By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --After the summer of Rachel Maddow, Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity ascended to the top of the cable news mountain.
Hannity’s move to the 9 p.m. timeslot paid immediate dividends for the network. President Donald Trump’s biggest cable news backer averaged 3.2 million viewers in October, topping Maddow’s 2.5 million, the Nielsen company said. Fox’s Tucker Carlson, in an earlier time slot, had 2.8 million viewers.
When Bill O’Reilly was working at Fox, there was no question for years who was the top person in cable television talk. His ouster in April following the revelation of sexual harassment settlements put that distinction up for grabs, and MSNBC’s Maddow took the title in July, August and September.
Fox’s Laura Ingraham made a strong debut Monday, reaching 3.27 million viewers at 10 p.m. and beating CNN and MSNBC in the time slot, Nielsen said.
It’s got a near-impossible act to live up to, but the Dodgers-Astros World Series is averaging 16.1 million viewers through five games for Fox, Nielsen said. The thrilling fifth game, won by the Astros in extra innings, was the most-watched contest with nearly 19 million viewers.
Last year’s Cubs-Indians series averaged 23.6 million viewers, primarily on the strength of an epic seventh game that was seen by 40.5 million, the most-watched World Series game since 1991.
Baseball led Fox to the easy win for the week in primetime, with the network averaging 13.2 million viewers. CBS had 7.8 million, NBC had 6.9 million, ABC had 4.5 million, Telemundo had 1.48 million, Univision had 1.47 million, the CW had 1.35 million and ION Television had 1.2 million.
Fox News Channel (2.294 million) and ESPN (2.291 million) were in a virtual tie atop the prime-time ratings for cable networks. MSNBC had 1.53 million, Hallmark had 1.4 million and USA had 1.32 million.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.4 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 8 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.2 million.
NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.2 million viewers. ABC’s “World News” was second with 7.5 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.4 million viewers.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Oct. 23-29. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. World Series, Game 5: L.A. Dodgers at Houston, Fox, 18.94 million.
2. World Series, Game 3: L.A. Dodgers at Houston, Fox, 15.68 million.
3. World Series, Game 2: Houston at L.A. Dodgers, Fox, 15.5 million.
4. World Series, Game 4: L.A. Dodgers at Houston, Fox, 15.4 million.
5. World Series, Game 1: Houston at L.A. Dodgers, Fox, 14.98 million.
6. “World Series Game 5 Pregame,” Fox, 14.16 million.
7. NFL Football: Pittsburgh at Detroit, NBC, 13.86 million.
8. “The OT,” Fox, 13.6 million.
9. “NCIS,” CBS, 13.3 million.
10. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 13.21 million.
11. NFL Football: Washington at Philadelphia, ESPN, 11.75 million.
12. NFL Football: Miami at Baltimore, CBS, 11.37 million.
13. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 11.27 million.
14. “Bull,” CBS, 10.7 million.
15. “This is Us,” NBC, 10.6 million.
16. “The Good Doctor,” ABC, 10.39 million.
17. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 10.1 million.
18. “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 9.75 million.
19. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 9.66 million.
20. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 9.52 million.
ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.; CBS is a division of CBS Corp.; Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox; NBC is owned by NBC Universal.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More