Fox News Exec Talks 50-Quarter Ratings Streak, Megyn Kelly and
Perennial ratings victor Fox News Channel celebrates a new feat this week: it just wrapped its 50th consecutive quarter (and 150th consecutive month) as the most-watched cable news network in both total day and primetime. Its a record only matched by ESPN, which has enjoyed a similar dominance in the sports category.
Though FNC, like all cable
news networks, saw year-to-year losses in the second quarter, its average 1.6
million viewers and 267,000 adults 25-54 still gives it large margins of victory
in primetime -- where its biggest competition might be with itself. Recent
weeks have seen 9 p.m. anchor Megyn Kelly enjoying multiple nights out-rating
her lead-in, reigning cable news champ Bill O'Reilly. That achievement is not
lost on FNC executive vp of programming Bill Shine, who spoke with The
Hollywood Reporter about the streak, the year of changes and some recent
coverage choices.
"For us, that was a big change, we hardly make any adjustments our primetime lineup," Shine says of the decision to move Kelly from daytime to prime. "[She's] much newsier. And I think we're fortunate to have good timing."
That timing includes
Kelly's arrival during the rocky launch of HealthCare.gov and the recent story
of released P.O.W. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl -- which Kelly was one of the first to
cover heavily. She's also found herself at the center the pop culture
conversation, at least more so than her FNC colleagues, with interviews like
June's heated exchange with former vice president (and Republican) Dick
Cheney.
"I think it shows who
Megyn is," says Shine. "She's a great broadcaster and she's a great
journalist. I think it also shows some of our competition and some of our
skeptics what we do over here. I always say a lot of people who don't like us,
don't watch us."
There are people watching,
though. And while there have been big changes to primetime, Shine sees the
network's few changes to its talent roster as one thing that has kept them
around. "I think we've had a lot consistency. You look at people like Bill
and Sean [Hannity], they've both been here since day one. Shep Smith and Neil
Cavuto have both been here since day one."
Some critics have called
out that consistency as one reason why FNC's average viewer is now over 65
years old, but Shine says an increased median age is something affecting all
networks.
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| Roger Ailes, Fox News President |
Shine also says his eye is
on the competition. He's not ignoring CNN's decision to ditch live news
coverage for documentary news at cable news' traditional flagship hour of 9
p.m. -- "They've decided to go in another direction, and I think you've
got to give them some time to see if it works." -- though he is committed
to live programming and now considers their primetime block beginning at 5 p.m.
with The Five. That show now goes back and forth with Kelly for the No. 2 or
No. 3 telecast on cable news.
One thing Shine says he's
not paying attention to is criticism over the network's reputation for
conservative slant. And he's quick to point at Kelly as someone who can
potentially chip away at that reputation. He also says that the recent
reassurance in attention on the U.S.
handling of the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi , Libya
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| Fox personalities |
"What we heard for years was that it was not a real story -- four dead Americans, including the first U.S. Ambassador in a generation -- but as soon as the Secretary's book came out, it was enough of a story for her to devote an entire chapter of it," says Shine. "And at the beginning of the book tour, all of the broadcast journalists were basing the news around the
Second Quarter 2014 Primetime Averages
FNC: 1,596,000 viewers,
down 16 percent (267,000 adults 25-54, down 16 percent)
CNN: 459,000 viewers, down
31 percent (157,000 adults 25-54, down 31 percent)
MSNBC: 577,000 viewers,
flat (160,000 adults 25-54, down 16 percent)
HLN: 338,000 viewers, down
35 percent (124,000 adults 25-54, down 30 percent)
