Newsmax TV has scored an historic, first-ever ratings victory over Fox News Channel, according to a CNN Business report.
The notable win came this week in the key 25- to 54-year-old demographic prized by advertisers, when Newsmax’s “Greg Kelly Reports” topped Fox’s “The Story with Martha MacCallum.” Kelly’s show averaged 229,000 viewers compared with MacCallum’s 203,000.
“Before the election, Newsmax was not regarded as a formidable competitor to Fox; it was mostly dismissed as one of a handful of wannabe challengers,” the CNN writeup states. “But President Trump’s loss on November 3 changed the cable TV calculus.”
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
NewsMax Is Making Waves Against Fox News Because of Its Liberal Slant
In one regard, CNN is incorrect in their reporting. It wasn’t Trump’s loss that has led to viewers seeking alternatives to Fox News. It was Fox’s embarrassing coverage of the election and subsequent embarrassing coverage of concerns about the integrity of the election.
Aside from calling the state of Arizona prematurely on election night, a move the New York Times would later admit “changed the tenor of the night,” Fox has frequently engaged in mockery of those who believe there was some level of fraud in the voting process.
Earlier this month, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany had a press conference on potential election fraud unceremoniously cut short by host Fox’s Neil Cavuto.
Neil Cavuto cuts away from White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany because he deems her words too dangerous to hear.
Instead of letting us decide, he interprets her meaning for us, even using words she never said.
Fox News: We Report & We Decide (shut up and obey). pic.twitter.com/fDPfoNhVvM
— Xeriland (@Xeriland) November 10, 2020
McEnany was simply emphasizing that the Trump campaign “want[s] every legal vote to be counted, and we want every illegal vote” set aside before Cavuto interjected in a wild moment.
Shortly thereafter, Fox News host Sandra Smith was caught on a hot mic mocking a guest for commenting on claims of voter fraud and saying the media don’t declare the winner.
We are all Sandra 😂
https://t.co/8eBPyHIIyd— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 9, 2020
And just last week, Fox News host Eric Shawn mocked Donald Trump as unable to “wrap his brain around the fact” that he lost the election to Joe Biden.
It’s that level of condescension that has turned viewers off.
Fox Is Still King
It should be noted that Newsmax TV’s win is a minor one in the grand scheme of things. Fox News is still, by far, the king of cable news networks.
“Fox News is still four times higher-rated than Newsmax at any given time of day, according to Nielsen,” CNN reports. “Among viewers of all ages, Fox averaged 1.36 million viewers around the clock on Monday, while Newsmax averaged 316,000 viewers.”
And conservatives still find a friendly home with certain personalities on Fox – Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Tucker Carlson, for example.
Still, the president has sway among conservatives, and he has consistently urged his followers to watch alternative networks such as Newsmax.
.@FoxNews daytime is virtually unwatchable, especially during the weekends. Watch @OANN, @newsmax, or almost anything else. You won’t have to suffer through endless interviews with Democrats, and even worse!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2020
And Newsmax is vowing to remain a strong player for some time.
“We’re here to stay,” CEO Christopher Ruddy said Tuesday. “The ratings are showing that.”
Cross posted at the Mental Recession
