Fox News Marks 18th Straight Year as Top-Rated Cable News Channel

The Nielsen numbers are out for the month

Patrick J. Kennedy Visits FOX News' "America's Newsroom"
John Lamparski/Getty Images

When the January 2020 Nielsen ratings dropped Tuesday, Fox News was crowned the top cable news channel for the 18th straight year. Since Janary 2002, Fox News has been the most-watched cable news network in primetime and in average total-day viewers and in the advertiser-coveted demographic of viewers 25-54. Also, for the 43rd month in a row, Fox News was the most-watched channel in all of basic cable in terms of total-day viewership, averaging 1.7 million total viewers for the month of January. The trend continued into primetime, as Fox News was the most-watched network in all of basic cable from 8 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET with 2.9 million average viewers.

Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and Fox News Media President & Executive Editor Jay Wallace trumped the achievement on Tuesday: “For 18 years, more viewers have turned to Fox News Channel for its unrivaled news and opinion coverage than any other cable news network and we are proud of our strong team both on and off the air as we offer our audience the most dynamic programming in the country.”

There has been a ratings boom for Fox News — along with all the cable news channels — during the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

In primetime Friday night, from 8 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET, Fox News led the way with 3.846 million total average viewers and 584,000 in the demo. Next was MSNBC with 2.788 million total average viewers. Of them, 467,000 were in the demo. CNN saw 1.314 million total viewers and 296,000 in the demo.

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