Fox News Accounts For All 500 of the Most Watched Cable News Shows Since the Election

Much has been made about the staggering decline of CNN and MSNBC since the Nov. 5 presidential election. Both networks have shed over 50% of their audiences since Donald Trump's victory over Kamala Harris.

In the process, Fox News has dramatically increased its lead over the cable news competition. According to data from Mediaite, Fox News has accounted for all 500 of the most-watched cable news shows since the election.

The first non-Fox News show to appear on the list is not even a normally scheduled news show but CNN's coverage of election day. After 506 consecutive entries from Fox News, "CNN’s Election Day America" comes in at 507.

Specifically, the following five shows drew the highest average viewership in 2024: 

"The Five" (3.4 million viewers), "Jesse Watters Primetime" (3.1 million), "Hannity" (2.8 million), "Gutfeld" (2.53 million), and "The Ingraham Angle" (2.51 million).

MSNBC's "Deadline: White House (5-6 pm)" was the highest-rated non-Fox News show for the year, averaging 1.53 million viewers. "Anderson Cooper 360" was the highest at CNN, but averaged only 748,000 viewers a night.

"Fox News has been a dominant voice for a long time, but rarely do we see how dominant it is in drawing viewers," wrote Colby Hall for Mediaite. "In the months that followed election day, people who wanted to watch cable news were mainly looking for a Fox News program."

Part of Fox News' success can also be tied to the political diversity of its viewers. In 2024, Fox News had more independent and Democrat voters ages 25-54 than MSNBC or CNN. The network also outpaced its competition in terms of Hispanic voters.

Here's OutKick founder Clay Travis:

Looking ahead to 2025, expect several programming changes across cable news.

"The Will Cain Show" debuts on Fox News tomorrow and will air each weekday at 4 pm ET. Will Cain will replace Neil Cavuto, who previously hosted the hour and departed the company in December.

According to former CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy, CNN plans to move Wolf Blitzer from the evenings to a new morning program that he'll co-host with Pamela Brown.

CNN has also discussed moving Kasie Hunt from mornings to 4 pm, then shifting Jake Tapper to 5 to 7 pm. Darcy adds CNN may also demote Jim Acosta, the chief antagonist of Trump's first term, to the graveyard shift (midnight to 2 am).

Fake News at night, huh?

As for MSNBC, the channel announced last week that Rachel Maddow would resume hosting her 9 p.m. primetime show five days a week for the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Afterward, Maddow will return to hosting the program only on Mondays.

Finally, for those wondering if CNN and MSNBC would cover Trump with less hostility this time, it appears the two cable news networks have already found a sequel to the Russia Hoax.

As the new narrative goes, Trump plans to collude with the tech bros to form an oligarchy in America. This was the main talking point on both networks Monday during Trump's inauguration.

You can read our column on the subject below. 

No wonder not a single CNN or MSNBC show has cracked the top 500 since the election. Americans are tired of lies, hoaxes, and hysteria. Also, Joy Reid and Chris Hayes are really cringe. 

That hurts.

OutKick and Fox News share common ownership.