Fox marks record-setting January at the top, beats ‘The View’

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FNC is marking the end of the January 2025 rating period as its highest-rated January ever, and by scoring a big win over “The View.”
The network ended up averaging 1.9 million viewers in total day, a number that pushed it to the top of all cable channels. ESPN followed with 1.6 million and no other network surpassed the 1 million mark, according to FNC.
Year over year, FNC was up 53% over 2024, while MSNBC lost 33% of its audience and CNN lost 9% using the same metrics.
During the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m. eastern, FNC handily beat its rivals with an average audience of 2.8 million viewers. MSNBC has an average audience of 734,000 and CNN averaged 522,000 primetime viewers.
FNC also posted significant gains in the coveted adults 25-54 demo, averaging 253,000 average day views in that bracket. MSNBC had only 45,000 viewers, while CNN managed 80,000.
Also of note, FNC’s “The Faulkner Focus,” hosted by Harris Faulkner, managed to beat ABC’s “The View,” coming in at 2.55 million compared to 2.51 million, though one week of data did contain repeats of “The View” when it was on holiday hiatus.
Faulkner’s program leans far right, while the “The View” panel tends to lean more center or left-of-center. “The View” does have more conservative panel members, Alyssa Farah Griffin and part-timer Ana Navarro, but these hosts have been hesitant to embrace much of Donald Trump’s policies.
For a country in the middle of transitioning to a controversial new administration, FNC’s ratings growth is likely a sign that its conservative messaging is still resonating with viewers. The network has also noted that it gets more democratic and independent viewers than MSNBC and CNN.
The network, however, is not known for unbiased coverage. Its hosts frequently attacked President Joe Biden when he was in office, and hosts, guests and contributors have been known to make untrue or unproven claims on-air.
FNC notably allowed multiple false or unproven claims to air about voting machines from Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems to air.
The network ended up settling with Domion for $787 million and a $2.7 defamation case brought by Smartmatic is still pending.
Earlier in January 2025, a five-member judge panel ruled that the lawsuit could continue. The judges noted that claims the Fox Corp. executives directed on-air talent on what it called a “disinformation campaign” while also playing an active role in coverage planning “sufficiently allege” Fox Corp.’s “direct liability” for the statements in question. Fox has denied any wrongdoing and claims in the Smartmatic case are only allegations at this point.
The same judges ruled against Smartmatic, however, on claims that Fox Corp. “wholly dominated” coverage and that the parent company cannot be held liable for defamation in that framework.
“We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial,” reads a statement issued earlier in January by Fox. Corp. “Smartmatic’s damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and on their face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms.”
Meanwhile, FNC is known for using dramatic banner graphics that seem purposefully designed to rile up viewers with fear and anger about many key issues, including immigration, gender identity, gender affirming care and the role public schools play in the U.S.
The network has been rated as a “questionable source” that delivers mixed reporting of facts and tends to include conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, propaganda, poor sources and numerous failed fact checks in its broadcasts. While CNN and MSNBC are both generally considered to skew left, they typically receive much higher marks on their editorial practice and largely refrain from leaning on editorial tactics FNC uses.
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ABC, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Ana Navarro, CNN, ESPN, Fox News, Harris Faulkner, MSNBC, ratings, The Faulkner Focus, The View, TV Ratings
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Broadcast Business News, Cable News, Featured