Fox News used to be a perennial ratings powerhouse, far outpacing CNN and MSNBC due to the popularity of personalities like Bill O’Reilly, Megyn Kelly and Sean Hannity. They were the one to beat.
That was before Donald Trump became president, and Kelly and O’Reilly departed the network under less-than-ideal circumstances. My, how things have changed.
Due in large part to the non-stop coverage of Trump’s missteps and perceived misdeeds, CNN and MSNBC have overtaken Fox.
Wall-to-wall coverage of the ongoing — and rapidly evolving — crises in the Trump White House again caused the typical cable news rankings to shift. Tuesday marked a second night at No. 3 for once-infallible Fox News Channel, as CNN snuck in for a primetime demo win over also-surging MSNBC.
It may just be a case of bad timing for Fox, as they settle into a new primetime lineup that relies heavily on Tucker Carlson, who has taken over O’Reilly’s time slot. It’s interesting to note that Rachel Maddow, the smirking MSNBC host, is winning her time slot among adults aged 25-54, with an average of 829,000 viewers.
There is some good news for Fox:
Among total viewers, MSNBC won the narrowing nightly race with 2.48 million viewers. FNC (2.38 million) and CNN (2.1 million) place a close second and third.
Welcome to the age of Trump, where up is down and MSNBC beats out Fox News.
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