ON THE COME UP

Forget Newsmax—This Surprising Cable-News Outlet Has Seen Explosive Growth

Much attention has been paid to Fox and CNN’s struggles and Newsmax’s surge in the ratings, but this self-styled centrist channel has quietly seen some massive growth.

While quite a bit of attention has been paid to CNN and Fox News’ ratings struggles and far-right Newsmax’s recent explosive growth, another cable outlet has seen an even more remarkable expansion in viewership. NewsNation launched in 2021 as a self-styled centrist alternative to more partisan cable-news giants, and while its viewership was initially small, its primetime numbers have since erupted. For the month of May, NewsNation was up triple digits in both total primetime viewership and in the key advertising demographic of viewers aged 25-54—with 102-percent year-over-year growth in the former and 100-percent growth in the latter. By comparison, the much-talked-about Newsmax was up 87 percent in total primetime and 62 percent in the key demo. Many factors contribute to viewership, of course, but it would appear NewsNation has enjoyed this spike by sticking to the “both sides” playbook that Chris Licht was unable to pull off at CNN. Funny enough, a key player in NewsNation’s weeknight ratings surge is Chris Cuomo, who is suing CNN for firing him in late 2021. Also remarkable: NewsNation has surpassed the weeknight audience of Fox News’ sister channel Fox Business Network, which launched in 2007. FBN, for its part, has remade its primetime lineup to focus on lifestyle and culture shows—including a revamped version of COPS—featuring its anchors and other right-wing personalities.