fox news today sees historic ratings surge as primetime audience shifts political landscape
September 26, 2023. Fox News Today crushed all competition with a record-breaking 2.1 million total viewers in the 8 PM slot, marking a 30% year-over-year gain. The network's pivot to coverage of the escalating US-China trade war and border security drove massive ad revenue spikes—over $50 million in Q3 alone. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, in a rare direct call to shareholders, stated this was a "decisive realignment of the news cycle." Competitors like CNN and MSNBC saw viewership drops of 15% and 10%, respectively, as Gen X and millennial males flocked to Fox's post-debate analysis. The upside: this audience capture solidifies Fox's leverage for new sponsorship deals and cable retransmission fees, lockering in a 4.5% EBITDA margin improvement.