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Fox News Could Be Facing Extinction as 29% of Their Younger Viewers Drop Fox
Younger television viewers continue to abandon Fox News in droves. In February, Fox is down another 29% with viewers age 25-54 in primetime.
While total viewership numbers remained flat for Fox News, their problem with younger viewers got worse in February. Compared to February 2012, Fox News has lost 29% of their age 25-54 viewers in primetime. Bill O’Reilly’s viewership is down 3% overall, and 29% with viewers age 25-54. Sean Hannity’s total viewership is down 11% in total, and 35% with viewers age 25-54. Greta Van Susteren’s total viewership is down 21%, and 32% with viewers age 25-54.
In comparison, MSNBC is down 3% total in primetime, and they are flat with viewers age 25-54. Ed Schultz is down 14% in total viewers, and 10% with viewers age 25-54. Rachel Maddow is down 6% in total viewers, and 5% with viewers age 25-54. Lawrence O’Donnell is down 7% in total viewers, and 12% with viewers age 25-54.
Fox News still continues to post wide overall viewership leads, but those numbers are deceiving. Senior citizens are powering Fox. The network has the oldest audience on all of television. The average age of a Fox News viewer is 66 years old and the decline in younger viewership is the biggest long term threat to the network’s survival.
Younger viewers who don’t watch Fox News are less likely to become older voters who do watch Fox News. February 2013 has been a down month across cable news compared to the same month in 2012, but MSNBC was able to keep their viewers age 25-54. The biggest age 25-54 viewership decline at MSNBC was Lawrence O’Donnell’s 12%. This is less than half of the smallest decline (O’Reilly’s 29%) on Fox.
Younger people aren’t voting Republican and they aren’t watching Fox News.
In the long term Fox execs have to figure out some way to get non-senior citizens to watch or the network’s viewership will literally die off. Fox News either has to attract younger viewers, or hope that advancements in medical science push the average life expectancy to 90.
MSNBC is already the top rated cable news network with African Americans. As the demographics of America change, MSNBC is poised to grow.
It isn’t going to happen today or tomorrow, but Fox News could be facing extinction if they don’t stop the demographic bleeding.
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52 Responses to Fox News Could Be Facing Extinction as 29% of Their Younger Viewers Drop Fox
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dlbvet
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 2:04 pm
Music to my ears!!!!!
Brian Daniels
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 2:04 pm
But there is good news for FOX. They’re viewership in the ranges from 80-dead for ten years are up 45%.
Sherlock
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 7:11 pm
Good one! I will use that in my next letter to the Teabaggers.
Reynardine
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 2:10 pm
Couldn’t happen to nicer guys.
Nik DeWitt
Mar. 1st, 2013 at 2:59 am
I know you aren’t comparing corporations to people. Are you? Anyway, we all know faux is just a collection of lieing, scumbag racists.
Sally
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 2:10 pm
So what do they do? They hire the moron Allen West. Good grief. And they start a new name “the Panic President” when it was their revered Bush who began to panic the whole nation with their daily color coded panic alerts. I’d like to think people are getting tired of being lied to.
Heychief
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 2:24 pm
Fox has a news channel?
lageorgia
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 3:00 pm
Well they call themselves a news station but legally could only get licensed as an entertainment station due to all their lies….sorta like them calling themselves fair and balanced or me referring to myself as Royal Highness…pure fantasy.
Nik DeWitt
Mar. 1st, 2013 at 3:04 am
Don’t forget who owns faux and how so many of his “news” staff in England, including his own son, is either in prison or on their way. Or that they are not even allowed to broadcast their B.S. in Canada, because of their oppositionist relationship with the truth.
zelduh
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 2:25 pm
The reason that they (still) have ratings is that Fox comes free in ANY cable package, while MSNBC and CNN are usually “premium channels.” If MSNBC and CNN came free, Fox would be history.
I cannot afford to pay for premium channels, so I watch MSNBC and CNN on my computer, which does not count as a viewer.
Rita
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 8:49 pm
You are absolutely correct. If people were allowed free access to real news agecies, this number would change dramatically because we would have a level playing field.
Dewbert McClintock
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 2:53 am
zelduh, I have lived in several cities over my lifetime and all three news channels have been included in Basic Cable for as long as they have been around. So, you’re theory may work for you where you live, but not in the rest of America.
ELZEKEO
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 2:30 pm
Hey Dweeb McClintock,you just think they be haters and liars as you claim, because
they only point out your Faux Ruse lies with known facts.
knight4444
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Thank you!! @Zeldul I’ve been telling idiot republicans for years that the Fux news numbers were misleading!! anybody with ANY common sense knows Fux cable propaganda channel is FREE with every cable provider!! but the operative word is ”COMMON” sense!! OMG you don’t have to be a Harvard graduate to know Fux news prime audience is your typically bitter, old, mean spirited baby boomer!! you know those types!? the ones who stood with George Wallace and tried to stop those african american college students from attending classes!!
Nik DeWitt
Mar. 1st, 2013 at 3:16 am
I have to agree with your definition of faux watchers, except for the part implying all faux watchers are baby boomers and only supported george wallace. I was there and am part of the baby boomer generation. We made a lot of mistakes, drugs being the main one, but we also accomplished a lot of good, including desegregation, ending an unjust war and the improvement of civil rights. (which the republiCONs have managed to reverse a lot of) Don’t think just because we have gotten old that a lot of us don’t still have the desire for a better world — for everyone!
Just A Dumb Fireman
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 3:33 pm
It would be even better if it were a forced extinction. Think of it as metaphorical climate-change-induced drought and starvation.
Nik DeWitt
Mar. 1st, 2013 at 3:19 am
Then at least Global Warming could have a positive point.
Cassandra
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Hmmm republicans and Fox News have to learn to be less hateful, spiteful, misogynistic bigots. That is how to up their support/Viewership amongst those who are not one foot in the grave. Good luck with that!!
Dewbert McClintock
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 2:55 am
Cassandra, have you watched MSNBC lately? Most hateful network I have ever seen.
Keith
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 11:06 am
The difference is that the MSNBC shows are touted as opinion shows and their anger stems from all the things many Republicans are doing to turn America back into the old south, but they also don’t give Obama any passes on his mistakes. FOX pushes their opinion shows off as actual news when most of it is lies, so their people have no trouble speaking calmly since there’s no reason to be angry about something that isn’t true.
Shiva(Moderator)
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 4:04 pm
I think it’s because nobody has the news anymore. In fact I have probably watched no more than two hours of MSNBC in the last five or six days. I am just absolutely tired of not getting any news. If I get up and watch morning Joe, I know that anything he talks about is going to be talked about right up until the end of the Lawrence show that night. It’s sickening. And it’s the same for CNN. I can’t say it’s the same per Fox news because I haven’t watched them since the Gulf War. They are just too idiotic for words.
All of these so-called news channels are not giving you the news so they can stick with their single format of having people hopping up and down and yelling and screaming on the TV. It simply pathetic. When was the last time anybody seen a segment on Afghanistan?
I will say one thing, if these idiots keep it up then we will probably see the return of newspapers in a big way.
Scott
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 8:21 pm
I agree…but I do surf the whole line-up every night to see if someone is presenting something cool, because at least with MSNBC their a quality crew and at least when you “see & hear” something worthy you can believe it 90%…Maddow 100% of the time.
Jeff R
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 12:33 am
You can keep fairly well informed by watching or listening to the BBC, watching Rachael Maddow, listening to National Public Radio, watching The News Hours (there’s a lot it doesn’t cover, but it covers, what it chooses to cover, fairly accurately), logging onto The Daily Show, and listening to or watching Democracy Now and Counterspin. It’s not a perfect solution (what is?), but it’s much better than nothing.
get real
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 4:17 pm
FUX News does exactly that.
Scoby2785
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 5:28 pm
Thank God. Faux(Fox) Lies(Live) Needs to to shut down…. So tired of the liars and bigots. A bunch of one sided loons
Cyndi
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 5:43 pm
I didn’t watch Fox News but have seen clips from the segment of Hannity and Ellison. I was embarrassed at Ellison’s behavior. What was he thinking or was he thinking at all? He was childish like a 5 year old sticking their fingers in their ears when they don’t want to communicate with you. On top of that he was rude and anti-American. Why didn’t he wear a shirt that said I have come to steal, kill and destroy the country. He could have been a little more subtle in getting his message across.
djchefron(Moderator)
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 5:57 pm
The hannity fan club.You got to love them.
cognitive dissonance is the feeling of discomfort when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting cognitions: ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions.
carlos
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 7:55 pm
If that answer is for people that watch fox .. you used big words they won’t understand..
Shiva(Moderator)
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 8:12 pm
He does that all the time. Even I have to use a dictionary to keep up
Nik DeWitt
Mar. 1st, 2013 at 3:24 am
Or even spell, so they could look the words up in a dictionary. Even if they owned one.
Carl
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 6:14 pm
Let’s hope, but I wouldn’t count on it yet. Idiots are born every day.
TigerLily
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 6:21 pm
The young people of today are bright, open minded, wise and driven. I see them and watch how they interact with one another. We didn’t have that much freedom to mingle with in my time. But its nice to see youth not judge you by your color. They all seem to love each other and get along well. Now granted, I live in California. There is no way this is happening in any red state I’m sure. Which is very sad because their youth are missing out on alot by limiting themselves to only THEIR KIND. That’s a very narrow mindset. You will go no where with that today.
robyn ryan
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 8:29 pm
What do I look like?
Does my imagined appearance influence how you regard my posts?
Today’s teens and under have no concept of a world without instant global access. They choose what they look like to the world on a whim.
The videotape of their birth, with commentary by Dad, is posted on their social media.
Lies only work until they are exposed. Extremism can only exist in a bubble. America is arguably the most ignorant and racist country on Earth, because nothing has challenged that belief.
With the web, it’s only those denied access and those willfully ignorant than still maintain the fantasy of Amerika.
Railing some Ruby
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 11:57 pm
Um, actually young people EVERYWHERE are becoming less “conservative” and less “liberal” (by American standards). It’s not just California. Get over yourself.
You baby boomers, your politics, your leaders, your media, and all your “Red State vs. Blue State” crap are the reason we’re in this mess. Congratulations on all of your accomplishments.
Shiva(Moderator)
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 12:08 am
Not really true. The Dem campaign depends to a great deal on millions of young people.
You need to get over yourself.
margaret mayleas
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 6:32 pm
I stopped watching Fox News when Dave Price left the first time. Came back when he did, and am no longer watching since he’s not there. I dislike Rosanna, never asks the right questions. She seems like an air head and she shouldn’t be there. I will not watch as long as Dave Price is gone and she’s still there.
djchefron(Moderator)
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 6:42 pm
I think you need to lodge your complaint at fox
fauxidiots.com
Jeff
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 11:15 pm
The problem with “the right questions” is that the right questions get to one thing- the Truth.
tonya byrum
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 7:16 pm
Two words on whats wrong with fox: Ron Paul. Fox pissed his supporters off big time during the election.They, fox news, are also neocon war mongers. They need to listen to Ron Paul.
NativeSonKY (@NativeSonKY)
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 9:10 pm
Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul
You Paulbots can keep repeating that name on every comment board you feel like, but it will NEVER get him into the White House…never, ever, ever. And Rand, too. Give it up.
maria
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 8:35 pm
I switch to RT news and Breaking the Set. Gotta head to the interwebs for real news. Its like investigative journalism has died on the major networks.
djchefron(Moderator)
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 8:42 pm
They don’t do news.Its entertainment now.Its all about the Benjamin’s
Doris Evans
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 8:37 pm
Looks like people are waking up and stop watching to Fake Fox Lies News.
Kien Tran
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 8:57 pm
Sounds like people are getting sick of pundits in general. Especially ones that are remorselessly biased. Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann are getting kicks in their respective arses.
Shiva(Moderator)
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 9:00 pm
Keith Olbermann hasnt been on tv in some time. He was quite popular but could not work with humans. That’s what he is paying for. And deservedly so.
I still think his 8 years of Bush in 8 minutes was stupendous(you tube)
heidi
Feb. 27th, 2013 at 10:30 pm
I just returned from a two week visit with my 85yr old mother that lives in AZ and was hospitalized unexpectedly.
She watches nothing, and I mean nothing, but FOX. Everyone in AZ watches FOX. I tried to watch the show with an open mind……and every single time I literally wanted to kill myself after about 10 minutes. It sucks your soul right out of you.
My mother, whom was a former resident of MN, a blue state, lives in perpetual fear. I truly believe this channel is largely the blame. I must also add…..she lives in AZ on the union pension from her democratic husband, my father, now deceased. She spends $70/month for crappy cable and only watches one channel. My heart aches when I see what a heaping dose of fear mongering 24/7 has done to what was once a vital woman. Even sadder……the channel was on absolutely everywhere I went down there.
There is not enough alcohol in my house to remove the nightmarish flashbacks I am suffering at this very moment.
stormpil0t
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 12:47 am
Bless her heart. It’s never too late for an intervention.
Carlota Ferguson
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 11:11 am
Jason, I’m even more in love with you than I was before. There’s something about a man who A) can write, B) has politics similar to mine and C) I’ve never met. A certain je ne c’est quoi.
Sherlock
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 11:30 am
I love watching Fox News— you would have to go to Vegas to see legs like they have.
knight4444
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 4:11 pm
Heres another fun fact republicans won’t accept!! those republican authors who decide to peddle their bone head books!! and claim to have ”best sellers” Many of their books are bought by the TRUCK load by republican websites to give the appearance the MASSES are buying that toilet paper material!! my proof???? go to ANY republican websites and with each paid subscription you receive a FREE book by one of their phony saviors!! Glenn Beck has been making a killing on the BS appearance that people actually give a damn him and his book sales!! LOL more proof??? go the most flee markets or garage sales and you’ll usually see some republican authors book going for 10 cents or less!! LMAO the republican party is nothing more than a nation wide CON GAME!!!! its all BS!! that’s why it’s going to die out soon! generation Y isn’t falling for that CRAP like my generation has!
knight4444
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 4:31 pm
Last point Rupert Murdoch has NEVER been nothing more than a tabloid gutter trash viper! ask what people in England think of him!! Rupert isn’t stupid!! evil? hell yes! stupid? not completely he knows how to cater to our lesser angels! he knows dirt sells! Rupert knew selling his BS brand of politics would be a windfall here in good ole america! Rupert knew damn well he had a under educated racist U.S. population that was ripe for the picking! your typical REPUBLICAN! Rupert knew his audience were going to be typical senior citizens that was home bound and cracky as FU*K!! and it worked! for a moment! his audience is dying out! but he couldn’t care less! he made his BILLIONS off the backs of old feeble nut cases!! and set race relations back 20 yrs!! thanks Rupert!!
Robert Chapman
Mar. 2nd, 2013 at 7:39 am
It would help to interpret these numbers if we knew what the bases were.
The 60 and over demographic might contain vastly higher numbers of tv viewers than the younger ones which would greatly mitigate the damage of losing younger viewers for Fox.
From the info presented in this article we just don’t know.