Media

Fox News holds off MSNBC for May ratings win

by Joe Concha - 05/31/17 3:10 PM ET

Fox News won the month of May by a slim margin in the cable news ratings race against a surging MSNBC, according to Nielsen research.

In the 25- to 54-year-old demographic for the full week of Monday, May 22, through Sunday, May 28, Fox led the way with an average of 453,000 adults aged 25 to 54. MSNBC was second with 417,000, and CNN third with 399,000.

The win marks the 185th consecutive month in which Fox was the most-watched cable news network.

{mosads}MSNBC enjoyed an exceptional month in edging out Fox in the weekday night race from Monday to Friday, averaging 532,000 viewers. Fox was a close second with 524,000 viewers, and CNN third in the category advertisers covet most with 455,000.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow finished as the most-watched program in the demographic, averaging 637,000 viewers in the category.

In total viewers, Fox’s Tucker Carlson took first with an average of 2.7 million viewers per night.

Controversies surrounding the Trump White House and a heightened interest in the political process in general dating back to the campaign season have been the primary drivers behind the ratings rise for all the cable news networks.

Tags MSNBC Television in the United States The Rachel Maddow Show Tucker Carlson