Hard Numbers: Newscast Viewership Dips On St. Patrick’s Day, Newsmax Is Most Trusted Conservative Cable News Channel
Lester Holt - NBC Nightly News
News (Daily – Broadcast): For the month of March, CBS Mornings hit a record low for 2024 with 1.98 million viewers on St. Patrick's Day. As of March 24th, it is the No.19 ranked program on the network and No. 59 for overall TV programs. Likewise, Good Morning America (GMA) attracted only 2.677 million viewers in the same period on ABC. Meanwhile, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, the second popular program on NBC, also hit a record low of 5.912 million viewers during the holiday. NBC News Daily has seen a constant decline in its viewership after its peak on January 21st. The Today Show is no exception, drawing in only 2.534 million viewers on this important region day.
Kristen welker - Meet the Press
News (Weekend – Broadcast): CBS’s third popular program, 60 Minutes, maintained its monthly viewership at around 7 million in March. However, NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker continues to lose its audience; as of March 10th, it averaged 2.417 million viewers. Dateline NBC fluctuated a lot, despite having its second-highest viewership of 2.951 million this year. Currently, it is the 12th most popular program on the network. ABC’s 20/20 reached a record of 3.297 million viewers on the March 22nd episode. For its last episode in March, 1.92 million viewers tuned in.
Chris salcedo - The Chris Salcedo Show/newsmax
News & Politics (Daily – Cable): MSNBC’s The ReidOut (with Joy Reid) gathered 1.7 million viewers on March 5th, the second-highest viewership this year. It is the No. 6 most popular show on MSNBC. Alex Wagner Tonight reached a low point of 1.038 million viewers after a record of 1.971 million at the beginning of March. The Faulkner Focus is ranked No. 9 on Fox News, with viewership in March ranging between 1.5 million and 2 million. As of March 29th, the viewership of Outnumbered, Fox News’ No. 7 most popular program, dropped again to 1.549 million viewers. CNN's Laura Coates Live pulled in 537,000 viewers, a new peak for 2024. Making Money with Charles Payne is at the No. 5 spot on Fox Business, despite its viewership going down slightly. Newsmax’s No. 4 ranked program, The Chris Salcedo Show, was watched by 315,000 viewers on March 27th.
Katie Phang - The Katie Phang Show/msnbc
News & Politics (Weekend – Cable): MSNBC’s The Katie Phang Show amassed 810,000 viewers on March 30th, but most of its viewership for the month landed at around 600,000. Ayman’s viewership fluctuated significantly throughout the month, placing it at the No. 21 spot. The Saturday Show with Jonathan Capehart and The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart were ranked No. 22 and No. 26 on the network, respectively. PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton, MSNBC’s No. 25 most popular program, was only watched by 439,000 viewers on March 31st compared to its previous record of 614,000. As CNN’s No. 16 most popular show, First of All with Victor Blackwell’s viewership averaged around 380,000 across the month. Inside Politics, the No. 3 ranked program on cable, set its third-highest record since January with 895,000 viewers.
HODA KOTB AND JENNA BUSH HAGER - Today with Hoda and Jenna and Today Third Hour/NBC
Talk Show: ABC’s GMA3: What You Need to Know maintained a viewership of about 1.3 million in March. The View was watched by 2.487 million viewers on March 10th and fluctuated throughout the month. On the same day, NBC’s Today with Hoda and Jenna and Today Third Hour hit record lows of 1.3 million and 1.779 million viewers, respectively.
TONY KORNHEISER AND MICHAEL WILBON - PARDON THE INTERRUPTION/ESPN
Sports: Pardon the Interruption fell to the tenth most popular show on ESPN. It averaged 854,000 viewers on March 27th, the highest level for the month. Similarly, First Take dropped to the No. 16 spot on the network.
Fox News
Business: Fox News Digital has surpassed CNN on total digital multiplatform unique visitors for the first time. There were 115 million visitors to Fox News Digital, less than 111 million to CNN, and under 74 million to The New York Times. Held on March 5th, Super Tuesday 2024 Primary Election gained less viewers than previous years. Combined viewership from Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN show a 33% decrease compared to 2020. According to The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) poll, 49% of attendees said that Newsmax became their most trusted cable news channel.
