Fox News appears to be resurgent. The conservative cable network “carried several of the most-watched cable news programs in July.”
The rating boost comes after a revamp of prime-time opinion hosts.
The revamp appears to be working, at least as far as viewership is concerned.
“The network was home to the top five programs in total viewers during the month, according to Nielsen Media Research data, with popular table talk program “The Five” earning the top spot across all of cable with an average of 2.5 million viewers,” The Hill reported.
“Pundit Jesse Watters, who took over for former host Tucker Carlson at 8 p.m. on July 17, saw his new solo show rank as the second most-watched program on cable news, delivering an average of 2.4 million viewers, including 197,000 in the key age advertising demographic.”
But this shouldn’t be a surprise.
A Neglected demographic with limited options
The ratings are not especially surprising when you think about the layout of mainstream media.
The majority of media outlets report the news with a leftward bent, especially within the mainstream. ABC and NBC and CNN and NPR and MSNBC and so on. They’re all leaning left. So, if you’re a media consumer with a preference for leftward leaning news, you have options.
Now, if you’re a media consumer who leans to the right, you do not have mainstream options. You’ve got Fox News. So whereas leftwards consumers have fractured their consumption across multiple outlets, rightward consumers are concentrated within one outlet. So, it’s no surprise that Fox is tearing up the ratings. They don’t really have a peer competitor, whereas CNN most certainly does.
Yellowstone Enters the Fray
My theory applies to other venues, too. Television for example.
Look at the success of Yellowstone starring Kevin Costner. The show is a runaway hit. Big ratings. Season renewals. Popular culture transcendence. Yet, the show stinks – at least that is what I think. It’s not good. Like, objectively. It’s not good. Which is a shame given the quality of the premise and the quality of some of Taylor Sheriden’s earlier works (especially Sicario and Hell or High Water).
So, why is Yellowstone so popular? My sense is that the show caters to a neglected, yet massive market of television consumers – that being conservatives. Think about it. Conservatives make up roughly half the country’s population. Yet the vast majority of television shows are tailored to appeal to liberals – infused with liberal moral codes, set in coastal cities. Which is fine. It’s just weird that no one really thought to make a show that speaks to the moral codes and settings that the other half of the country identifies with. Yellowstone unapologetically adheres to conservative moral codes, and the ratings rewards have been generous.
What I’m getting at is that Fox News does the same thing. Corners a neglected market. Now, Fox News is often trash. Biased. Sensational. Silly. But if you want that conservative take, you don’t have any other options. If you don’t want to watch former Biden press secretaries sugar coat your Biden news, or if you don’t want to watch Rachel Maddow sneer through her newest Trump indictment, you’re gonna have to go Fox.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor and opinion writer at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
From 19FortyFive
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