Cable News Ratings November 25 & 26: Viewers Tuned Out for Thanksgiving, But Fox’s Patriot Awards Crush Stanley Tucci on CNN
Cables news networks’ total viewership slumped Thursday and Friday as the Thanksgiving holiday drew Americans away from their television sets — or T.V. news at least.
CNN reached an average of 357,000 viewers on Thursday compared to 719,00 average viewers on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Fox News averaged 940,000 viewers Thursday, down from 1.73 million the day before.
MSNBC saw the biggest drop, averaging only 334,000 viewers Thursday, down from 957,000 total average viewers the day before.
Networks scrambled for content over the holiday with guest hosts taking over for the regular stars and specials airing instead of regularly scheduled programming.
Actor Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy ran for six hours on CNN Thursday, while Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld all aired special programming. Fox Nation’s Patriot Awards, an Oscar-style event handing out awards to those who have shown “steadfast dedication to the nation,” aired at 7 p.m. on Fox News.
Patriot Awards, which was hosted by Pete Hegseth and originally aired on Fox Nation on November 17th, scored 103,000 viewers in the key 25-54 age demographic, almost doubling Tucci, who drew 51,000 demo viewers at 7 p.m.
Here is a full breakdown of Thursday’s cable news ratings by show:
Total Viewers (thousands)
| FNC | CNN | MSNBC | NEWSMAX | NEWSNATION |
| FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 848 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 337 |
MORNING JOE-SPC: 437 |
DICK MORRIS DEMOCRACY: 17 |
MURDER, SHE WROTE: 25 |
| FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 1174 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 467 |
— | WAKE UP AMERICA: 131 |
MORNING IN AMERICA: 25 |
| FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 1671 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 578 |
— | — | — |
| FOX NEWS LIVE: 1554 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 575 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 437 |
NATIONAL REPORT: 131 |
— |
| FOX NEWS LIVE: 1283 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 515 |
— | — | HOLIDAY FEATURE PRES.: 63 |
| FOX NEWS LIVE: 1142 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 456 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 399 |
— | — |
| OUTNUMBERED SPECIAL: 1056 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 430 |
— | JOHN BACHMAN NOW: 54 |
HOLIDAY FEATURE PRES.: 110 |
| FOX NEWS LIVE: 750 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 344 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 279 |
— | — |
| FOX NEWS LIVE: 577 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 336 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 260 |
AMERICAN AGENDA: 44 |
HOLIDAY FEATURE PRES.: 76 |
| FOX NEWS LIVE: 587 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 385 |
— | — | — |
| YOUR WORLD W/CAVUTO SPCL: 680 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 347 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 287 |
ERIC BOLLING THE BALANCE: 111 |
BLUE BLOODS: 68 |
| FIVE, THE SPCL: 1059 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 331 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 265 |
CHRIS SALCEDO SHOW, THE: 117 |
NEWSNATION: RUSH HOUR: 45 |
| SPCL RPT W/BRET BAIER SPC: 871 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 293 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 243 |
SPICER & CO: 116 |
DONLON REPORT, THE: 27 |
| FOX NATION: PATRIOT AWDS: 677 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 244 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 312 |
GREG KELLY REPORTS: 108 |
ON BALANCE W/ VITTERT: 23 |
| TUCKER CARLSON SPECIAL: 1119 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 271 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 322 |
STINCHFIELD: 101 |
DAN ABRAMS LIVE: 46 |
| HANNITY SPECIAL: 1144 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 353 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 369 |
CORTES & PELLEGRINO: 69 |
NEWSNATION PRIME: 44 |
| INGRAHAM ANGLE SPECIAL: 1034 |
PARTS UNKNOWN: 347 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 305 |
ROB SCHMITT TONIGHT: 85 |
BANFIELD: 20 |
| GUTFELD SPECIAL: 980 |
PARTS UNKNOWN: 305 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 287 |
GREG KELLY REPORTS: 63 |
ON BALANCE W/ VITTERT: 28 |
25-54 Demo (thousands)
| ET | FNC | CNN | MSNBC | NEWSMAX | NEWSNATION |
| 6a | FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 138 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 46 |
MORNING JOE-SPC: 37 |
DICK MORRIS DEMOCRACY: 5 |
MURDER, SHE WROTE: 6 |
| 7a | FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 187 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 94 |
— | WAKE UP AMERICA: 28 |
MORNING IN AMERICA: 1 |
| 8a | FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 288 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 110 |
— | — | — |
| 9a | FOX NEWS LIVE: 252 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 94 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 37 |
NATIONAL REPORT: 18 |
— |
| 10a | FOX NEWS LIVE: 208 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 79 |
— | — | HOLIDAY FEATURE PRES.: 13 |
| 11a | FOX NEWS LIVE: 184 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 73 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 47 |
— | — |
| 12p | OUTNUMBERED SPECIAL: 177 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 73 |
— | JOHN BACHMAN NOW: 4 |
HOLIDAY FEATURE PRES.: 17 |
| 1p | FOX NEWS LIVE: 143 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 60 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 33 |
— | — |
| 2p | FOX NEWS LIVE: 104 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 54 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 27 |
AMERICAN AGENDA: 10 |
HOLIDAY FEATURE PRES.: 20 |
| 3p | FOX NEWS LIVE: 112 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 109 |
— | — | — |
| 4p | YOUR WORLD W/CAVUTO SPCL: 161 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 90 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 24 |
ERIC BOLLING THE BALANCE: 32 |
BLUE BLOODS: 20 |
| 5p | FIVE, THE SPCL: 178 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 77 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 33 |
CHRIS SALCEDO SHOW, THE: 29 |
NEWSNATION: RUSH HOUR: 4 |
| 6p | SPCL RPT W/BRET BAIER SPC: 156 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 76 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 30 |
SPICER & CO: 28 |
DONLON REPORT, THE: 1 |
| 7p | FOX NATION: PATRIOT AWDS: 103 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 51 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 29 |
GREG KELLY REPORTS: 12 |
ON BALANCE W/ VITTERT: 6 |
| 8p | TUCKER CARLSON SPECIAL: 141 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 71 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 53 |
STINCHFIELD: 7 |
DAN ABRAMS LIVE: 5 |
| 9p | HANNITY SPECIAL: 128 |
STANLEY TUCCI: 85 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 81 |
CORTES & PELLEGRINO: 4 |
NEWSNATION PRIME: 2 |
| 10p | INGRAHAM ANGLE SPECIAL: 114 |
PARTS UNKNOWN: 89 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 65 |
ROB SCHMITT TONIGHT: 4 |
BANFIELD: 3 |
| 11p | GUTFELD SPECIAL: 146 |
PARTS UNKNOWN: 93 |
DATELINE EXTRA: 87 |
GREG KELLY REPORTS: 3 |
ON BALANCE W/ VITTERT: 2 |
As for the three cable news networks overall, here are the total day averages in total viewers and the 25-54 category.
Total viewers:
CNN: 357,000
Fox: 940,000
MSNBC: 334,000
25-54 Demo:
CNN: 76,000
Fox News: 157,000
MSNBC: 45,000
Here are the prime time averages— encompassing shows which air from 8-11 p.m. — in total viewers and the 25-54 demo.
Total viewers:
CNN: 323,000
Fox News: 1.09 million
MSNBC: 332,000
25-54 Demo:
CNN: 82,000
Fox News: 128,000
MSNBC: 66,000
Here is a full breakdown of Friday’s cable news ratings by show:
Total Viewers (thousands)
| ET | FNC | CNN | MSNBC | NEWSMAX | NEWSNATION |
| 6a | FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 787 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 297 |
MORNING JOE-SPC: 431 |
CONVERSATIONS WITH NANCY: 7 |
MURDER, SHE WROTE: 25 |
| 7a | FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 1154 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 435 |
— | WAKE UP AMERICA: 96 |
MORNING IN AMERICA: 18 |
| 8a | FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 1555 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 504 |
— | — | — |
| 9a | AMERICAS NEWSROOM SPCL: 1563 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 599 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 592 |
NATIONAL REPORT: 144 |
— |
| 10a | AMERICAS NEWSROOM SPCL: 1691 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 682 |
— | — | JAG: 121 |
| 11a | FAULKNER FOCUS SPECIAL: 1495 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 703 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 520 |
— | JAG: 137 |
| 12p | OUTNUMBERED SPECIAL: 1537 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 661 |
— | JOHN BACHMAN NOW: 93 |
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT: 231 |
| 1p | AMERICA REPORTS SPECIAL: 1291 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 702 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 570 |
TROOPATHON 2021: 51 |
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT: 298 |
| 2p | AMERICA REPORTS SPECIAL: 1270 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 646 |
— | AMERICAN AGENDA: 96 |
BLUE BLOODS: 231 |
| 3p | STORY SPECIAL, THE: 1187 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 616 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 636 |
— | BLUE BLOODS: 369 |
| 4p | YOUR WORLD W/CAVUTO SPCL: 1179 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 712 |
DEADLINE:WHITE HOUSE: 996 |
ERIC BOLLING THE BALANCE: 179 |
BLUE BLOODS: 386 |
| 5p | FIVE, THE SPCL: 2313 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 772 |
— | CHRIS SALCEDO SHOW, THE: 152 |
NEWSNATION: RUSH HOUR: 183 |
| 6p | SPCL RPT W/BRET BAIER SPC: 1712 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 616 |
BEAT W/ARI MELBER: 717 |
SPICER & CO: 184 |
DONLON REPORT, THE: 85 |
| 7p | FOX NEWS PRIMETIME SPCL: 1437 |
DIANA: 330 |
REIDOUT: 687 |
GREG KELLY REPORTS: 206 |
ON BALANCE W/ VITTERT: 61 |
| 8p | TUCKER CARLSON SPECIAL: 2306 |
DIANA: 394 |
DEADLINE:WHITE HOUSE: 745 |
STINCHFIELD: 157 |
DAN ABRAMS LIVE: 55 |
| 9p | HANNITY SPECIAL: 1741 |
DIANA: 371 |
— | CORTES & PELLEGRINO: 122 |
NEWSNATION PRIME: 42 |
| 10p | INGRAHAM ANGLE SPECIAL: 1490 |
DIANA: 368 |
IN THE DARK OF THE VALLEY: 339 |
BAD DECISIONS: THE JOE BI: 101 |
BANFIELD: 33 |
| 11p | GUTFELD SPECIAL: 1368 |
DIANA: 362 |
— | GREG KELLY REPORTS: 75 |
ON BALANCE W/ VITTERT: 26 |
25-54 Demo (thousands)
| ET | FNC | CNN | MSNBC | NEWSMAX | NEWSNATION |
| 6a | FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 152 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 23 |
MORNING JOE-SPC: 40 |
CONVERSATIONS WITH NANCY: 2 |
MURDER, SHE WROTE: 9 |
| 7a | FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 177 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 46 |
— | WAKE UP AMERICA: 10 |
MORNING IN AMERICA: 5 |
| 8a | FOX AND FRIENDS SPECIAL: 244 |
NEW DAY SPECIAL: 65 |
— | — | — |
| 9a | AMERICAS NEWSROOM SPCL: 270 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 90 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 52 |
NATIONAL REPORT: 26 |
— |
| 10a | AMERICAS NEWSROOM SPCL: 320 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 119 |
— | — | JAG: 9 |
| 11a | FAULKNER FOCUS SPECIAL: 292 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 114 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 48 |
— | JAG: 14 |
| 12p | OUTNUMBERED SPECIAL: 258 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 126 |
— | JOHN BACHMAN NOW: 11 |
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT: 20 |
| 1p | AMERICA REPORTS SPECIAL: 192 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 125 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 44 |
TROOPATHON 2021: 3 |
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT: 40 |
| 2p | AMERICA REPORTS SPECIAL: 169 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 125 |
— | AMERICAN AGENDA: 5 |
BLUE BLOODS: 26 |
| 3p | STORY SPECIAL, THE: 169 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 132 |
MSNBC REPORTS- LIVE: 60 |
— | BLUE BLOODS: 56 |
| 4p | YOUR WORLD W/CAVUTO SPCL: 141 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 131 |
DEADLINE:WHITE HOUSE: 85 |
ERIC BOLLING THE BALANCE: 6 |
BLUE BLOODS: 55 |
| 5p | FIVE, THE SPCL: 263 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 117 |
— | CHRIS SALCEDO SHOW, THE: 7 |
NEWSNATION: RUSH HOUR: 30 |
| 6p | SPCL RPT W/BRET BAIER SPC: 195 |
CNN NEWSROOM SPCL: 88 |
BEAT W/ARI MELBER: 44 |
SPICER & CO: 15 |
DONLON REPORT, THE: 3 |
| 7p | FOX NEWS PRIMETIME SPCL: 173 |
DIANA: 67 |
REIDOUT: 66 |
GREG KELLY REPORTS: 17 |
ON BALANCE W/ VITTERT: 1 |
| 8p | TUCKER CARLSON SPECIAL: 325 |
DIANA: 71 |
DEADLINE:WHITE HOUSE: 74 |
STINCHFIELD: 22 |
DAN ABRAMS LIVE: 2 |
| 9p | HANNITY SPECIAL: 264 |
DIANA: 74 |
— | CORTES & PELLEGRINO: 27 |
NEWSNATION PRIME: 6 |
| 10p | INGRAHAM ANGLE SPECIAL: 220 |
DIANA: 79 |
IN THE DARK OF THE VALLEY: 24 |
BAD DECISIONS: THE JOE BI: 31 |
BANFIELD: 12 |
| 11p | GUTFELD SPECIAL: 252 |
DIANA: 86 |
— | GREG KELLY REPORTS: 19 |
ON BALANCE W/ VITTERT: 1 |
As for the three cable news networks overall, here are the total day averages in total viewers and the 25-54 category.
Total viewers:
CNN: 496,000
Fox: 1.36 million
MSNBC: 550,000
25-54 Demo:
CNN: 87,000
Fox News: 210,000
MSNBC: 50,000
Here are the prime time averages— encompassing shows which air from 8-11 p.m. — in total viewers and the 25-54 demo.
Total viewers:
CNN: 378,000
Fox News: 1.84 million
MSNBC: 533,000
25-54 Demo:
CNN: 75,000
Fox News: 270,000
MSNBC: 66,000
For more ratings information and analysis go to ShowBuzz Daily.