FOX NEWS CHANNEL’S TOWN HALL WITH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BERNIE SANDERS MARKS THE TOP-RATED EVENT OF THE SEASON
Event Also Delivers the Highest-Rated Weekday of the Year
Sweeps the Cable News Competition Combined in Both Total Viewers and the 25-54 Demo
FOX News Channel’s (FNC) town hall with Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (6:30-7:30PM/ET) marked the most-watched town hall of the season, according to early Nielsen Media Research reports. Additionally, the event was the highest-rated weekday delivery of the year in the news demo and the second highest-rated weekday delivery in total viewers for 2019. Co-anchored by Special Report’s Bret Baier and The Story’s Martha MacCallum, the event garnered nearly 2.6 million viewers and 489,000 in the 25-54 demographic, trouncing the cable news competition combined in both total viewers and the 25-54 demo.
According to early Nielsen Media Research, FNC’s non-primetime town hall with Sanders beat CNN’s primetime town hall in total viewers with the same candidate on 2/25/19. Additionally, the town hall also delivered a triple-digit advantage over CNN in total viewers and a double-digit advantage over MSNBC in all measurements, including total viewers, 25-54 and 18-49 demos. Yesterday’s 25-54 demo also marked the highest-rated demo since 11/8/18 for the 6:30-7:30PM/ET timeslot for FNC.
Finally, the timeslot was up 24% in total viewers and up 40% in the demo compared to the 2019 average. *See corresponding charts below.
**All must be attributed to: Early Nielsen Media Research
6:30-7:30PM/ET (FNC Town Hall with Bernie Sanders)
FNC delivered 2,554,000 P2+ and 489,000 A25-54
CNN delivered 913,000 P2+ and 281,000 A25-54
MSNBC delivered 1,441,000 P2+ and 208,000 A25-54
| FNC 4/15/19 Town Hall beats the competition in its time slot | P 2+ | P 18-49 | P 25-54 | ||
| Network | Date | Program | (000s) | (000s) | (000s) |
| FOXN | 4/15/2019 | SPECIAL RPT W/BRET BAIER (Bernie Sanders Town Hall) | 2554 | 275 | 489 |
| CNN | 4/15/2019 | SITUATION ROOM/BURNETT | 913 | 207 | 281 |
| MSNBC | 4/15/2019 | MELBER/MATTHEWS | 1441 | 141 | 208 |
| FNC percent advantage vs. CNN | 180% | 33% | 74% | ||
| FNC percent advantage vs. MSNBC | 77% | 95% | 135% | ||
| 4/15/19 Bernie Sanders Town Hall vs. 2019 to date average | P 2+ | P 18-49 | P 25-54 | ||
| Network | Date | Program | (000s) | (000s) | (000s) |
| FOXN | 4/15/2019 | SPECIAL RPT W/BRET BAIER (Bernie Sanders Town Hall) | 2554 | 275 | 489 |
| FOXN | 12/31/18-04/14/19 | SPECIAL REPORT/THE STORY | 2055 | 210 | 349 |
| 4/15/19 Bernie Sanders Town Hall vs. 2019 to date average percent advantage | 24% | 31% | 40% | ||