By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Fox News Channel viewers are usually a loyal bunch, but thousands looked for the "off" switch during last week's telecast of civil rights icon John Lewis' funeral.
Fox News, like the broadcast and other cable news networks, aired Lewis' funeral last Thursday, when former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama spoke.
During the hour before the funeral's start, Fox averaged 1.67 million viewers, the Nielsen company said. In the same hour, MSNBC had 1.28 million viewers and CNN had 1.25 million.
Once the funeral started, half of Fox's viewers slipped away while the audience increased for its rivals, Nielsen said.
During the 2 p.m. hour, Fox had 595,000 viewers, Nielsen said. MSNBC had 2.25 million and CNN had 1.97 million at the same time.
Things were back to normal by the time Fox News was airing "The Five" at 5 p.m. Eastern. That show had 3.2 million, while CNN and MSNBC combined reached 3.85 million.
A day earlier, Fox's daytime viewership ranged between 2 million and 2.4 million, while CNN and MSNBC were in the 1.2 to 1.6 million range, Nielsen said. CNN's "Reliable Sources" first reported the funeral ratings.
During primetime last week, CBS led broadcasters with an average of 3.2 million viewers. NBC had 2.8 million viewers, ABC had 2.3 million, Fox had 1.6 million, Univision had 1.5 million, ION Television had 1.2 million and Telemundo had 910,000.
Fox News Channel led the cable networks, averaging 3.07 million viewers in prime time. MSNBC had 1.88 million, CNN had 1.36 million, HGTV had 1.33 million and TLC had 1.25 million.
ABC's "World News Tonight" led the evening newscasts with an average of 8.6 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" had 7.4 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 5.3 million.
For the week of July 27 to Aug.2, the top 20 programs, their networks and viewerships:
1. "60 Minutes," CBS, 7.13 million.
2. "America's Got Talent," NBC, 6.12 million.
3. "NCIS," CBS, 5.08 million.
4. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Tuesday), Fox News, 4.52 million.
5. "Hannity" (Tuesday), Fox News, 4.39 million.
6. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 4.34 million.
7. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Thursday), Fox News, 4.04 million.
8. "FBI," CBS, 4.03 million.
9. "Hannity" (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.97 million.
10. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.95 million.
11. "The Neighborhood," CBS, 3.84 million.
12. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Monday), 3.8 million.
13. "Hannity" (Thursday), Fox News, 3.79 million.
14. "American Catastrophe," ABC, 3.75 million.
15. "Titan Games," NBC, 3.69 million.
16. "Yellowstone," Paramount, 3.63 million.
17. "Regis Philbin: The Maestro," ABC, 3.622 million.
18. "Hannity" (Monday), 3.622 million.
19. "World of Dance," NBC, 3.59 million.
20. "United We Fall," NBC, 3.58 million.
“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