Fox News Coverage of TV News Shooting Tops CNN, MSNBC Combined

Fox News Coverage of TV News Shooting Tops CNN, MSNBC Combined

Fox News led all cable news networks in primetime Wednesday in the wake of the WDBJ shooting in Virginia.

In the 8-11 p.m. block, the network drew 2.6 million total viewers and 626,000 viewers ages 25-54 — the key demo for television news, according to Nielsen.

Also Read: WDBJ Shooting: Inside Networks' Rapid Response to Bump Shows Too Similar to Crisis

In both categories, those numbers were enough to exceed the combined viewership of rivals MSNBC and CNN. The former averaged 849,000 total viewers, while the latter averaged 736,000.

For Fox, it was the highest rated night of regular programming since coverage of civil unrest in Baltimore in April. The network was up 21% from its 2015 primetime average in total viewers and 48% in 25-54.

“The O’Reilly Factor” was cable news’ No. 1 program Wednesday night, drawing 3.1 million total viewers.