Fox also captured an extraordinary share of the cable news marketplace, accounting for 56 percent of the total cable news audience and 57 percent of viewers during primetime.
But perhaps the biggest story came from a program that doesn’t follow the traditional cable-news formula.
“The Five,” featuring a rotating panel that includes Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Emily Compagno, Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr., averaged approximately 3.1 million viewers.
That made the program the most-watched show in cable news for the 20th consecutive quarter.
It wasn’t simply dominating among total viewers, either.
“The Five” reportedly averaged 289,000 viewers in the advertiser-coveted 25-to-54 demographic, putting the program at the top of that category as well.
Fox’s strength hardly ended there.
“Jesse Watters Primetime,” “Gutfeld!,” “Special Report with Bret Baier,” “Hannity” and “The Ingraham Angle” helped give the network a lineup its competitors have struggled to match.
That breadth matters.
Cable news networks can sometimes produce one breakout personality or program while the remainder of the schedule struggles. Fox, however, has developed several personalities capable of attracting large audiences across different portions of the day.
Meanwhile, the situation at MS NOW has been considerably less encouraging.
The network formerly known as MSNBC averaged approximately 592,000 viewers for the quarter, compared with about 1.3 million for Fox when looking at the broader measurements cited in the ratings data.
Even Rachel Maddow, historically one of the network’s biggest stars, maintained a much lighter schedule.
Maddow reportedly aired only 10 episodes during the quarter, compared with 59 episodes of “The Five.”
CNN has its own problems.
Its highest-rated program, “Newsnight,” averaged approximately 686,000 viewers and ranked only 24th among cable news programs.
That is a remarkable position for a network that once stood near the center of America’s television news industry.
The ratings trouble comes at an especially awkward moment for MS NOW because executives recently rolled out a highly publicized rebranding effort.
The network abandoned the MSNBC name as part of its separation from NBCUniversal and transition under Versant.
But critics questioned whether replacing a famous — if politically polarizing — brand would accomplish anything if viewers weren’t given a compelling reason to return.
Johns Hopkins professor Michael D. Cohen was among those unimpressed with the new identity, describing the MS NOW name as “soulless.”
Another former NBC News executive reportedly mocked the unusual spacing between the letters and the word “NOW,” comparing the result to something that sounded more like a medical awareness campaign than a national news organization.
Those jokes would have been easier for executives to dismiss if the ratings had immediately improved.
Instead, the network reportedly recorded only 45,000 viewers in the key demographic during October, its weakest performance in that category since 1997.
Primetime viewership was also reportedly down 41 percent compared with the previous year.
For conservatives who have watched cable news evolve throughout the Trump era, the explanation may not be particularly mysterious.
Fox increasingly relies on personality-driven programming that blends politics, argument, humor and cultural commentary.
Gutfeld is perhaps the clearest example.
Rather than adopting the solemn presentation style associated with traditional evening news, he has built his television persona around sarcasm, comedy and open political disagreement.
“The Five” follows a similar formula.
Viewers aren’t presented with a single anchor delivering a carefully packaged monologue. They get several personalities challenging one another, interrupting, joking and occasionally disagreeing.
Jessica Tarlov, for example, regularly provides a liberal counterpoint to the program’s conservative majority.
That friction is part of the attraction.
Audiences know there is at least a possibility that somebody at the table will challenge what another panelist says.
Meanwhile, CNN and the network formerly known as MSNBC spent much of the Trump era building programming around relentless criticism of Trump, MAGA and the Republican Party.
That approach may have energized liberal audiences during certain political moments, but the newest numbers suggest there are serious limits to how far that formula can carry a network.
Fox appears to have learned a different lesson.
Politics matters, but television still has to be entertaining.
Gutfeld’s success illustrates that point particularly well. He has turned political comedy into one of Fox’s most valuable weapons while “The Five” continues outperforming conventional primetime news programs.
The contrast becomes especially painful for MS NOW after its expensive branding overhaul.
A new logo can be designed.
A network can change its name.
Executives can hire consultants, conduct focus groups and launch an advertising campaign telling audiences that something new has arrived.
But none of those things guarantee viewers will actually turn on the television.
Fox’s advantage was not built by changing the letters on the screen. It was built by cultivating personalities with audiences willing to follow them night after night.
And after 20 consecutive quarters at the top for “The Five,” calling the program’s success a temporary ratings streak no longer makes much sense.
It has become a pattern.
CNN and MS NOW can debate what their next reinvention should look like.
For now, however, millions of cable news viewers appear to have already made their choice — and Greg Gutfeld and his Fox News colleagues are enjoying the results.
