Fox News Dominates Ratings as ‘The Five’ Leads All Cable News

Fox News closed out 2024 with its highest audience share in almost ten years, maintaining its position as the most-watched cable news network for the ninth consecutive year.

The widely popular show "The Five" set new records as the leading cable news program in viewership, becoming the "first non-primetime program to ever deliver four million viewers in the fourth quarter," as noted in a Fox News press release.

It was also a standout year for two key personalities from "The Five," Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld. The late-night sensation ‘Gutfeld!’ ranked as the most-watched program in the 25-54 age demographic, while "Jesse Watters Primetime" led among viewers aged 18-49.

Marking its highest-rated fourth quarter ever (4,026,000 P2+; 429,000 A25-54), The Five achieved a milestone by surpassing four million viewers and leading cable news in overall viewership for three consecutive years.

With an average of 3.4 million total viewers and 331,000 in the 25–54 demographic, Fox News Channel’s late-afternoon panel show (weekdays, 5 PM/ET) drew the largest audience of any cable news program in 2024. Additionally, "The Ingraham Angle" secured the top spot at 7 PM/ET with 2.5 million viewers and 278,000 in the 25-54 category, reinforcing FNC’s primetime dominance.

"Jesse Watters Primetime" emerged as the most-watched cable news show at 8 PM/ET, drawing 3.1 million primetime viewers and 352,000 in the 25–54 demographic.

Airing on weekdays at 9 PM/ET, "Hannity" ranked third in viewership with an audience of 2.8 million and 341,000 in the 25–54 demographic.

Fox News Channel’s late-night show "Gutfeld!" (weekdays, 10 PM/ET) achieved its best performance since its inception, averaging 2.5 million viewers and 355,000 in the 25-54 demo. The program surpassed competitors across both cable and broadcast television, earning its highest ratings ever.

Dominating cable news in the 25-54 demographic, "Gutfeld!" continued to shake up the late-night television landscape, outperforming major broadcast programs such as ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", CBS’ "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," and NBC’s "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon."

FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott highlighted the network’s success, stating, "Throughout coverage of a tumultuous political cycle, wars in the Middle East, and major breaking news events, millions of viewers across the political spectrum continued to tune into FOX News Channel for our unrivaled reporting and analysis. I am extremely proud of our entire team for proving once again why we are the nation’s most-watched network, as we outpaced the competition in covering the stories that mattered most to everyday Americans."

"During the 2024 election cycle, more viewers turned to FNC than any other cable news network for historic political news, including the lead-up to and following election night, headline-grabbing interviews, presidential debate simulcasts, the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race. According to Nielsen Media Research, FNC was the most-watched cable news network in every swing state, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin," Fox News noted in a press release.

"Since the election, FOX News captured 72% of the cable news audience in primetime as MSNBC and CNN ushered in historic declines. In primetime, MSNBC has seen 65% of its A25-54 audience flee the channel, with the network delivering only 51,000 in A25-54 and 576,000 viewers (-57%). CNN has lost over half of its audience in primetime in the A25-54 demo, averaging 70,000 (-56%) in A25-54 and 378,000 viewers (-49%). FNC has notched 374 of the top cable news telecasts since the day after the election, with MSNBC and CNN failing to garner over two million viewers since November 6th," the press release further stated.

A YouGov study conducted during the election campaign found that more Independents rely on Fox News for their news than any other source.