The airing of the Live Aid: When Rock ’n’ Roll Took On the World docuseries on CNN propelled the network to a second-place finish in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demographic. Fox News, as usual, led the evening, with The Big Weekend Show at 7 p.m. ET securing the top spot in total viewers.
CNN’s Live Aid Docuseries Boosts Viewership, Trails Fox News
CNN’s “Live Aid” documentary captured second place in viewership, while Fox News remained the overall evening leader.
Key Takeaways
- CNN’s “Live Aid” docuseries significantly boosted its primetime performance.
- Fox News maintained its lead in both total viewers and key demographics.
- The 7 p.m. ET broadcast of “The Big Weekend Show” on Fox News was the most-watched program.
Primetime Performance Highlights
During primetime, CNN’s airing of the Live Aid documentary drew 685,000 total viewers, placing it ahead of MSNBC’s offerings but behind Fox News. In the crucial Adults 25-54 demographic for primetime, CNN also secured second place with 66,000 viewers.
Who won the night in primetime viewers? Fox News dominated primetime with an average of 1,474,000 total viewers, significantly outperforming CNN’s 479,000 and MSNBC’s 337,000.
Hourly Breakdown: Total Viewers (Live+SD x 1,000)
| FNC | CNN | MSNBC | |
| 4PM | Scott: 1,132 |
Newsroom/Whitfield: 356 |
Wallace*: 447 |
| 5PM | Levin*: 792 |
Newsroom/Dean: 447 |
Sharpton: 471 |
| 6PM | Big Weekend: 1,197 |
Newsroom/Dean: 379 |
Weekend: 424 |
| 7PM | Big Weekend: 1,471 |
Newsroom/Dean: 387 |
Weekend: 382 |
| 8PM | Levin: 1,447 |
Whole Story: 423 |
Weekend: 440 |
| 9PM | Gowdy: 1,576 |
Live Aid: 685 |
Leguizamo: 268 |
| 10PM | Kilmeade: 1,398 |
Billionaire: 328 |
Psaki*: 303 |
| 11PM | Big Weekend*: 964 |
Whole Story*: 179 |
Weekend*: 220 |
Hourly Breakdown: Adults 25-54 Demographic (Live+SD x 1,000)
| FNC | CNN | MSNBC | |
| 4PM | Scott: 99 |
Newsroom/Whitfield: 29 |
Wallace*: 55 |
| 5PM | Levin*: 76 |
Newsroom/Dean: 37 |
Sharpton: 50 |
| 6PM | Big Weekend: 129 |
Newsroom/Dean: 46 |
Weekend: 33 |
| 7PM | Big Weekend: 191 |
Newsroom/Dean: 53 |
Weekend: 22 |
| 8PM | Levin: 111 |
Whole Story: 69 |
Weekend: 25 |
| 9PM | Gowdy: 110 |
Live Aid: 94 |
Leguizamo: 22 |
| 10PM | Kilmeade: 115 |
Billionaire: 34 |
Psaki*: 27 |
| 11PM | Big Weekend*: 85 |
Whole Story*: 13 |
Weekend*: 17 |
In the Adults 25-54 demographic for the full day, Fox News led with 113,000 viewers, followed by CNN with 45,000 and MSNBC with 30,000. The primetime numbers showed a similar pattern, with Fox News at 112,000, CNN at 66,000, and MSNBC at 25,000.
Did you know? The 9 p.m. ET hour saw CNN’s “Live Aid” docuseries achieve its highest viewership for the night, attracting 685,000 total viewers and 94,000 in the Adults 25-54 demo.
