Fox Business Wins July, CNBC Has Worst Month in 22 Years
FBN grows 17 percent among total Business Day viewers from last year
Brian Flood | August 2, 2017 @ 1:55 PM
Last Updated: August 2, 2017 @ 1:56 PM
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Fox Business Network finished July as the most-watched business network, while rival CNBC had its worst month since 1995.
FBN averaged 174,000 Business Day viewers, which is essentially primetime for financial news networks. CNBC averaged 145,000, which is a 28 percent drop from July 2016, while FBN grew 17 percent over the same time period.
CNBC edged FBN among the key news demo of adults age 25-54 with an average of 25,000 compared to 21,000. However, CNBC lost 39 percent of year-over-year viewers while FBN grew 11 percent. In fact, July was the lowest-rated month in CNBC’s history among the key demo.
The month that featured markets hitting new record highs and the Federal Reserve announcing its second interest rate hike of 2017 was CNBC’s lowest-rated month in 22 years.
FBN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight” was the most-watched business program, averaging 310,000 total viewers and 39,000 among the demo. “Varney & Co” was the second most-watched business program and has now topped CNBC’s timeslot competition “Squawk on the Street” and “Squawk Alley” for 12 consecutive months among total viewers.
FBN’s big sister, Fox News Channel, wasn’t too shabby itself for the month of July. FNC won the month and has now been the most-watched cable news network in both primetime and total day for 187 straight months.
13 Most-Watched Fox News Shows Since Tucker Carlson Replaced Bill O'Reilly (Photos)
Bill O’Reilly dominated the cable news industry for nearly two decades, finishing No. 1 in all of cable news for 16 straight years. But his sudden exit resulted in a programming shakeup at Fox News Channel.
TheWrap
Fox News fired O’Reilly back in April amid sexual harassment allegations and “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was shifted from 9 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. ET to replace “The O’Reilly Factor,” while other shows were also moved as a result. Check out the 13 most-watched programs (in reverse order) on Fox News among total viewers since the new lineup debuted on April 24.
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13. “Shepard Smith Reporting” Smith’s newscast averaged 1.5 million total viewers from April 24 through June 8 as one of Fox News Channel’s most recognizable personalities.
11. “America's News HQ” The weekday newscast is often the post-game show for Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s White House briefings and averaged 1.5 million viewers from April 24 through June 8.
10. “Your World with Neil Cavuto” Cavuto’s loyal fan base tunes in weekdays for his mixture of political and financial news and averaged 1.6 million viewers since the network shook up its lineup.
9. "Fox & Friends" Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade and Ainsley Earhardt co-host the morning show that is often complimented by President Trump during early morning Twitter sessions. “Fox & Friends” has averaged 1.6 million viewers, and at least one is typically in the White House.
8. "Outnumbered" The noon ET show features four female Fox News personalities and “One Lucky Guy” discussing the day’s headlines. Harris Faulkner and Meghan McCain are regular co-hosts of the show that averaged 1.7 million viewers from April 24 through June 8.
7. “America’s Newsroom” Shannon Bream replaced Martha MacCallum, who moved to 7 p.m. ET, as Bill Hemmer’s co-host on the morning show that has averaged 1.9 million viewers since April 24.
6. “The Fox News Specialists” Eric Bolling, Katherine Timpf and Eboni K. Williams co-host the new show that replaced “The Five” in the 5 p.m. ET timeslot. “The Specialists” has averaged 1.9 million viewers per episode with a variety of guests offering voices from both sides of the political aisle.
5. “The Story” Martha MacCallum originally had the 7 p.m. ET timeslot on a temporary basis for Trump’s first 100 days in office, but her show was made permanent and rebranded as “The Story” when the network revamped its schedule. She has averaged 2 million viewers per broadcast since the change.
4. “Special Report” Bret Baier’s nightly newscast continues to be a staple of the network’s lineup, averaging 2.2 million viewers per night from April 24 through June 8 despite new programs bookending “Special Report.”
3. “The Five” Greg Gutfeld, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Dana Perino, Jesse Waters and Juan Williams were shifted from 5 p.m. ET to primetime during the network’s schedule overhaul and “The Five” continued to be a ratings success, averaging 2.4 million viewers in its new slot.
2. “Hannity” Sean Hannity is arguably the most recognizable host on the network these days and his pro-Trump program has averaged 2.5 million viewers since “The Five” became its lead in.
1. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Carlson has been the most-watched show on Fox News since replacing O’Reilly in the 8 p.m. ET timeslot, averaging 2.7 million viewers per evening.
From Martha MacCallum to “The Specialists,” the network was forced to shake things up
Bill O’Reilly dominated the cable news industry for nearly two decades, finishing No. 1 in all of cable news for 16 straight years. But his sudden exit resulted in a programming shakeup at Fox News Channel.