On a night that saw Republicans gain control of the Senate, Fox News Channel was the runaway winner among the cable news networks on Tuesday, well outpacing rivals MSNBC and CNN with 6.3 million viewers in primetime, according to Nielsen.
CNN, which is currently dark on Dish Network due to a carriage dispute, came in second with 2.1 million, while MSNBC was in third with 1.69 million viewers. Each network was down vs. the 2010 midterm elections, with Fox dropping 9% from its record high of 6.96 million four years ago, while CNN and MSNBC each dipped 13%.
FNC led the adults 25-54 news demo as well on Tuesday with 1.67 million in primetime, with CNN averaging 909,000 and MSNBC pulling in 525,000 viewers.
As it did in 2010, FNC also led the broadcast networks’ coverage at 10 p.m. with 6.6 million. CBS, which led the broadcast nets with 5.41 million, was second overall during the hour, with NBC behind with 4.22 million and ABC with 3.15 million. For the first time ever, FNC beat the broadcast nets in the news demo on an election night with 1.82 million at 10 p.m.; CBS was also second in that measure with 1.55 million adults 25-54 viewers.
