For the week of May 15-19, Fox News averaged just 497,000 viewers in the advertiser-coveted key demo of adults 25-54 during primetime hours, compared to CNN’s 589,00 and MSNBC’s 611,000, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which cited data from ratings tracker Nielsen.
However, the longtime cable news king remained second in total viewership, with an average of 2.41 million viewers over the course of the week, compared with CNN’s 1.65 million and MSNBC’s leading 2.44 million. Fox News also remained in the lead in primetime and total day viewership for the month of May.
Flagship shows such as CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 and MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show performed particularly well, while Fox has seemingly struggled with the loss of Bill O’Reilly’s The O’Reilly Factor, which had consistently led all cable news programs in the ratings for the better part of two decades. O’Reilly departed the network last month following a report that he had allegedly settled multiple claims of sexual harassment with high-dollar payouts.
As a result, Fox News’ primetime lineup has undergone perhaps its most significant shake-up ever, with anchor Tucker Carlson now hosting the 8 p.m. hour and the panel show The Five moving to 9 p.m.
Someone once coined a law, I forget who, that any organization that is not specifically conservative on principle will eventually become left-leaning. That is what we are seeing at Fox as the younger Murdoch brothers, who are reputed to be big liberals, are taking over the leadership and remaking the network according to their own views. The older staff that built the network and created the brand have been pushed aside to make room for a more liberal management that will eventually make FOX just like every other liberal news outlet.
Some conservatives are upset by this development and understandably so, but the long-term trends for television point to fundamental change that is going to happen anyway. Younger generations are simply not watching TV and do not have the habit of doing so as is common for older generations. These younger people get their information from the internet. And that could be a very good development.
Given these facts, I don’t think it is a stretch to predict that conservative news media will eventually move to the internet. Low overhead and startup costs and no left-wing corporate culture suits to prevent you from having an opinion make it a logical option. Mark Levin’s CRTV is just one example of what we may see from new media in the future. Fox commentator Tammy Bruce’s radio show has been entirely internet based for nearly ten years now and has been able to carve out a regular and loyal audience. Already many people don’t watch TV and that confirms that regular Americans are on to the scam.
There are also tons of independent commentators using YouTube to get out their own particular views and opinions. Some of this stuff is really first-rate. It’s only a matter of time before this becomes the best way to avoid having your network taken over by leftists who think they can “improve” the product. Alternative media is where the truth is and people are figuring it out.
