Fox News On Track For Best Year Ever, Claims Top 10 Programs In Q2

Fox News again won the cable news ratings race in the second quarter of 2009, averaging 2.122 million total viewers in primetime and taking the top 10 programs in cable news for the first time ever. Through the end of June 2009 the network has had its best six months ever and is on pace for its best year ever.

"The O'Reilly Factor" was the #1 program in cable news, averaging 3.191 million total viewers, up 31% over the second quarter of 2008. "Hannity" averaged 2.345 million total viewers (up 33%); "Glenn Beck" averaged 2.053 million total viewers (up 110%); "On the Record with Greta van Susteren" averaged 1.950 million total viewers (up 45%); and "Special Report with Bret Baier" averaged 1.889 million total viewers (up 41%) to round out the top five. "The Fox Report with Shepard Smith," the 11PM repeat of "The O'Reilly Factor," "America's Newsroom," "Your World with Neil Cavuto," and "Studio B with Shepard Smith" rounded out the top 10, all up double digits over Q2 2008.

In addition, Fox News was the #3 cable network in primetime, behind only USA and TNT. CNN was #23 in primetime and MSNBC came in #25 (see below). In total day, Fox news took the #5 spot, behind Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, USA, and TNT.

Cable News Program Ranker, Total Viewers, Q2 2009:

2009 Q2 Cable News Program Ranker (P2 ) - Get more Business Documents

Cable Network Ranker, Primetime and Total Day, Q2 2009:

2009 Q2 Cable Network Ranker - Get more Business Documents

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Comments

[raven119]

Dish TV offers Fox News in it (Rup0ert Mus basic package, MSNBC in its Silver (or 3rd tier ) package. I suspect that Fox News is also available on a lower tier on DirecTV (Rupert Murdoch owns both). Don't know how cable companies around the country list it. However, this would account for disparity between Fox and MSNBC. I'm wondering where Fox would be in the ratings if everyone could choose which cable shows to subscribe to, or if other cable news channels had the money to buy in to a lower tier.

[manofmystique]

This only shows you the strong hold on racism in America. Fox News is the most openly racist cable talk show on TV. Even protest has no effect on them. They just don't give a damn. They are going to do what they want no matter what, and the brainless viewers don’t seem to be able to think for themselves.
Fox News is way out there and off the mark more times than not, especially on issue involving race.
Fox New will rationalize wrong behavior and propagandize righteousness to fit in with their ideology
Fox News relentlessly attacks the first black President and spit on democracy and those who exercised their right to vote in the 2008 Presidential election. .
Fox News is petty and successful because they play on the fears of white people, plain and simple.
One of the big lies they advertized is that Fox News is “fair and balanced”, yet they instituted an all out merciless assault on liberals and Barack Obama.
A President they accused, without facts, of being a socialist, a Marist, a communist etc, etc. Then they say his policies are weakening America’s defense. This is all playing on white fears and they are doing it intentionally.
There are many people, white people, who are predispose to believe negative things about black people, and those are the people who help keep Fox News ratings so high. Not good.

[MNTom]

Right on target.

[nana4g]

I am no expert on the Federal regs, etc for TV air and markets, but, I read somewhere that Fox news has more markets because of some purchase deal way back when. That probably explains why every MD office and place of business has Fox on their reception area TV and some cannot even get others. I just wait outside to be called. I will not be in the same room with them.

Problem: MSNBC TV has hired a Dylan somebody for in the morning and he is a disaster. And the new show with Dr Nancy Snydermann is awful because she is awful. They did this in response to the potential apin of Sanjay Gupta's possible nomination for Surgeon General, which he withdrew on.

[ruthie17]

I can't believe that there is that many stupid people out there. They cook the news and bad-mouth the president and generally lie. Greta went Ga-Ga over Palin and she can't be believed anymore either. I can't beieve that anyone seriously watches them. They make me sick!

[TrippyWeekender]

It's simple math. Angry white people have only one place to go. Three networks yelling at Bush (CNN, CNBC, MSNBC) aren't as powerful as one network yelling at Obama (FOX).

[Chicagofan1]

What about NICE white people? Where do they go? LOL
And you are right about "yelling at Bush". He is no longer our president and very few care to watch OLD news on MSNBC.

[ruthie17]

I don't think so!

[Andrew Shapter]

One of the key factors ignored here is coverage. I travel all of the time and when I check in to small town hotels/motels there are local channels, basic cable and Fox News. Small town cable carriers don't carry the "too liberal" MSNBC" or CNN.

So please ignore these ratings because there are a large sections of America where Fox has NO competition. So, ratings will never be on the level. They'll win every time as long as folks (in rural area) have nothing better to do than watch their one cable news channel. It's all by design. MSNBC needs to expand if they want to compete.

[yankeeinoxford]

Personally, I think it is a matter of ignorance. While this is by no means a scientific study, everyone I have ever talked to who watches Fox is woefully ignorant of basic tenets of American democracy, world history, and even current events. PIPA DID conduct a scientific study a few years ago in which they showed that Fox viewers were statistically the least informed of any demographic in the US. I'm educated and I can safely say that NONE of my educated friends watch Fox. Why? It is ignorant tv for an ignorant demographic. It doesn't challenge people to think. There is no Rachel Maddow type or Keith Olbermann. Keith might be a zealot, but at least he is an intellectual zealot, whose musings are actually sophisticated and well conceived. Hannity and O'Reilly produce 'dumbed down' television. It is easier to watch because you don't have to think. It is not intrinsically better, it is just easier.

[marley22]

'intellectual zealot'

I think that's my favorite phrase from all the posts on this thread. It's my new description for KO.

[winstonian22]

It's also worth noting that the Number #1 book in the country right now is by a conservative radio talk show host.

Who is reading all these books?

And who is watching Fox?

Oh, that's right. Its a 20 percent "minority."

[Reconsoldier19D]

Number 1 Cable news show for people under 35 years old: COUNTDOWN with Keith Olbermann

[winstonian22]

Let me elaborate on my favorite part of all of this. First, we have a cable channel that completely OBLITERATES all the competition, almost laughably. All the other desperate channels couldn't even pretend to break into the top ten.

Then, in overall ratings, MSNBC was so far down the least they were about as competitive as the Oakland Raiders.

But the best part? The absolute best part? This blog is full of pretentious tweed wearing elites who can't believe this is even possible. And what does that mean to them? It means its a scam! That's right!! It's a scam. (If this were the Super Bowl, and Fox had just won the SuperBowl, liberals would be claiming the REAL football players were in the Canadian League.)

The actual truth here, which is undeniable in any universe, is that Fox is the ONLY channel that even pretends to question what Czar Obama is doing to this country. People, as a whole, mistrust the government. That's where FOX comes in..the only channel that has the bawls to question the Great Czar. If you saw Gibbs today, people are starting to ask questions. And it's only going to get worse. YOu can't put this country on the fast track to Sh**City without somebody asking questions. I predict Fox's ratings will continue to imrpove until this Socialist clown is out of office.

I really get a kick out of the complete denial that liberals are in over Fox's ratings.

[Reconsoldier19D]

If you are trying to compare Obama to a Russian Commie, Czar would not be the way to do it, conservatives dont study history

[CynAnne]

Here's some "..scam.." for ya, winstonian: http://mediamatters.org/search/tag/fox_news_channel ..EIGHTY-SEVEN pages worth of inaccuracies, deliberate distortion and out-and-out yellow-rag rhetoric - if THAT'S your preferred choice for 'information', then we consider you, and your source, accordingly. The wingnutter faction of the GOP is in "..denial..", indeed..! ;) ...

[LiberalBuzz]

Said it before and I'll say it again.

Macdonalds sells more food than anyone in the world, does that make it good food or just easy to get junk at a cheap price with no regard to being something you really should be eating?

[JolieN]

Their viewers must be tv junkies who turn on their tv from the moment they wake up and let it on all day...while not doing anything else neither.

[bushlies]

Let's face it: Every podunk TV cable company offers Fox News in its basic package. Tells you a lot about how the Repigs control most of the cable business. You get their propaganda whether you want it or not. To get anything else, you have to pay extra....to the same Repigs.

Sure know how to have everything their way, don't they?

[seanparnell]

Can you provide evidence to back this up? I don't know that I've ever seen a cable operator that has FoxNews in the basic but CNN in a different tier. You should be able to quickly find web sites for several "podunk" cable operators that have Fox in basic and CNN in a premium tier, since "every podunk tv cable company" does this. Links, please.

Sean Parnell
President
Center for Competitive Politics
http://www.campaignfreedom.org

[DeloresT]

Fox averages close to 3 million people. That's the bad news. The good news is that there are over 200 million Americans NOT watching.

[Chicagofan1]

And most of them will not go to vote next time. Enough CHANGE for them.

[silentobsvr]

I pay to watch MSNBC... FOX is FREE!! No wonder they win the rating wars!!

[marley22]

If that's true, it's because Fox's ratings generate ad revenue which allows it to be included in Basic Cable.

You're putting the cart before the horse - MSNBC needs to move beyond 30th place. Why advertise on a network with a 0.2 share?

[LiberalBuzz]

That must be why Murdoch is losing millions on Fox because the ad demographic is old people sitting in their barcoloungers not buying anything thus less ad money.

[phylliscooper1]

I may be a little naive and misinformed, but how do these networks know who is or is not watching them? I am 58 years old and have never been polled by phone, snail mail or email to ask. Does the digitizing of our televisions give them this information?

[lvdragonlady]

All this proves is that there are lots of people that prefer to have someone else think for them.