Fox News tops February cable ratings as Ukraine coverage continues

Fox News again came in first place in ratings among the big three cable news providers in February, as each of the major networks continue to cover the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Since the invasion began last week, Fox has gained a five-day average of 2.3 million in total day viewers, with a number of Fox programs, including America Reports and The Faulkner Focus, posting their highest-rated weeks with viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data. 

Overall in February, Fox averaged 1,670,000 total viewers — up 26 percent from February of last year — while CNN averaged 621,000 total viewers, down nearly 50 percent from February of 2021. MSNBC notched an average of 719,000 total viewers in February, also down 48 percent. 

In its first full month since launching in January, the newly created “Jesse Watters Primetime” with host Jesse Watters drew an average 3.1 million viewers, including an average 505,000 in the 25-54 age demographic. Top-rated primetime host Tucker Carlson, for comparison, averaged 3.6 million per night. 

Fox’s daytime roundtable program “The Five” finished the month of February as the highest-rated program in total viewers for the third consecutive month, garnering an average of 3,692,000 total viewers per day.