As news of the hunt and capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev unfolded over the weekend, Fox News Channel won the cable news rating race, with CNN making a strong showing in the coveted 25-54 demo.
Fox was first in total viewers during primetime on Friday and was also strong on Saturday, as it ran its weekday lineup on Saturday afternoon.
MSNBC, however, lagged far behind in both categories with its breaking news coverage.
Data courtesy of Nielsen Media:
FRIDAY, APRIL 19
7 p.m. ET (full hour when news broke of second suspect’s capture):
FNC: 5,748,000 in total viewers (1,574,000 in 25-54)
CNN: 5,195,000 in total viewers (2,362,000 in 25-54)
MSNBC: 1,429,000 in total viewers (459,000 in 25-54)PRIMETIME 8-11 p.m. ET
FNC: 5,970,000 in total viewers (1,926,000 in 25-54)
CNN: 5,371,000 in total viewers (2,474,000 in 25-54)
MSNBC: 1,717,000 in total viewers (618,000 in 25-54)SATURDAY, APRIL 20
TOTAL DAY (6 a.m. ET – 12 a.m. ET)
FNC: 1,755,000 in total viewers (414,000 in 25-54)
CNN: 1,566,00 in total viewers (604,000 in 25-54)
MSNBC: 511,000 in total viewers (183,000 in 25-54)
Friday’s coverage for Fox News marked its highest rated overall in total day and primetime since the 2003 Iraq war.