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We reported last week how Fox’s day-to-day ratings were seeing an alarming decline, with MSNBC, of all places, besting Fox. Well, we now have a snapshot of how bad last week was in its entirety, and it’s not good news.
For the first time in 17 years, Fox spent an entire week in third place in prime time in the all-important 25-to-54 year-old demographic.
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There are several possible reasons for the decline.
– The loss of head honcho Roger Ailes, who had steered the ship from the beginning, followed by the exits of primetime ratings-grabber Bill O’Reilly and rising star Megyn Kelly.
– The retooled primetime lineup has lost some star power and is still in the early stages of building their audiences. Tucker Carlson will be just fine in O’Reilly’s old spot, but The Five will need to figure out how to grow into its new time slot.
– Sean Hannity isn’t Sean Hannity anymore. Gone are the days of the feisty Hannity sparring with his old co-host, Alan Colmes. Today’s Sean is relentlessly pro-Trump, which certainly has limited appeal.
– Then there’s Trump himself. It’s no surprise that “resistance”-friendly networks like MSNBC and CNN are doing better serving up endless anti-Trump stories to a hungry audience. Much like Fox itself benefitted from the Tea Party movement, Fox’s competitors are reaping the rewards of the Trump presidency.
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- Discussion
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Fox News’ Ratings Haven’t Been This Bad in a Loooong Time https://t.co/nvxQnMMubq
— RedState (@RedState) May 23, 2017
Guess they shouldn’t have hitched their wagon to the Trump campaign & administration.
Well, pundits may be blaming the decline on the Ailes and O’Reilly scandals or the Trump campaign, but the fact is Fox has been going downhill for a long time. For me, it was the 2012 election when the network obviously favored Romney almost to the exclusion of the other candidates. I’ve suspected that Fox has been influenced by some big money individuals, groups or organizations. If I remember right, the Saudis have (or had) an ownership stake in the network. In the 2012 election, it probably was the Republican hierarchy determined to nominate yet another loser which held sway at Fox. In 2016, it was Trump and perhaps his Russian bosses. Does Trump still have influence? I don’t know. Certainly, the present management since Ailes was booted isn’t helping matters.
I rid myself of Fox, CNN and MSNBC when I downsized my cable subscription. Much easier to get news and information from the Internet and I’m getting better at smoking out the phony baloney now. Plus I’m much more mellow now that I’m not watching or listening to a lot of useless chatter from pundits who know less than I do. Time for these networks to go the way of the dodo bird.
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