June #’s: FNC Stops The Demo Slide?

Is Fox News bottoming out? The #1 cable news channel has been steadily losing viewers in the 25-54 demographic every month since Katrina coverage last September. In October, the channel was down 36 percent compared to the same month a year before; in November, down 49 percent; in December, down 21 percent; in January, down 26 percent; in February, down 13 percent; in March, down 29 percent; in April, down 21 percent; in May, down 14 percent; and in June, down 22 percent. (Click continued to view the monthly numbers.)

But maybe it’s time for a turn-around. After four months of consecutive losses in total day and prime, FNC delivered more viewers in June than it did in May. The demos started sliding in February: 236,000, then 212,000, then 208,000, then 204,000 in total day. But in June, FNC averaged 211,000 — still down 22 percent from June 2005, but slightly higher than the May average.

The same is true in primetime. The slide started in February with 344,000 demos a night, and it hit rock bottom in May with 269,000. In June, the net averaged 290,000 primetime demo viewers — down 33 percent from June 2005, but again, slightly higher than May.

Don’t forget the standard disclaimer: FNC is still the top-rated cable net, and the other news channels are in a different league. Click continued to view the raw numbers…

SEPTEMBER 05 THRU JUNE 06
TOTAL DAY                       Current Month   Year Ago

P 25-54 P 25-54

AA      AA

Network Period  Time    Days    (000s)  (000s)  % Diff

FOXN    Sep-05  06:00A -06:00A  MTWTFSS 645     427     51%

FOXN    Oct-05  06:00A -06:00A  MTWTFSS 264     410     -36%

FOXN    Nov-05  06:00A -06:00A  MTWTFSS 228     444     -49%

FOXN    Dec-05  06:00A -06:00A  MTWTFSS 235     299     -21%

FOXN    Jan-06  06:00A -06:00A  MTWTFSS 235     318     -26%

FOXN    Feb-06  06:00A -06:00A  MTWTFSS 236     271     -13%

FOXN    Mar-06  06:00A -06:00A  MTWTFSS 212     298     -29%

FOXN    Apr-06  06:00A -06:00A  MTWTFSS 208     262     -21%

FOXN    May-06  06:00A -06:00A  MTWTFSS 204     237     -14%

FOXN    Jun-06  06:00A -06:00A  MTWTFSS 211     272     -22%
PRIME                           Current Month   Year Ago

P 25-54 P 25-54

AA      AA

Network Period  Time    Days    (000s)  (000s)  % Diff

FOXN    Sep-05  08:00P -11:00P  MTWTFSS 975     767     27%

FOXN    Oct-05  08:00P -11:00P  MTWTFSS 392     843     -53%

FOXN    Nov-05  08:00P -11:00P  MTWTFSS 345     718     -52%

FOXN    Dec-05  08:00P -11:00P  MTWTFSS 325     477     -32%

FOXN    Jan-06  08:00P -11:00P  MTWTFSS 319     485     -34%

FOXN    Feb-06  08:00P -11:00P  MTWTFSS 344     437     -21%

FOXN    Mar-06  08:00P -11:00P  MTWTFSS 321     442     -27%

FOXN    Apr-06  08:00P -11:00P  MTWTFSS 317     383     -17%

FOXN    May-06  08:00P -11:00P  MTWTFSS 269     332     -19%

FOXN    Jun-06  08:00P -11:00P  MTWTFSS 290     431     -33%

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