Russia's invasion of Ukraine sends news network ratings up
Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent television viewers to the cable news networks for updates, with Fox News Channel gaining the largest audience and CNN the most dramatic increase
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Cable news viewership jumped during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Fox News Channel leading the way and CNN showing the most dramatic increases.
CNN, Fox and MSNBC collectively averaged 6.4 million viewers in prime time between the start of the war last Wednesday and Sunday night. That's up from their January average of 4 million, the Nielsen company said.
For the full day between Wednesday and Sunday, Fox averaged 2.32 million viewers, up 64% from the quieter news month of January. CNN's audience soared from 633,000 in January to 1.75 million last week, up 178%. MSNBC had 980,000 for its war coverage, up 51% over January.
Those numbers match a trend: CNN tends to have the most dramatic increases during big news events while its rivals, more focused on political talk, are steadier in the quiet periods.
In entertainment, the venerable series “Law & Order” returned last week, with 5.8 million people watching the debut of its revival last Thursday. That along with the “Chicago Fire” and its spinoffs gave the prolific producer Dick Wolf four series in Nielsen's top 12.
CBS won the week in prime time, averaging 4.5 million viewers. ABC had 3.5 million, NBC had 3.4 million, Fox had 2 million, Univision had 1.7 million, Ion Television had 1.1 million and Telemundo had 1 million.
Fox News Channel led the cable networks with an average of 3.17 million viewers in prime time. CNN had 1.5 million, MSNBC had 1.39 million, ESPN had 1.15 million and HGTV had 1.1 million.
ABC's “World News Tonight” won the evening news ratings race with an average of 9 million viewers last week. NBC's “Nightly News” had 7.6 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.3 million.
For the week of Feb. 21-27, the top 20 shows in prime time, their networks and viewerships:
1. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.36 million.
2. “FBI,” CBS, 7.33 million.
3. “The Equalizer,” CBS, 7.18 million.
4. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 7.13 million.
5. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 6.95 million.
6. “Chicago Fire,” NBC, 6.83 million.
7. “American Idol,” ABC, 6.3 million.
8. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 6.25 million.
9. “FBI: International,” CBS, 6.13 million.
10. “Chicago PD,” NBC, 6.01 million.
11. “Ghosts,” CBS, 5.85 million.
12. “Law & Order,” NBC, 5.8 million.
13. “Jeopardy! College Championship,” ABC, 5.72 million.
14. “FBI: Most Wanted,” CBS, 5.7 million.
15. “NBC New Special Report: Russia/Ukraine Crisis,” NBC, 5.34 million.
16. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 5.23 million.
17. “Magnum P.I.,” CBS, 5.21 million.
18. “Law & Order: SVU,” NBC, 5.15 million.
19. “America's Funniest Home Videos,” ABC, 5.14 million.
20. “911: Lone Star,” Fox, 5.13 million.