MSNBC, CNN Halt Post-Election Swoons, But Fox News Stays Way Out in Front in January
The good news for CNN and MSNBC is that their audiences grew substantially in January, with both outlets posting substantial gains from December and the broader post-election period.
On the other hand, neither channel has yet recovered the audience it had through most of last year. CNN and MSNBC are also battling for a distant second place behind Fox News, which recorded the best January in the history of cable news.
January’s numbers were good to all three networks, with double-digit percentage gains among all viewers and the key ad demographic of adults 25-54 compared to December 2024. Fox News led the way with about 1.92 million viewers for the full day and 2.78 million primetime, gains fo 30 percent and 31 percent over December. (Nielsen measurements are for Dec. 30-Jan. 26.)
MSNBC drew 506,000 people for the full day (up by 26 percent vs. December) and 734,000 in primetime (up 29 percent). CNN’s percentage gains were the largest of the three, but it trailed MSNBC in both total day (421,000 viewers, up 39 percent month to month) and prime (522,000, up 55 percent).
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CNN did (as usual) outdraw MSNBC among adults 25-54 for the month, averaging 80,000 such viewers for the full day and 118,000 in primetime to MSNBC’s 45,000 and 63,000. Fox News was again far ahead with 253,000 adults 25-54 for the full day and 353,000 in prime.
Farther down the rankings, NewsNation also had its best January to date in total day audience (66,000) and its second-best primetime showing with 121,000 viewers.
Post-election downturns are common in cable news, with all three of the biggest outlets having weathered major slumps following past presidential contests. CNN and MNSBC are showing signs of recovery, with Jan. 20 coverage of Donald Trump’s second inauguration as president scoring each outlet’s biggest audience since election day. MSNBC’s weekday primetime lineup averaged 1.3 million viewers from Jan. 20-24, a 61 percent jump over the average of the prior three weeks.
The two channels still have a ways to go to match their audiences for all of 2024. The January ratings for CNN and MSNBC are currently running considerably behind their 12-month averages — but there’s a lot of year ahead to continue making up ground.
