Fox News Channel set another ratings record on Tuesday when it attracted just over 14 million viewers to its election night coverage between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET, making it the most-watched election night coverage in cable news history.
Fox News’ coverage, co-anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum live from FNC headquarters in New York, outdrew ABC, NBC, CBS and all other cable news networks.
CNN averaged nine million viewers to finish second, followed by MSNBC with 7.3 million viewers. ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX each finished behind the cable news channels.
FNC also topped all competitors among the key demographic of adults age 25-54, averaging nearly six million viewers in the category coveted by advertisers.
Total viewership of Fox News increased by 16% over Election Night in 2016, while the number of viewers in the 25-54 demographic increased by 10%. By contrast CNN's total viewership dropped 24% from Election Night 2016, while viewership in the 25-54 demographic declined 29%
Fox News Digital had a record-setting day across all key performance indicators, with a more than 100 percent increase in unique devices, video starts, page views and time spent compared to 2016, according to Adobe Analytics and Apple News.
Fox News Digital properties also saw 11.8 million total livestreams during Election Day as FNC and FBN's coverage was made free for all Americans.
Last month, Fox News Channel wrapped up a record-setting October as the most-watched basic cable network for the 52nd straight month, while “Tucker Carlson Tonight” finished with the highest-rated monthly viewership of any program in the history of cable news.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” averaged a staggering 5.4 million nightly viewers over October, while “Hannity” averaged 5.1 million nightly viewers. Fox News’ prime-time lineup finished with the highest-rated month in cable news history – beating free TV heavyweights such as ABC’s “The Bachelorette” in the process.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“The Five” finished third among all of cable news despite its 5 p.m. ET timeslot, ahead of any primetime offering on MSNBC or CNN.
Fox News also had a clean sweep of the top five cable news programs among the key 25-54 demographic. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” led the way by averaging more than one million demo viewers for the first time ever. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" was followed by “Hannity,” “Ingraham,” “The Five” and “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”
“Hannity” finished October with its highest-rated month across both categories since the program launched in 2009. “The Ingraham Angle” also made cable news history, with Laura Ingraham the most-watched female host ever.
All Election Night information is courtesy of early data from Nielsen Media Research.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox