Media top headlines August 31
In media news today, critics resurface Biden ABC interview where he pledged to stay in Afghanistan until every American was rescued, Blinken gets knocked for avoiding questions after Afghan withdrawal speech, and Biden repeatedly implies he's not in charge of when, where he can take press questions
Americans relied on Fox News for information and analysis during the news-heavy month of August that featured the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating Hurricane Ida.
Fox News outdrew CNN and MSNBC combined among both total day and primetime viewers while snatching 94 of the top 100 most-watched cable news telecasts of the month. But Fox News didn’t only dominate liberal CNN and MSNBC, it finished as the most-watched network in all of basic cable.
Fox News averaged 2.5 million viewers during the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m. ET, compared to 1.2 million for MSNBC and only 819,000 for CNN. Fox News’ primetime lineup averaged 394,000 viewers among the key demographic of adults age 25-54, while CNN settled for only 191,000 and MSNBC managed only 163,000 average viewers among the crucial category.
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"Tucker Carlson Tonight" averaged 3.3 million viewers to finish the month as the most-watched cable news program. (Fox news)
Fox News averaged 1.4 million total day viewers, compared to 732,000 for MSNBC and only 621,000 for CNN. FNC beat CNN by more than 200% in primetime among total viewers and more than 100 percent during primetime.
"Tucker Carlson Tonight" averaged 3.3 million viewers to finish the month as the most-watched cable news program as Fox News swept the top five.
"The Five" averaged 3.1 million viewers to finish second despite airing at 5 p.m. ET, while "Hannity" averaged 3 million to finish third. "The Ingraham Angle" and "Special Report with Bret Baier" rounded out the top five, all topping anything MSNBC or CNN had to offer.
MSNBC’s most-watched program, "The Rachel Maddow Show," finished sixth and was the only non-Fox News Channel offering among the 14 most-watched cable news programs of the news-heavy month.
CNN’s most popular show was the "Cuomo Prime Time," which finished No. 22 overall and failed to crack the one-million viewer benchmark. Embattled host Chris Cuomo, who embarrassed CNN over his role in former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment scandal, averaged only 930,000 viewers to finish behind 14 different Fox News shows and seven MSNBC programs.
CNN’s primetime lineup of Cuomo, Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon finished the month with the network’s worst turnout since June 2019. MSNBC had its worst month among both total day and primetime viewers since January 2017, and its worst month among the key demo since December 2015.
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Fox News also dominated among the key 25-54 demographic, as "Tucker," "Hannity," "The Five," "Ingraham," Special Report," "Fox News Primetime," Gutfeld!," "Your World with Neil Cavuto" and "The Story with Martha MacCallum" all outdrew anything on MSNBC or CNN in the category coveted by advertisers.
Fox News outdrew both CNN and MSNBC during every single hour of the day among both total viewers and the demo. It was the fourth straight month that Fox News swept CNN and MSNBC among the demo. August also marked the first time Fox News outdrew CNN and MSNBC combined among the demographic of adults age 18-49 since August 2015, when a GOP primary debate was the most-watched telecast in cable news history.
"The Faulkner Focus" with Harris Faulkner, "America Reports" with Sandra Smith and John Roberts and "Gutfeld!" all had their most-watched months since they launched, while "America’s Newsroom" with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino, "The Five," "FOX & Friends," Outnumbered" and "Your World with Neil Cavuto" all had their best months of 2021.
Meanwhile, CNN’s "Anderson Cooper 360" and "New Day" each had their worst months since July 2019.
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MSNBC’s "The 11th Hour with Brian Williams" finished with its worst month ever among the key demo and "All In with Chris Hayes" had its worst demo performance since December 2015. "Deadline: White House" had its worst month among total viewers since June 2018, "The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell" and "MTP Daily" had their worst turnouts since December 2016, and "Maddow" had its smallest monthly audience since January 2017.
Americans turned to Fox News for coverage of the biggest stories of the month, as 4.1 million primetime viewers tuned in when the Taliban took over Afghanistan and during coverage of the deadly terror attack that killed 13 U.S. service members.
All data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.