Three Fox News Shows Post Yearly Highs On Wednesday, Maddow Places Second In Demo

On the day following a widely watched midterm election that also featured news of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ firing and an off-the-rails presidential news conference, three Fox News programs set yearly ratings highs while the network led across the board. Meanwhile, CNN and MSNBC posted stronger-than-usual numbers, with MSNBC boasting the second-highest program in the demo.

According to Nielsen, Fox News averaged 3.728 million total viewers and 780,000 in the key 25-54 demographic during the 8 PM to 11 PM primetime hours on Wednesday. CNN nabbed a demo audience of 601,000 and 1.737 million viewers. MSNBC drew a total audience of 2.904 million and 577,000 in the key demo.

In total day, Fox pulled in a total viewership of 2.395 million and 502,000 in the demographic. MSNBC averaged 1.545 million viewers overall and 296,000 in the 25-54 metric. CNN attracted a demo audience of 401,000 and 1.203 million total viewers.

Fox’s flagship morning show, Fox & Friends, set a 2018 high by drawing 2.425 million total viewers and 546,000 in the demographic. Fox’s The Five also came in with its top-rated show of the year, posting 3.608 viewers overall — finishing second overall for the day — and 697,000 in the key demo. Special Report with Bret Baier also beat out its broadcast featuring Trump’s interview, drawing 3.544 million total viewers and 684,000 in the demographic.

The most-watched show of the day was FNC’s Hannity, which finished first in both total audience (4.083 million) and the demo (867,000). MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show placed second in the demographic (771,000) and third in total viewership (3.578 million).

Over on Fox Business, Cavuto: Coast to Coast also posted its highest-rated broadcast of the year, drawing 321,000 total viewers and beating its CNBC competition by 72 percent.