Fox News Channel finishes August with largest audience in cable, marking 30 straight months atop MSNBC, CNN

‘The Five’ was the most-watched show on cable news once again

The Republican debate was a success

They agreed, disagreed and made arguments.

Fox News Channel finished August as cable television’s most-watched network among both primetime and total day viewership, marking 30 straight months of crushing both CNN and MSNBC in both categories. 

Fox News averaged 1.2 million total day viewers during August, compared to 952,000 for MSNBC and 545,000 for CNN. During the hours of 8-11 p.m. ET, Fox News averaged two million viewers compared to 1.5 million for MSNBC while CNN settled for 723,000 average viewers. 

"The Five" was the most-watched show on cable news once again, averaging 2.7 million viewers. The roundtable program co-hosted by Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Dana Perino and Jeanine Pirro has been the top-rated show on cable news for seven consecutive quarters. 

"Special Report with Bret Baier," which was recently named the most reliable program in cable news according to Ad Fontes, averaged 1.9 million viewers during the month of August. But hosting the most reliable program in the industry wasn’t Baier’s only accomplishment during the news-heavy month. 

LAURA INGRAHAM, JESSE WATTERS, SEAN HANNITY, GREG GUTFELD GROW FOX NEWS’ PRIMETIME AUDIENCE AFTER ONE MONTH

fox news channel finishes august with largest audience in cable marking 30 straight months atop msnbc cnn

Fox News Channel primetime hosts Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld. (Fox News)

FOX News Media’s "Democracy 24: FOX News Republican Primary Debate" moderated Baier and Martha MacCallum on Aug. 23 finished as the most-watched, non-sporting event cable telecast of the year with a staggering 14.5 million viewers including encore airings across Fox News and FOX Business Network. 

Fox News Channel’s revamped primetime lineup launched on July 17 with "The Ingraham Angle" kicking things off at 7 p.m. ET, followed by "Jesse Watters Primetime" at 8 p.m. ET, "Hannity" remaining at 9 p.m. ET and "Gutfeld!" now beginning at 10 p.m. ET.  During August, the new lineup averaged 2.3 million viewers, more than tripling CNN in overall viewership. 

Fox News Channel finished with the highest-rated primetime lineup in all of cable and the only cable network to average over two million viewers in primetime. "Jesse Watters Primetime" averaged 2.5 million viewers to finish as the most-watched primetime program in cable news. 

FOX NEWS CHANNEL’S ‘THE FIVE’ CONTINUES TO MAKE HISTORY, TOPS CABLE NEWS FOR SEVENTH-STRAIGHT QUARTER

fox news channel finishes august with largest audience in cable marking 30 straight months atop msnbc cnn

Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum moderated FOX News Media’s "Democracy 24: FOX News Republican Primary Debate." (FOX)

Fox News Channel also crushed cable news competition among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, averaging 144,000 total day viewers among the critical category compared to 108,000 for MSNBC and 105,000 for CNN. From 8-11 p.m. ET, Fox News averaged 251,000 demo viewers compared to 169,000 for MSNBC and only 147,000 for CNN. 

"Hannity" averaged 289,000 viewers among the critical demo in August to finish as the most-watched cable news program in the category. 

"FOX & Friends First," "FOX & Friends," "The Ingraham Angle," "Gutfeld!," "FOX News @ Night," "America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino," "The Faulkner Focus," "Outnumbered," "America Reports with John Roberts and Sandra Smith," MacCallum’s "The Story" and "Your World with Neil Cavuto" also had strong months as Fox News aired 70 of the top 100 cable news telecasts for the month. 

OUTKICK’S SIGNATURE PROGRAMS WITH CLAY TRAVIS, TOMI LAHREN, RILEY GAINES TO STREAM ON FOX NATION

All data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research. 

For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion, and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media

Brian Flood is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @briansflood. 

Authored by Brian Flood via FoxNews August 29th 2023