Fox News Channel outdraws MSNBC, CNN during August to finish with cable’s largest audience

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Fox News Channel finished August as the most-watched network in all of cable during another news-heavy month that featured the historic nomination of Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention.

Fox News averaged 1.4 million total day viewers, compared to just over one million for MSNBC and 615,000 for CNN. USA Network and ESPN rounded out the top five in the category. 

During the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m. ET, Fox News averaged 2.3 million viewers compared to 1.8 million for MSNBC, 1.1 million for CNN, 803,000 for USA and 607,000 for ESPN. 

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Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier co-anchored coverage of the Democratic National Convention. (FOX News Media)

Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier co-anchored coverage of the Democratic National Convention. (FOX News Media)

Fox News averaged a staggering 4.5 million viewers during primetime between the DNC, which aired from August 19-22, and last month’s Republican National Convention. During the historic conventions, MSNBC averaged 3.2 million primetime viewers and CNN settled for an average audience of 2.3 million. 

Fox News also crushed MSNBC and CNN among the advertiser-coveted demographic of viewers ages 25-54, averaging 190,000 total day demo viewers compared to 123,000 for CNN and 121,000 for MSNBC. During primetime, Fox News averaged 288,000 demo viewers while MSNBC delivered 246,000 and CNN managed 240,000. 

"The Five," with Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Dana Perino, Jeanine Pirro and rotating co-hosts Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr., averaged 3.3 million viewers to finish August as the most-watched cable news program of the month, followed by "Jesse Watters Primetime," "Hannity," "Gutfeld!" and "The Ingraham Angle." 

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Fox News primetime line up

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

"Gutfeld!" averaged 365,000 demo viewers to finish No. 1 in the critical category, followed by "Jesse Watters Primetime," "Hannity," "The Five" and "The Ingraham Angle." 

"Special Report with Bret Baier," "FOX & Friends FIRST," "FOX & Friends," "America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino," "The Faulkner Focus," "Outnumbered," "America Reports" with John Roberts and Sandra Smith, Martha MacCallum’s "The Story," "Your World with Neil Cavuto" and "FOX News @ Night" all had strong months, too, to help Fox News retain the No. 1 spot. 

"Life, Liberty & Levin" averaged 1.5 million viewers to finish as the most-watched cable news show on Saturdays, and another 1.7 million viewers on Sundays to take that crown as well. 

All data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.

Brian Flood is a media editor/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 27th 2024