The ratings have long demonstrated that Fox News is the most popular cable news network, but a new national poll suggests that Americans think it is also the best.
In a telephone survey conducted by Poll Position, a newly launched non-partisan polling site, 36.1 percent of respondents chose Fox as the “best,” compared to 27.8 percent for CNN and 16.6 percent for MSNBC. Nearly 20 percent — 19.5 percent — had no opinion.
Fox is consistently one of the top five shows in all of cable while its rivals usually sit somewhere outside the top 20.
Also read: Current TV's David Bohrman: Fox News Is the New Mainstream
This latest poll also confirms many widely held notions about the three networks’ fan bases.
FNC’s viewership skews Republican, white and older. 62 percent of respondents who identified themselves as Republican chose Fox as the best, as did 42 percent of whites and 46 percent of those past the age of 65. Fox was tops in every age group except those under the age of 30.
Also read: TV News Ratings: Fox News Remains on Top; CNN Edges MSNBC; CBS' 'Evening News' Has Brutal Quarter
Meanwhile, both CNN and MSNBC skew Democrat, young and ethnically diverse.
Among those identifying themselves as Democrats, 40.8 percent chose CNN as the best and 31 percent chose MSNBC. CNN was also the preferred choice of 35.6 percent of blacks, 45.4 percent of Hispanics and 39.4 percent of respondents between 18 and 29 years of age.
MSNBC was not voted the best by any particular category, but it registered north of 20 percent amongst Blacks, Latinos, “Other” and females (not to mention Democrats).