These Are the Top

By A.J. Katz on Jan. 3, 2023 - 2:00 PM

Fox News, once again, dominated the cable news rankings in 2022. This time, however, it was The Five, not Tucker Carlson Tonight, which averaged the largest total audience on cable news with 3.42 million viewers at 5 p.m. The Five's first place finish in 2022 marks the first time a non-primetime program was the most-watched show for a calendar year in cable news history.

Tucker Carlson Tonight ranked No. 2 in total viewers in 2022 (3.3 million), ahead of third-place Jesse Watters Primetime (2.86 million), the network's newest offering. Hannity, meanwhile, dropped to No. 4 in total viewers, averaging 2.81 million in 2022. Hannity had been the the most-watched show on cable news from 2017-2020.

Overall, Fox News is home to nine of the 10 most-watched cable news shows of 2022, with MSNBC's 9 p.m. hour falling to No. 10 after a fourth place finish in 2021. Rachel Maddow‘s move from daily to weekly put a substantial dent in the network's primetime ratings. However, MSNBC was still able to beat rival CNN in the hour. The latter has still not named a permanent 9 p.m. host.

Speaking of CNN, Anderson Cooper 360 remained the network's most-watched show, having averaged 868,000 total viewers in 2022 (No. 23 overall).

Below, the full regularly-scheduled weekday cable news ranker for 2022 (per Nielsen live plus same day data), sorted by average total viewers.

Tucker Carlson Tonight remains the most popular show on cable news among adults 25-54 for the second consecutive year, averaging 517,000 viewers from the key measurement in 2022.

The Five leapfrogged Hannity into the No. 2 spot in the key A25-54 demo, behind his FNC colleague with an average of 461,000 adults 25-54 in the 5 p.m. hour. Hannity averaged 416,000 A25-54 at 9 p.m., with Jesse Watters Primetime (392,000) and The Ingraham Angle (355,000) and Special Report (355,000) rounding out the top five.

Fox News earned the top 15 spots in A25-54 this past year. CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 is the top-rated non-Fox News show among adults 25-54, coming in at No. 16 by averaging 209,000 from the measurement; even ahead of MSNBC's 9 p.m. hour.

2022 ADULTS 25-54 (Nielsen Live+SD data)

2022 (Adults 25-54)