A Deeper Dive Into the 2023-2024 Season Ratings
As we settle into the 2024-2025 broadcast season, TVNewser is taking a last look back at some of the lesser-told narratives of 2023-2024 broadcast season. We’re focusing on time periods and networks that don’t always factor into our weekly coverage, from the Sunday morning shows to NewsNation and CNBC.
Sunday Morning News
CBS News’ Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan was the leading Sunday morning news program in total viewers (2.807 million viewers), as well as the Adults 25-54 demo (459,000 viewers) for the recently-concluded season. FTN remained No. 1 for the fourth consecutive year.
Elsewhere on Sunday, ABC News’ This Week with George Stephanopoulos finished ahead of NBC News’ Meet the Press with Kristen Welker and Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream in total viewers with 2.534 million viewers versus 2.496 million and 1.004 million viewers, respectively. This is the third season in a row that This Week has finished above MTP.
In the advertiser-coveted A25-54 demo, though, Meet the Press celebrated Welker’s first year behind the anchor desk by rising to 440,000 viewers, second place to Face the Nation (459,000 viewers) and ahead of This Week (428,000) and Fox News Sunday (226,000 viewers). It’s first time MTP ranked ahead of This Week among A25-54 viewers since the 2020-2021 broadcast season.
In Q3 of 2024, MTP outperformed CBS in the key demo for the first time in 7 quarters, with 453,000 viewers versus 431,000.
| ABC | NBC | CBS* | Fox | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,534,000 | 2,496,000 | 2,807,000 | 1,004,000 |
| • A25-54: | 428,000 | 440,000 | 459,000 | 226,000 |
*CBS News’ comparisons are based only on the first half-hour of Face The Nation, which is rated separately.
Afternoon News Programs
The afternoon news battle was largely between two networks as ABC News’ GMA: What You Need to Know finished ahead of NBC News Daily in total viewers. The PM edition of GMA scored 1.358 million viewers versus 1.169 million viewers for NBC. In the demo, though, NND scraped to victory with 234,000 viewers ahead of 231,000 viewers for ABC.
| ABC | NBC | |
|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,534,000 | 2,496,000 |
| • A25-54: | 231,000 | 234,000 |
Cable Networks (Third Quarter)
Turning to the cable nets, we’re zeroing in on the results of four 24-hour news networks during the just-concluded third quarter (July-September 2024) and how they compared to Q2.
- Newsmax: Quarter-to-quarter, Newsmax saw gains of +30% in total viewers and +82% in the demo during primetime. The network was also up during total day, rising +17% in total viewers and +50 in the demo.
- NewsNation: During primetime, the network was up +9% in total and stayed flat in the demo. Looking at its performance during total day, the net was down -2% in total viewers and rose +17% in the demo.
- Fox Business: FBN saw quarter-to-quarter primetime gains of +20% in total viewers and +21% in the demo. During total day, it rose by +4% and +18% in those respective categories.
- CNBC: Compared to Q2’s primetime results, CNBC was down -3% in total viewers, but rose +7% in the demo. During total day, the net saw gains of +10% in total viewers and +17 in the demo.
NewsNation and Newsmax might see additional viewership gains during the fourth quarter with the shrinking of available 24-hour news networks brought on by the recent demise of Scripps News. That eliminates another alternative news source outside of the big three cable networks.
| Primetime | NewsNation | Newsmax | FBN | CNBC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 104,000 | 324,000 | 96,000 | 119,000 |
| • A25-54: | 14,000 | 31,000 | 23,000 | 32,000 |
| Total Day | NewsNation | Newsmax | FBN | CNBC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 47,000 | 196,000 | 108,000 | 111,000 |
| • A25-54: | 7,000 | 15,000 | 13,000 | 27,000 |
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