MSNBC Bests CNN And Fox News In Ratings, A First For The Network

NEW YORK, NY — Fox News is struggling where it once triumphed, falling behind cable news competitors MSNBC and CNN in the ratings race last week for the most coveted demographic the first time in around 17 years, according to TVNewser. MSNBC led the pack in both the prime demographic and in total viewers for the first time since the network's inception.

Fox News' decline comes after a tumultuous year for the network. In the last 12 months, CEO Roger Ailes resigned over a sexual harassment scandal and Bill O'Reilly was fired under similar circumstances, while Megyn Kelly, Greta Van Susteren and Gretchen Carlson all left the network. These departures meant dramatic changes in the public face of Fox News. (Ailes also died last week.)

Fox has also appeared reluctant to cover some of the controversies pouring out of the White House, leaving it to play catch-up with CNN and MSNBC as they fiercely cover the twists and turns of Donald Trump's presidency and the avalanche of new stories and leaks coming from the administration. This likely contributed the network's trouble last week, as TVNewser noted.

The demographic of people between the ages of 25 to 54 has long been a significant measure of a network's clout, because advertisers will pay a hefty premium to put commercials on shows preferred by this group. Fox News has long disproportionately dominated among older viewers, but because this group is seen as less likely to switch brand affiliations, advertisers are less interested in paying to reach these people.

Here are the ratings of the three news giants, according to TVNewser:

While this is good news for MSNBC, Fox News remains a formidable competitor. For instance, according to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News remains dominant over the other cable news networks in the primetime for the month of May, bringing in an average of 2.3 million viewers during that time.

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