Fox News Channel closes 2021 as most-watched cable network for sixth straight year

Fox News Channel finished off its 25th anniversary year as the most-watched network across all of basic cable for the sixth straight year.

Fox News, which launched on Oct. 7, 1996, dominated all of basic cable in total day and primetime viewership to close the anniversary year with plenty to celebrate a quarter-century after Rupert Murdoch launched the network. 

"As we embark on our 20th year as the leader in cable news, the last six of which as number one in all of cable, I am incredibly proud of the unrivaled success we’ve had at Fox News Channel," FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said.

TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION HONORS FOX NEWS MEDIA CEO SUZANNE SCOTT FOR WORK WITH VETERANS, FIRST RESPONDERS

"Not only were we the only network to grow our audience share, but we did so while changing our lineup and transforming the entire late-night television landscape in the process, ensuring our continued momentum for many years to come," Scott said. 

Fox News averaged 1.3 million viewers from the start of 2021 through Dec. 13, while no other basic cable offering cracked the one-million viewer barrier. 

MSNBC finished second with an average audience of 915,000 and CNN settled for third place with 783,000. ESPN and HGTV joined the cable news channels among the top five. 

Fox News dominated the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m. ET, averaging 2.4 million viewers compared to 1.7 million for second-place ESPN. MSNBC averaged 1.5 million viewers to finish fourth, as CNN held off HGTV for the fourth spot by averaging 1.1 million primetime viewers.  Fox News was the only cable network to finish with over two million viewers in primetime and one million in total day. 

"Tucker Carlson Tonight" averaged 3.2 million viewers to finish as the most-watched show on cable news. 

"The Five" averaged 2.9 million to finish second despite airing in the late afternoon, well before the primetime hours that historically attract a larger audience. 

"Hannity" averaged 2.8 million viewers to finish third while MSNBC’s most-watched program was "The Rachel Maddow Show," which averaged 2.6 million viewers to finish fourth. 

"The Ingraham Angle," "Special Report with Bret Baier," "Fox News Primetime" and "Gutfeld!" all finished among the 10 most-watched cable news options, too. Daytime programs "Outnumbered," "America’s Newsroom" and "The Faulkner Focus" finished in the top 15 after dominating their timeslots. 

"Gutfeld!," hosted by Greg Gutfeld, was launched in 2021 when Fox News joined the late-night space to great success. It swiftly became the second highest-rated program in late night television with an average audience of 1.7 million viewers, topping ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," NBC’s "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon," Comedy Central’s "The Daily Show" and TBS’ "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" in the process. 

Gutfeld, also a co-host on "The Five," was the first late night television host to outdraw CBS’ Stephen Colbert as the most-watched late night television host for an entire week since 2018. "Gutfeld!" ended up topping Colbert during several weeks of 2021. 

CNN’S MORNING SHOW ‘SHAKEN’ OVER SENIOR PRODUCER FIRED AFTER BEING CHARGED WITH CHILD SEX CRIMES

CNN’s most-popular program was troublesome for multiple reasons. "Cuomo Prime Time," combined with its timeslot replacement, "CNN Tonight," averaged 1.3 million viewers to finish No. 25 among all cable news options. The liberal network’s 9 p.m. ET hour finished behind 13 Fox News shows and 11 MSNBC programs. 

While the lack of viewership for CNN’s most popular show would raise eyebrows alone, its namesake host was fired in December after months of embarrassing the network.

CNN was forced to fire Chris Cuomo after the New York Attorney General's office released documents from its sexual harassment investigation into ousted Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, revealing the anchor was far more involved in helping his disgraced brother than he publicly acknowledged.  

Transcripts from his interview with investigators show the now-former CNN star admitting he would reach out to media sources to find out about new accusers who have yet to come forward publicly. The "Cuomo Prime Time" namesake was also caught up in a variety of other scandals and has been temporarily replaced by Michael Smerconish, but the show still managed to finish as the most popular program CNN had to offer in 2021.  

CNN TERMINATES CHRIS CUOMO ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’

As 2022 approaches, MSNBC’s most-watched host, Rachel Maddow, is expected to take a step back from her nightly duties in the coming months and CNN’s most-watched host is currently unemployed. 

Fox News also topped cable news options among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, averaging 222,000 total viewers from the key category. The only basic cable offering to finish ahead of Fox News in the demo was NFL-heavy ESPN, while CNN averaged 189,000 demo viewers to finish fifth. MSNBC, which has struggled to attract young viewers in recent months, barely cracked the top ten with 127,000 average viewers. 

During primetime, Fox News averaged 373,000 nightly viewers from the critical category compared to 274,000 for CNN and only 219,000 for MSNBC. 

"Tucker" was the most-watched show among the demo with an average audience 536,000 viewers among the category most coveted by advertisers. "Hannity" averaged 462,000 to finish second, followed by "The Five," "The Ingraham Angle" and MSNBC’s "Maddow."

By topping Maddow, Fox News’ Laura Ingraham has now finished as the most-watched female cable news host among the demo in back-to-back years. 

CNN BOSS JEFF ZUCKER IS CAPTAIN OF SINKING SHIP AMID MULTIPLE SCANDALS, RATINGS WOES: CRITICS

Fox News held a 44% share of the cable news audience in total day viewership and 41% of the demo audience. During primetime, Fox News held a 47% audience share in total viewers and 43% among the key demo, increasing its percentage of the demo audience since 2020 in the process. 

"FOX News @ Night with Shannon Bream," which moved to a new timeslot in 2021, improved the network’s timeslot’s ratings across the board. Fox News also unveiled a new daytime lineup on January 18, which increased the network’s daytime viewership by 12% among total viewers and 27% among the key demo. 

"America’s Newsroom" with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino averaged 1.5 million viewers, Harris Faulkner’s "The Faulkner Focus" averaged 1.5 million and Faulkner, Emily Compagno and Kayleigh McEnany’s "Outnumbered" averaged 1.6 million viewers, while "America Reports" with John Roberts and Sandra Smith, "The Story with Martha MacCallum" and "Your World with Neil Cavuto" all averaged 1.4 million to help Fox News crush cable news competition.  

"FOX & Friends" was highest-rated morning program on cable, averaging 1.2 million total viewers and 211,000 in the demo. Meanwhile, CNN’s morning show option, "New Day," averaged only 529,000 viewers to finish as the No. 46 program on cable news. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The thumping continued on weekends, when "Watters’ World" with namesake host Jesse Watters averaged 1.9 million viewers to finish as the most-watched program among total viewers. 

"Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" finished as the most-popular weekend program among the demo, averaging 249,000 from the group coveted by advertisers. 

"FOX & Friends Weekend," "FOX Report with Jon Scott," "Justice with Judge Jeanine," newly launched "Unfiltered with Dan Bongino," "MediaBuzz with Howard Kurtz," "FNC’s The Big Sunday Show," "Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy," "Life, Liberty & Levin" and "The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton" all had strong performances during the network’s 25th anniversary year, too. 

All data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research using ratings through Dec. 13, 2021.