Surprise! Laura Ingraham’s Ratings Are Up 16 Percent Since David Hogg’s Advertiser Boycott
Fox News firebrand is still bludgeoning her cable news competition
Jon Levine and Tony Maglio | May 29, 2018 @ 2:15 PM
Last Updated: May 30, 2018 @ 6:44 AM
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Fox News host Laura Ingraham has taken a lot of heat since Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg launched an advertiser boycott of her show in March, but a look at the Nielsen ratings suggest her program “The Ingraham Angle” has only benefited from the notoriety.
Even as dozens of sponsors dropped her program, Ingraham has remained strong. In fact, her first six weeks since the boycott have shown an improvement over the the previous six weeks in both overall viewers and in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 year-old demographic.
In the half-dozen weeks since she returned from a suspiciously timed vacation, Ingraham has netted an average of 2.656 million viewers nightly, with roughly 553,000 of those coming from the key demo. The comparable figures in the same time period preceding the boycott were 2.284 million total and 471,000 demo viewers.
We’ll do that math for you: Ingraham’s show is up 16 percent and 17 percent, respectively, since the boycott.
The show’s closest competition, MSNBC’s “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell,” is down 1 percent overall (2.253 million vs. 2.231 million) and down 7 percent in the demo (491,000 vs. 457,000), while “CNN Tonight” ticked up 2 percent overall (1.005 million vs. 1.026 million) but is down 6 percent in the demo (374,000 vs. 353,000).
All told, from February 12, 2018-May 18, 2018 — including the low-rated week she was off the air — “The Ingraham Angle” has averaged 2.416 million total viewers, with 501,000 from the demo.
Those numbers top “The Last Word,” which received 2.220 million total/467,000 demo viewers, and crush “CNN Tonight,” which posted 994,000 total/354,000 demo viewers.
It may be true that no news is good news, but another proverb seems to be holding true here: There’s still no such thing as bad publicity.
While the primetime firebrand and her employer will probably still have to contend with revenue fallout from the boycott, the numbers suggests a ratings collapse — a far more deadly development — is not in the cards.
“The audience saw the boycott for what it was: an attempt to end Ingraham’s television career over one ill-advised tweet. The crime didn’t remotely fit the desired punishment,” Joe Concha, a media reporter for The Hill, told TheWrap.
“Fox News audiences, and I’ve been told this by the people at the highest levels at other networks, are the most loyal in television,” he continued. “It’s an us-versus-them mentality that is bigger than any one host. And in this case, they weren’t got to sit by and watch another host they like go down over something so silly.”
Hogg launched his war against Ingraham on March 29 after the conservative host mocked him on Twitter for failing to get into a number of colleges he had applied to. She later apologized for her remarks. Still, the ensuing weeks saw household brands like Wayfair, Allstate and Mitsubishi abandon her cable news ship — though she still kept MyPillow.
Ingraham put on a brave face when she returned from her vacation on April 9, largely ignoring the scandal on air, and only making oblique references to it by announcing a new focus on free speech coverage. A guest who did bring it up was promptly cut off.
Laura Ingraham's 8 Biggest Feuds, from David Hogg to LeBron James (Photos)
Laura Ingraham lost eight sponsors from her Fox News show this week after criticizing Parkland shooting survivor and activist David Hogg. And it's not even the first time she's been at the center of a public feud this year. Here are several recent instances where Ingraham has taken to Twitter or to the air and stirred national attention.
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David Hogg
On March 28, Ingraham tweeted, "David Hogg by Rejected Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it." Hogg then called for a boycott of 12 companies that advertise on Ingraham's show. Eight sponsors in all, Hulu, TripAdvisor, Wayfair, Nutrish, Expedia, Stitch Fix, Johnson & Johnson and Nestle pulled their ads from “The Ingraham Angle.” Ingraham issued an apology, but didn't address the topic on her show and hasn't yet deleted her original tweet. Hogg then told CNN that he plans to put even more pressure on Ingraham and others. “The fact that they’re going after us personally shows that what we’re doing is working. We have them scared and now we have to go even harder,” Hogg said.
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LeBron James
When NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant made some anti-Trump remarks during an interview with ESPN's Cari Champion, Ingraham called James's comments "ignorant" and said, "You’re great players; no one voted for you. Millions elected Trump to be their coach. So keep the political commentary to yourself, or as someone once said, ‘shut up and dribble.'” Her statement earned a strong response from James, even though he said he didn't even know Ingraham's name. “I will not just shut up and dribble,” the Cleveland Cavaliers player said. “So, thank you, whatever her name is … I get to sit up here and talk about what’s really important and how I can help change kids." Ingraham issued a statement that there was no racial intent behind her words and that she has used the expression telling entertainers to "Shut Up" frequently in the past.
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Hillary Clinton
While speaking at the Republican National Convention, Ingraham was criticized for appearing to give the Nazi salute after her speech. She then dragged Hillary Clinton into the controversy, tweeting a collage of photos of Clinton also extending her hand in a similar fashion. "It's Hillary ... hands down!" "Duh … it’s a satiric response to the left-wing criticism of Laura’s wave last night. Desperate liberals,” Ingraham tweeted.
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Paul Ryan
Back in 2015 when Paul Ryan was being considered to be Speaker of the House, he said he would accept the job on the condition that "family comes first." "I cannot and I will not give up my family time," Ryan said. Ingraham tweeted, but later deleted, a criticism saying, "like no one has ever sacrificed family time to serve the country?" "Our country is in a crisis and we need Republican leaders willing to unconditionally offer their service to the country," she added in a separate tweet.
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Mika Brzezinski
Engaged hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough have a habit of getting flirty on "Morning Joe," and Ingraham finds it hilarious. On Feb. 8, Sean Hannity prepared to hand off the time Ingraham when she started twirling her hair, lilting her voice and doing her best flirty Brzenzski impression. “What, what Sean, you’re always right. No you’re always right. You. Are. Always. Right. I mean, really,” Ingraham said.
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Ed Schultz
Ingraham didn't start this fight. The MSNBC personality called Ingraham a "right-wing slut" on his radio show, a comment that earned him a week-long suspension from MSNBC. He apologized and called his comments "vile and inappropriate," and Ingraham accepted his apology. She even joked that Schultz used to be conservative. "We'll welcome you back with open arms," she said.
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Donald Trump
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Ingraham critiqued the president for leaving much of his executive branch understaffed. “We can all look at these horrific pictures, and we can conclude that a federal government does need staff," Ingraham said. Trump, a frequent viewer of "Fox & Friends," heard Ingraham's criticism of his administration loud and clear and responded to her directly on Twitter. "We are not looking to fill all of those positions. Don't need many of them — reduce size of government,” Trump tweeted.
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Shepard Smith
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith gave some pointed criticism to his colleagues, telling Time that he knows some of Fox's opinion shows are "strictly to be entertaining." "I don’t work there. I wouldn’t work there. I don’t want to sit around and yell at each other and talk about your philosophy and my philosophy. That sounds horrible to me.” Both Sean Hannity and Ingraham took issue with Smith's comments. "Always liked Shep, but his comments were inconsiderate & inaccurate. The hard working team at the Ingraham Angle does real reporting, develops impt sources and scores big interviews. Very proud of them," she tweeted.
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Host of “The Ingraham Angle” has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
Laura Ingraham lost eight sponsors from her Fox News show this week after criticizing Parkland shooting survivor and activist David Hogg. And it's not even the first time she's been at the center of a public feud this year. Here are several recent instances where Ingraham has taken to Twitter or to the air and stirred national attention.
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