First Quarter 2021 Ratings: MSNBC #1 For First Time Ever, CNN Dominates Demo, Fox News Reclaims Prime Time

Significant viewership growth and major news events – including the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the inauguration of President Joe Biden, and the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump – launched CNN and MSNBC to major ratings wins in the first quarter of 2021, while Fox also notched a notable Q1 victory. MSNBC won in total viewers for the first time ever, CNN scored big in the valuable demographic of viewers age 25-54, and Fox News reclaimed the top spot in prime time.

MSNBC won the quarter with the most viewers across all of cable in total day, with 1.38 million, according to data from Nielsen. CNN was second, with 1.36 million total viewers, and Fox was third, with 1.34 million.

CNN dominated in the key demo in total day viewership in Q1, averaging 352,000, making it the most-watched network in the demo in all of cable and cable news for the second consecutive quarter. Fox was second, with 225,000, and MSNBC was third, with 219,000.

Fox was most-watched in prime time in total viewers, averaging 2.58 million. MSNBC was second, with 2.29 million, and CNN was third in total viewers, with 1.94 million.

CNN was first in prime time among demo viewers, with 535,000, marking the first time the network topped demo in 13 years. Fox was second, with 408,000, and MSNBC was third, with 375,000.

Both MSNBC and CNN saw ratings growth in the first quarter compared to 2020, while Fox saw its audience shrink overall. In total day, CNN’s total viewership was up 63%, and up 52% in the demo. MSNBC saw 30% growth in total viewers, and 27% in the demo. Fox’s Q1 total viewership numbers declined by 30% in total day, and by 36% in the demo.

It was a similar story in prime time, as CNN grew 45% in total viewers, and 32% in the demo. MSNBC was up 19% in total prime time viewers, and up 11% in the demo. Fox dropped by 25% in total viewers the first quarter compared to 2020, and by 31% in the demo.

Shows on MSNBC and Fox held the top five spots for most-watched in Q1. MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show was the most-watched show of the first quarter, drawing a record number of total viewers, with 3.6 million. Fox’s Tucker Carlson Tonight was second, with 3.43 million, Hannity was third, with nearly 3 million, and The Five was fourth, with 2.84 million. MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell rounded out the top five, with 2.65 million total viewers.

CNN had three out of five most-watched shows in the key demo in the first quarter. Cuomo Prime Time was first, with 658,000, Maddow was second, with 619,000, Anderson Cooper 360 was third, with 611,000. Tucker Carlson Tonight was fourth and CNN Tonight placed fifth.

While CNN and MSNBC have shown resilience after the 2020 election, and seen historic successes in the first quarter, March numbers may indicate that Fox is climbing back to their pre-election dominance. Fox won in total viewers and in the demo in both total day and prime time in March, and Fox shows held four of the top five most-watched shows as well. However, audiences in March were down for all three cable networks, with Fox’s prime time viewership dropping less than the competition, MSNBC and CNN losing less audience than Fox in total day.

Correction: A previous version of this story inaccurately stated that Rachel Maddow placed first in the demo for Q1 2021. After consulting with Nielsen, this has been corrected to reflect that Chris Cuomo placed first in the demo for the quarter. Maddow placed second.