Viewers are fleeing Fox News as their attempt to turn Benghazi into a real scandal has led to ratings dropping by 27% in May.
Fox News was down 27% in total day viewers and 25% in younger viewers compared to May 2013. Fox News was also down 26% in total viewers and 28% with younger viewers in primetime. In both daytime and primetime, Fox News delivered their lowest ratings with younger viewers since August 2001.
TVNewser has the ugly primetime details, “All the network’s primetime shows are down double-digits year-over-year. “The O’Reilly Factor” is down -28% in total viewers and -30% in the A25-54 demo. “The Kelly File” is down -17% in total viewers and -27% in the demo compared to the 9pmET hour last year and “Hannity” is down -30% and -23%, respectively, compared to the 10pmET hour last year.”
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Since Fox went all in on Benghazi, their ratings have taken a hit. Younger viewers who were already turning off Fox in droves are completely uninterested in the conspiracy theory, and it appears that a sizable segment of the average Fox audience isn’t captivated by the effort to turn a convoluted fantasy into a legitimate news story.
The struggles at Fox News should be scaring the Republican Party because they are betting everything on Benghazi. If Fox News can’t get their hardcore Republican audience interested in the scandal, that doesn’t bode well for the Republican hopes that it will motivate GOP voters to the polls in November.
Benghazi was supposed to replace Obamacare as the new rallying cry for Republicans in 2014, but so far, the effort to profit off of the deaths of four Americans has not fired up the Republican base for November. Benghazi maybe the first fake scandal in Republican history to be hurting Fox News.
When even the oldest most Republican audience on television isn’t interested, Fox News has a real loser on their hands. The House Benghazi Select Committee isn’t fooling anyone. Even conservatives are turning off Fox News.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
