MSNBC, CNN in Close Race for Valuable Demo Viewers in Thursday Ratings

Fox News continues to reign supreme in the ratings, but on Thursday, MSNBC and CNN were in a close race for the second-most viewers in the valuable A25-54 demographic.

In the early morning, just 4,000 A25-54 viewers separated Morning Joe and New Day. Morning Joe averaged 143,000 viewers in the demo (955,000 viewers total), while New Day was just ahead with 147,000 demo viewers (527,000 viewers total), according to data from Nielsen. Meanwhile, Fox and Friends was first in the morning show race, with 1.25 million total viewers and 208,000 in the demo.

There was a little more distance in prime time, where MSNBC notched 217,000 viewers in the demo (1.56 million total), while CNN averaged 211,000 (861,000 viewers total). Neither could top Fox News’ unstoppable prime time lineup, which averaged 2.39 million total viewers, and 400,000 in the demo, topping not only the cable news competition, but also total viewership of the U.S. Olympic Trials on NBC.

In total day viewership, Fox News won with 1.43 million total viewers and 220,000 in the demo. MSNBC was second in total viewers, with 1.02 million, and third in the demo, with 139,000. CNN was third in total viewers, with 645,000, and second in the demo, with 165,000.

After an interview with Donald Trump boosted Sean Hannity to the top of the ratings charts on Wednesday, Tucker Carlson Tonight was back in first place on Thursday, averaging 2.62 million total viewers, and 450,000 in the demo. Hannity was second, with nearly 2.5 million total viewers, and 382,000 in the demo. The Five was third in total viewers, with 2.26 million (270,000 viewers in the demo). The Rachel Maddow Show was fourth in total viewers, with 2.14 million, and also fourth in the demo, with 301,000. The Ingraham Angle was fifth in total viewers, with 2.05 million, and third in the demo, with 368,000. Gutfeld! rounded out the top five most-watched in the demo, with 292,000 (1.47 million viewers total).