250th anniversary was organized by America250, a bipartisan initiative created by Congress. The organization was tasked with planning and executing the event as part of a larger commemoration of the Army’s milestone.
Democrats on the America250 commission include Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA). Yes, that Alex Padilla, who was just forcibly removed from a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday after he tried to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
This was not a hyperpartisan, pro-Trump event. As the Commander-in-Chief, he was obviously present and prominent, but this was not a MAGA parade or rally that some had anticipated.
And if the news media wants to claw back some of its credibility, they missed an opportunity to do so. The lesson here for news/talk stations is not to let your bias mask what is in the best interests of your city and would best serve your audience.
Notable networks and cable news channels made this mistake, and rather than covering the big story in a way that would have been palatable to their core viewers, they ceded the entire event to Fox, giving Fox an opportunity to potentially win over a portion of their audience. Same goes for NewsNation, which is desperately trying to compete on the big stage against their larger cable news competitors.
Understanding your audience is one thing, but trying to shield them from notable news moments is a disservice. I’d like to think they’d learn from their mistakes, but there is little evidence to suggest they will. But the rest of us can.
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Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the Vice President of News/Talk for Cumulus Media, while also hosting “Mundo in the Morning” and programming KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on X @PeteMundo.
