Fox News dominates cable ratings

Fox was the top cable network in both primetime and total day viewers this year, the network said citing Nielsen data, averaging 2.3 million viewers during weekday prime time slots.

Those figures far exceeded rivals MSNBC and CNN, which each netted an average of 1.2 million and 730,000, respectively (all three major networks saw a decline in viewership compared to the previous year).

Fox counted an average of 1.4 million day viewers in 2022, representing a 3% increase compared to 2021, while MSNBC saw 733,000 and CNN had 568,000, which were both down 35% compared to the previous year.

The most-watched cable show was Fox’s The Five, which had an audience of 3.4 million viewers and is the first non-primetime program to rank first in total viewers for the year.

Big number
92. That’s how many of 2022’s top 100 cable news shows were Fox programs, according to Nielsen.

News peg
Earlier this year, Fox News Media president Jay Wallace said the network continues to dominate other outlets thanks to its on-air talent and knowing its audience. “A lot of people out there are producing for Twitter — and I’m not saying Twitter isn’t a tool. But some people think Twitter is what everyone is talking about and is the only thing that’s out there,” Wallace said. In January, Fox marked its 20th year as the top-watched cable news network for the first month of the year. Fox News first began to dominate competitors in that measure in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, according to the network.

Tangent
Fox is facing a billion-dollar lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems over allegations the network knowingly pushed false information that linked the company’s machines to widespread election fraud.

Key background
Fox is just one part of billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s media empire that also includes the The Wall Street Journal and The Times of London. Australian-born Murdoch inherited a newspaper in Adelaide, Australia, at age 22 when his father, a former war correspondent, died. Murdoch acquired smaller outlets across Australia and New Zealand before expanding into the U.K. and the U.S. Murdoch founded Fox News in 1996. His publications are known for having a conservative tilt. Murdoch’s son, Lachlan Murdoch, is the CEO of Fox Corporation. Forbes