(FiveNation.com)- The Fox News Channel won the primetime ratings game in a landslide during last Tuesday’s midterm election coverage while MSNBC came in a distant second with CNN finishing in last place.
Fox’s primetime election night coverage, co-anchored by Bret Baier and Martha McCallum drew a staggering 7.4 million total viewers on average according to Nielsen’s live plus same-day figures. Among the coveted 25-54 demographic, Fox drew 1.9 million viewers, putting it on top in the demo as well.
MSNBC’s “Decision 2022” election coverage, hosted by Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, and Joy Reid, came in a distant second in total viewers, drawing an average of 3.2 million, less than half of Fox’s total viewership. In the coveted 25-54 demo, however, MSNBC came in third with only 782,000.
CNN came in third in total viewers, garnering 2.6 million on average for its election night coverage hosted by Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper. But among the 25-54 demo, CNN shot to second place behind Fox News with 1.1 million viewers on average.
Neilsen reported that upstart cable news outlet Newsmax drew a record number of viewers on election day, placing it at number 7 among all cable channels during the evening and at number 9 for daytime cable.
According to a press release from Newsmax, its entire audience on election night (from 5:00 pm Tuesday until 1:00 am Wednesday) was over 3.4 million total viewers. Its primetime average according to Nielsen was 572,000 total viewers.
Newsmax also tabulated an estimate of total viewers watching via internet streaming platforms, estimating it reached another 2 million viewers between 5:00 pm Tuesday and 1:00 am Wednesday, bringing its total estimated viewership over that 8-hour period to 5 million.
According to Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, the ratings on election night are compelling since Newsmax reaches 20 million fewer homes than Fox, MSNBC, and CNN.
