Fox News topped its cable rivals in 2016, finishing as the most-watched basic cable network in both primetime and total day for the first time in its 20-year history, the outlet reported. In primetime, Fox News averaged 2.4 million viewers in 2016 — the fifth-most-watched primetime network.
CNN also had a boon in ratings; in primetime, the cable news network placed eighth with an average of 1.3 million viewers, its highest ranking since 1995, Business Insider reported.
MSNBC finished behind both CNN and Fox, but still had a growth spurt; 2016 was its most-watched year, Business Insider reported.
"Trump deserves ALL the credit for this banner year in cable news. Period," Erik Wemple, a media columnist at the Washington Post told Business Insider. "Any cable news executive who insists otherwise risks eternal embarrassment."
Joe Concha, a media columnist at The Hill, suggested the "highly polarized country" also played "perfectly into the cable news model."
"Those who were loyal watched every rally, hung on every tweet, watched every cable news segment debate,"Concha told the outlet. "Those who loathe him watched every rally, hung on every tweet, watched every cable news segment debate."
Trump, ironically, took frequent aim at the "dishonest" media, but as New York Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg wrote, "As Mr. Trump tries to burn the media village down, he may just be saving it."
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