Newsmax Ratings Down by Over Half Since Week After Election
Newsmax got a lot of attention after it started seeing a post-election viewership spike, but that uptick seems to be over — really over.
Since the week of Nov. 16, 2020, Newsmax has lost more than 55% of its total viewership, according to Nielsen Media Research ratings data, and more than 60% of its total-day and primetime audience in the key age demographic of 25 to 54. That week, the network averaged 398,000 total viewers, with 93,000 in the advertiser-coveted age demographic of 25 to 54. By comparison, the week of March 8, the most recent week for which there is full data, saw 172,000 total average viewers, of whom 29,000 were in the demo. A representative for the network did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ratings and the channel’s outlook going forward.
The 7 p.m. ET hour, hosted by Greg Kelly, is also down 46% overall and 56% in that key demo since the beginning of the year. The week of Jan. 11, 2021, the 7 p.m. show averaged 871,000 total viewers, of whom 186,000 were in the demo. The week of March 12 saw 474,000 total average viewers, with 81,000 in the demo. That’s noteworthy, given that Kelly’s hour did once beat out cable news behemoth Fox News in the demo during the programming hour last December, generating a flurry of headlines across the internet, including one here at TheWrap. (Fox News’ “The Story” still beat “Greg Kelly Reports” in total viewers that night.)
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On Wednesday, according to early Nielsen data, the channel averaged 147,000 total viewers with just 17,000 in that 25-to-54 demo, for its second-lowest total ratings for the year and lowest demo ratings for the year.
Much of the conversation around what seemed like a post-election boom for the network came simply from the fact that prior to the big event, Newsmax was hardly making a dent in the ratings. For context, the week of June 29 to July 3, 2020 was the first week Newsmax was even measured by Nielsen, and the network brought in an average of just 21,000 viewers. About 2,000 of those were in the key demo.
According to Nielsen, Newsmax got 72,000 average total viewers during the week preceding the election. But the week of the election, Newsmax got 204,000 average total viewers. During the week of March 8, the most recent week for which there is full data, Newsmax was back down, averaging about 172,000 total viewers per day with 29,000 in the demo.
Former President Donald Trump himself previously hailed Newsmax and urged his supporters to tune in. But what they’ve tuned in for over the past few weeks have included on-air retractions in the wake of a legal threat from a voting software company, as well as segments during which Trump supporters were quickly cut off.
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