Storyline · entertainment · 2 reports from 2 newsrooms

Fox News ratings slump on midterm election night

First reported Nov 3, 7:27 PM ET · Latest Nov 5, 5:04 PM ET · Explainer updated Nov 5, 6:03 PM ET

Where things stand

Fox News saw a drop in prime‑time viewership on the night Democrats took control of Congress, according to The Guardian. The Hollywood Reporter had earlier noted that cable news ratings could swing dramatically this year.

Continuum

Facts

Facts appear here as Relay matches them to the reports.

Timeline

What changed: Preliminary audience figures show the conservative network trailing several other channels in prime‑time numbers on election night.

Every report, newest first

  1. Fox News suffers ratings slump on bleak election night for Republicans — The Guardian

    In early, preliminary figures, the news channel trailed several other networks in prime-time viewership Send us your questions about the midterm results Track live results from all 50 states On a midterm election night that was a huge disappointment for…

  2. Are the Midterms About to Be a Blowout Ratings Night for Cable News? — The Hollywood Reporter

    Viewership took a hit in 2022, but they could bounce back to 2018 levels this year.

Questions

What we don’t know yet: It is unclear whether the dip reflects a temporary reaction to the election results or signals a longer‑term shift in Fox News’ audience.

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More: background

Prime‑time viewership measures how many people watch a channel during the evening hours when most news programs air. A slump indicates fewer viewers compared with competing networks, suggesting reduced audience interest or dissatisfaction.

How this works: stories from different newsrooms are grouped by topic, then AI writes the explainer using only those reports. It may miss context the reports don't include.