Young Viewers Avoid Fox News Like the Plague as Ratings Drop 30%

[babylonsister]

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/01/02/young-viewers-avoid-fox-news-plague-ratings-drop-30.html

Young Viewers Avoid Fox News Like the Plague as Ratings Drop 30%
By: Jason Easley
Thursday, January, 2nd, 2014, 3:59 pm


Fox News’ attempt to stop the flood of young viewers from fleeing the network failed as FNC lost the most young viewers of any cable news network in 2013.

TVNewser reported on the big drop in young people tuning into Fox News, “Compared to 2012, Fox News was down -5% in total viewers and -19% in the A25-54 demographic in total day. In primetime, the network was down -14% in total viewers and -30% in the demo, the steepest decline among younger viewers of all the cable news networks.”

2012 was a presidential election year, so all three cable news networks lost viewers in 2013. The difference is that at Fox News this problem has been going on for years. The move of Megyn Kelly to 9 PM was supposed to attract young viewers, but Kelly suffered a drop 23% in young viewership compared to Sean Hannity’s 2012 ratings. Bill O’Reilly is down 23% with younger viewers, and Hannity is down 16%.

Fox knows that this is a serious problem. It’s the reason why they shook up their primetime schedule. The reality is that Fox News has the oldest audience in all television. The average age of a Fox News viewer is 65 years old. FNC can remain the ratings leader in the short term future as long as the senior set keeps tuning in, but what happens when there aren’t enough young people tuning in to replace the elderly audience?

If Fox News fails to build a future audience, they will go extinct. It would have been unfathomable in early 1990s to suggest that one day CNN would be the least watched cable news network, but that is exactly what has happened. Beneath all of the arrogant swagger and bragging, Fox News has a huge problem.

It isn’t just that younger people aren’t watching. They are flat out rejecting Fox News. Just like the Republican Party, Fox News is aging and fading. Attempts to rebrand are going nowhere, as young news consumers have been turned off by Fox.

[Berlum]

1. No one likes being lied to all the time. Get a clue RepubliWankers.

?3eddc42

[Mariana]

9. Not true.

Faux brought this on themselves by making the decision, way back when, to pander to the conservative fools and tell those viewers what they want to hear all the time, rather than reporting the truth. Now, Faux can't change the way they do things, because the current Faux audience love being lied to all the time. They insist on it, in fact. If Faux should start reporting the truth, the current audience would shut them right off.

[loudsue]

14. Good points. n/t

[TrollBuster9090]

25. Or, to quote David Frum, "conservatives are being fleeced by a right-wing entertainment industry."

So, I'm not sure who brought what on whom. But yes, the reality is that Fox News and the rest of the right wing echo chamber are telling their viewers exactly what they want to hear, for the specific purpose of selling them stuff, and making money through advertising.

For awhile this had a serious distortion effect on the American political system because this propaganda was actually swaying peoples' opinions. I'd say that was the case until around 2005, when we hit the high water mark, and now the pendulum is swinging the other way. Now we're at a point where the propaganda they're spewing in order to sell hearing aids and overpriced GOLD to conservative-leaning simpletons is only harming the simpletons, and not the public at large. The propaganda-based universe is actually damaging the conservative movement.

The government shut-down was a perfect example of that. Practically none of the GOP lawmakers believed it would accomplish anything besides driving their approval ratings into the dirt; but they were FORCED to do it anyway. Forced by their BASE who had been watching Fox and listening to Rush, who were telling them that this strategy would SUCCEED!

[Populist_Prole]

60. Wow, what a great concise summation

[1StrongBlackMan]

32. I don't know about that ...

I have a couple rightwing associates that, after the 2012 election, swore never to watch/believe fox"news" again ... though I suspect they still visit breitbart and drudge.

[Mariana]

49. Yes, Faux did go overboard that time, and lost some viewers.

Faux have put themselves in a hell of a spot. In 2012, they really were in a no-win situation, and were going to lose some viewers no matter what they did.

[Thor_MN]

75. The original mission statement (now scrubbed from view)

said that Faux news "was created to counter a perceived liberal bias" in the news media. They knew even before they started that they were not going to deal with reality, they were going to work on perception.

[fasttense]

79. Well, FOX Noise was never created to make money.

They lost money the first five years and it has never been very profitable. It was created to be the mouthpiece of the uber rich and to promote "free" market, neoliberal capitalism, as outlined in the Powell memo. The uber rich support it in order to get their propaganda about capitalism out. That's why the Princes and royalty of several Middle Eastern countries own stock in it. (Yes, feudal kings also love capitalism, at least this kind of capitalism which is very similar to feudalism.) The GOP was/is also involved in it, but it's main purpose is to spew propaganda for the 1%.

And even if no one watches it, it will still be there spewing out lies to con the remnants of middle class America so fat rich men can get fatter and richer.

[greiner3]

95. "Well, FOX Noise was never created to make money."

But it is financed by their evening programming and other cable channels (FX, sports, movie channels, National Geo (I hate that they have this one), etc...) and movies and the small amount of revenues this portion of their broadcasting costs keep the small investor happy and the 1%'ers even happier.

It really sucks that they do have pretty much the best evening programming as this keeps a loyal base of viewers glued to their TVs and that do get the subtle amount of propaganda the shows 'emit'.

All of the programming does not follow this rule; see 'The Family Guy' and 'The Simpsons'.

[Cha]

62. Except apparently my

former husband who is a fox scruz truther

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

102. Total perfection.

I couldn't have found a better way to express my happiness.

[RoverSuswade]

2. But will they VOTE?

We can only hope.

[TrollBuster9090]

39. Hahah! Seriously, if the Federal Govt. came up with some sort of ONLINE VOTING system...YES!

And I'd be all in favor of that. If you can do your BANKING online, provided you can prove your identity, I don't see why you can't vote online.

But, as long as voting is restricted to standing in line for 5 hours, only to have your vote stolen by a crooked Diebold voting machine, then no, I don't think you'll see young voters turning out in large numbers.

The other factor is whether or not the voting process if FAIR. In my experience, young people have a very strong committment to the issue of FAIRNESS, and if the voting system is perceived to be corrupt (gerrymandered districts, crooked voting machines etc.) they may be less inclined to participate. However, I'm sure we could ACTIVATE them through a campaign to CLEAN UP the integrity of the voting system. A campaign about an amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing everybody the right to vote would be a good start. There is a campaign on that in progress, but it doesn't get nearly enough publicity.

[ificandream]

3. Bimbo land

Watch for an increase in the number of blonde bimbos on Fox. Megyn Kelly was only the first.

[whathehell]

22. Why do blonde females, even those on FOX, get denigrated as "bimbos"?

That's just knee-jerk sexism. After all, look at Sean Hannity -- If you think his

his pretty boy looks didn't help him get his job, you're clearly not paying attention.

[MrModerate]

23. Fox is overrun with bimbos and bimbas (or whatever the male equivalent is) . . .

It's just the way they roll.

Also, the surpassing idiocy — apparently a requirement to get hired into the job — of whatever female occupies the couch on Fox & Friends poisons the well for all other female news readers anywhere on Fox.

Not to mention that, perhaps more than any other industry, the standards of appearance for women and men in the newsreading business (not just Fox) are wildly different. I attribute this to TV news, across the board, voluntarily sacrificing credibility in favor of entertainment.

[whathehell]

38. Maybe, but the reason you're not SURE of the 'male equivalent' is because it's so rarely used

That's the way misogyny "rolls".

[MrModerate]

46. No disagreement here. n/t

[whathehell]

48. Thank you, and that bolsters my point that women are put down WAY too much & too oftern. n/t

[L0oniX]

87. I told that to the snake lady at the circus too.

[pangaia]

26. Pretty boy looks?

His face looks like a cinder block and is the same shape.

[WonderGrunion]

31. Steve Doocy is the Fox & Friends weather bimbo

[get the red out]

78. YES

There is no way to be more of an idiot than that guy.

The men on Fox and Friends really don't make the female couch occupier look any more stupid than them.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

57. He looks like Fred Flintstone and his audience is primarily cave men/women. So you do

make a good point.

[treestar]

81. Fox is sexist

Which is why they hire such women. They wouldn't hire an intelligent female reporter. That would contradict the "ideals" of Faux.

Not that their men are much better, but right wingers will take them more seriously.

[whathehell]

82. Well, to be honest, I'm not sure that the Fox women are "stupid", just misguided like RW men

Maybe mean and selfish like most of those as well, but I honestly don't think they differ from the men there.

I think calling women "bimbos" is sexist, even when it's done on DU.

[closeupready]

93. Megyn Kelly IS a bimbo, textbook definition, IMO -

she is NOT a journalist, never has been, isn't now, and never will be.

She IS a glamorous news reader and interviewer, hired to be admired and painted up as a pole dancer.

[whathehell]

105. There is no "textbook definition" of that word, it's old mafia slang, sexist as hell

[closeupready]

106. Not sexist.

[whathehell]

108. Of course it is...It's old mafia slang for women and that's who it describes 99.9% of the time

Look at my exchange with Mr. Moderate on this thread.

[closeupready]

109. Nope. As sexist as 'moron' or 'osmosis' or 'transvascular'.

Not. Sexist.

[RoverSuswade]

89. Whenever I switch to Fox my eyes are immediately riveted

to female legs. Maybe if Sean Hannity wore only briefs and his camera-friendly bare legs are still nice and hairy bimbo might apply to the men as well. Personall I have other names for Hannity and they ain't fit for kids' ears!

[whathehell]

107. Why is that their problem?

I'm not an apologist for FAUX by any means, but shouldn't you be responsible for your own sexual attractions?


P.S. Being attractive does not = Stupid. That's a TRULY stupid equation men seem to have

created for women only.

For example, most people, myself included, find George Clooney, as well as Robert Redford in his day, to be very

attractive males, but no one has EVERY suggested that this had any relation to their intellects, one way or another.

[Tarheel_Dem]

4. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of assholes. Oh, and Santa's "a white dude"!

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended for the aware, intelligent young people.

Thanks for the thread, babylonsister.

[orpupilofnature57]

51. +1000 !!!!

[Voice for Peace]

71. indeed.. very glad there are young people and I take my tv viewing recs from them..

every since they introduced me to the Daily Show,
as the best source of news, and South Park which
I might otherwise never have watched, and oh they
are also going to save the environment defeat GMO's
crooked politicians big oil and all of it. I am seriously
hopeful on account of them.

[Kingofalldems]

6. The blond newswomen cross and uncross their legs for the old coots

to ogle, this is an Ailes specialty.

[tanyev]

7. New set design: News models reading headlines as they swing back and forth on a giant wrecking ball.

[KurtNYC]

8. The young aren't watching much TV at all

http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/television/are-young-people-watching-less-tv-24817/

Some neat charts there that show a huge difference between 65+ and the 18-24 crowd.

Advertisers are going to social media, POS, lifestyle and event marketing and other channels to get back in front of the target audience. 15 years ago some of the first ads were sold INSIDE of video games -- for a fee they would put your billboard in one of the road racing games -- because kids stopped watching conventional TV in favor of video games and online socializing.

The kids aren't watching, people in their 50s aren't watching, so now if we could just get rage-aholic liberals, TDS and Colbert to stop watching Fox News and basing their shows on it, Fox can fade into history.

[progressoid]

15. Right.

My daughters rarely watch TV. The few "tv" shows they want to see, they stream online.

[KittyWampus]

33. thank you for posting this. Interesting

[iamthebandfanman]

40. Does using

youtube, hulu, Netflix, and all the other online video/tv show watching websites factor into that?

younger people are just getting it from different sources, not a traditional TV set...

[Neoma]

76. Yes and no.

I haven't watched TV in forever, but I did switch over to Netflix years ago. But now I find myself not watching much of Netflix either. A bunch of my friends (women) mostly play videogames, but they buy podcasts off their phones too. They also go to movie theatres, but not as often because of how pricey it's gotten. The one I know who really does read, reads erotica, blech. But she doesn't have free time due to her son.

As for myself, I switch back and forth between videogames and books. If I feel dumb from videogames, I read. If my mind feels too cluttered, I play. There's no particular reason to watch a show unless it's smart. After awhile though, you can run out of smart things to watch.

[yuiyoshida]

100. I once had a choice between cable tv and internet...

Guess what I chose?

[freshwest]

10. Can't come soon enough for me. The percentages *still* watching is disturbing. n/t

[Gothmog]

11. The programming that appeals to the Fox base is the same programming that alienates young people

Last edited Thu Jan 2, 2014, 10:35 PM - Edit history (1)

The younger generation do not like the GOP and Fox news positions on issues like same sex marriage and immigration. As a result, the same programming that keeps the base happy also alienates younger voters.

[tblue37]

52. Do you mean "do NOT like"? ntt

[Beaverhausen]

12. Remember 2012 was an election year. I bet ratings are down on every news network for 2013

sorry to burst your bubble.

[jeff47]

20. Seriously? Can't even read the 3rd paragraph of the excerpt?

2012 was a presidential election year, so all three cable news networks lost viewers in 2013. The difference is that at Fox News this problem has been going on for years. The move of Megyn Kelly to 9 PM was supposed to attract young viewers, but Kelly suffered a drop 23% in young viewership compared to Sean Hannity’s 2012 ratings. Bill O’Reilly is down 23% with younger viewers, and Hannity is down 16%.

[BlueCaliDem]

35. My. My. My. Beaverhausen doth protest too much.

Never thought I'd see a DUer openly defending Faux News Channel.

[Tarheel_Dem]

43. Sssshhhh! We're not supposed to notice. You Better Believe It!

[BlueCaliDem]

58. Yep. We're supposed to be as ignorant as they wrongly think we are.

But no one's being fooled here. I mean, the "sorry to burst your bubble" was a dead giveaway.

[Tarheel_Dem]

91. +1

[DisgustipatedinCA]

13. But they installed those giant iPads in the studio!

What do these whippersnappers want anyway, truthful journalism?

[BumRushDaShow]

45. Must include the picture!

[DisgustipatedinCA]

47. Thank you, and you're right...the picture is worth a thousand words nt

[thesquanderer]

70. The fox newsroom looks like Lilliput!

Thanks for the pic, I had never seen that. Hysterical.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

88. Imagine trying to get work done while having to be a TV prop.

Those six people in the background are all the under 50s that they could round up.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. The language in this article is a tad fuzzy. FoxNews does have the oldest audience in all of

television, but it is only a 'ratings leader' when compared to other cable news and commentary outlets. It is not anything near the ratings leader in TV news, nor in cable broadcasting in any time slot. It leads CNN and MSNBC, slightly, using mostly the comatose and soon to be to make up the audience. Cable commentary/news is not a very watched product in general, so leading that pack is not much to brag about.

[lovuian]

17. the Republican party is dying

and their supporters

of which they have attacked their social security and medicare

[legcramp]

18. Purely anecdotal I know, but we have 5 kids under the age of 40

and not one of them has cable TV. Oh they watch all the shows they want to see but everything is "time shifted" and "binge-viewing" on their various devices. They rarely even buy or rent physical media anymore. It's all streaming.

This year Gamma and Grampa got a Chromecast for Christmas because even the Grandkids were complaining that all we had was that crummy cable TV when they came to visit.

And there goes FoxMSNBCCNN's audience, swirling the bowl.

[Blanks]

19. Does it take into account how many people turned off their cable/dish?

When one sits down and looks at the old budget and evaluates the need for all those channels when they're working 2 or 3 minimum wage jobs, Hulu and/or Netflix might look like a better deal.

After all Fox News is entertainment, given the choice between having smoke blown up your ass and watching something that is ACTUALLY entertaining...

...Fox News is bound to be what falls by the way side.

Besides they were pretty sure Romney was gonna win. So how reliable can they be as a news source.

[searchingforlight]

21. Not worried about this younger generation.

[TrollBuster9090]

24. I watched BRET BAEIER, SPECIAL REPORT yesterday, and saw five advertisements for CANES in one hour.

'Nuff said.

The advertisers know who their audience is, too.

[lostincalifornia]

27. I suspect young viewers probably are not spending much time watching any of the news shows

[Squinch]

28. It is surprising how gleeful this makes me feel.

[Mr.Bill]

29. I watch Fox News almost every day.

I watch it on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

[Blanks]

36. Yeah, me too. It's actually fairly entertaining in that context. eom

[EC]

30. Who would have guessed that Fox News

and Republican Party are mirroring one another?

[Pretzel_Warrior]

34. GREAT NEWS! Even the cons I know who watch FoxNews regularly know it's full of shit

They are just too dumb to come up with their own arguments when debating Democrats so they like being able to turn on FoxNews and have their debating points hand delivered to them each day. They know it's bullshit, but they can't stand that Dems might be right so they still argue it.

[BlueCaliDem]

37. Thank you, babylonsister!

A shout out for our young people and enthusiastic applause!

I have hope for the future of America again.

and an enthusiastic rec'd!

[Coyotl]

41. You can't fool all the people all the time. And good luck with the youths!

[kimbutgar]

42. Looks like the Daily show, SNL and the other comedy shows

Have done a great job lampooning and showing the truth how ridiculous Fox is and how they lie and bend the truth.

My husband has a 28 year old right wing nephew who was raised on rush, fox and others. When he sprouts the talking points I ask him did you hear that on fox? He gets defensive and denies it.

Basically those who watch fox get ridiculed. Cool educated people have better things to do than get incensed over Obamacare, they laughed when the president shook Castro's hand and the president let the pm of Sweden take a selfie of them because well it was not news and it's stupid. And finally the occupy movement thoughly discredited Fox. Fox is the network of that old cranky couple on your block who scream at you if step on their lawn.

I welcome the further erosion of this hateful evil network.

[Liberal_in_LA]

44. excellent

[Vogon_Glory]

50. Could Some Of The Millenials Have Noticed That...

Living in Texas, I am often in despair about younger generations' apathy, ignorance, and indifference to politics and the trends that will affect them and the ones they love in the not-so-distant future. But this report makes me wonder if the more aware of the younger generations have realized just who is lying to them and have turned away from the networks and talking-heads purveying those lies.

I don't blame the kids one bit if this is true. We baby-boomers are going to leave them a far poorer, more troubled world than the one we got when we reached our legal majority.

[spanone]

53. k&r...

[orpupilofnature57]

54. The youth of this country can't afford to be RUSHED to judgment, ergo..

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://inyourfacewomen.blogspot.com/2012/04/amy-goodman.html&h=225&w=225&sz=1&tbnid=byFEHbQKRWvbXM:&tbnh=186&tbnw=186&zoom=1&usg=__OjlWjPh4PVxTZfs3PMQHodz_1d8=&docid=sZ2vjNgTrnRpdM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=OB_GUrnAEbTNsQScg4GIDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CIoBEPwdMAs

[RKP5637]

55. It's pretty hard to rebrand shit and make it smell nice. n/t

[Boomerproud]

56. Anyone, regardless of age, who lives in Hotel Reality would reject Faux.

Sure took enough time, though. Plenty of damage has been done over the years.

[colsohlibgal]

59. Their Audience Share Declines Daily

As old people depart this earth their ratings will continue to slide because too many young folks see through their propaganda, slanting, and outright falsehoods.

[Cha]

61. Megyn Kelly? What was it.. the

White Santa Clause bit?



Thank you, babylonsistah~

[Jamaal510]

63. Who else here is surprised that they have young viewers at all? NT

[Enthusiast]

64. It doesn't matter if young viewers avoid Fox "News" like the plague.

Because every TV channel is now pushing the alternative right wing bogus reality. Now even PBS and NPR radio are directed and controlled by right wing zealots.

There are few alternatives available to most people.

[Katashi_itto]

65. Oh yes there is, almost no young viewer I know watches corporate TV its youtube or other sources

for news. I haven't watched corporate in years myself.

[Enthusiast]

66. Millions of voters only watch corporate TV. It might be a bad choice but it is one people make.

Network news watchers are bombarded with misinformation 24/7.

[Katashi_itto]

67. The corporate viewers are a declining demographic

[Enthusiast]

69. One that includes me and my family.

And that declining demographic includes a sizable portion of the electorate. I'm pleased that young people refuse to watch Fox. That is a wonderful thing. In the meantime, most Americans are being propagandized to the max.

[HockeyMom]

68. My kids, and their spouses, are Democrats

They have never watched Faux. In fact, my Republican husband, who used to be a Faux Fanatic, stopped watching it about 6 weeks before the Presidential election. Faux not only isn't getting the young people, they seem to be losing the old ones too. Husband now watches local news channels instead.

[mwooldri]

72. No Fox "News Channel" here.

TVs in this house have their channel number blocked like all the ppv porn channels.

Local broadcast TV is what we watch when it comes to linear channels, basically for local news. For certain TV series - if we want first run (in the US), we set the DVR. Otherwise there's lots of choices in streaming video. Netflix, Amazon Prime and Funimation are the services we pay $$$$ for.

[TBF]

73. Our young folks are less bigoted -

as evidenced by the fact that they accept gay marriage, the trend is less religious (not that all religious folks are bigots - some are very kind), just general trend that they are more accepting. It gives me hope for the future.

[JEFF9K]

74. FOX NEWS IS ON LIFE-SUPPORT.

FOX NEWS IS ON LIFE-SUPPORT. They've been brain-dead for years.

[Demeter]

77. The kids are all right n/t

[JoeyT]

80. So their only attempt to build a younger viewership was

to put prettier anchors out to read the fake stories, or at least to move the pretty ones they have around? Without changing the general stupidity of the channel that's been driving people away? Sounds about right.

[The Wizard]

83. Normal people don't watch Pox News (NT)

[father founding]

84. FOX re brand

Does this mean we will start seeing Gretchen going topless to attract young male viewers ?

[Mariana]

85. Fox News is BORING.

It's pretty much the same thing, hour after hour, day after day. They grab onto some topic that few people care much about and they beat it to death, and then they beat it some more, and all the time is the same subtext that the President in particular and Democrats in general are Bad People Who Hate America. Boring.

[LiberalLovinLug]

97. Its boring but effective

I think to a lot of their loyal viewers. You are right, they beat to death the chosen story of the day or month. Its either Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi!!! or whatever else they can scrape up. The effect is not benign however. It is the "where there is smoke there is fire" principle. I think a lot of these viewers must think that if a major news network, "the most watched news network", is so concerned about a topic and a perceived wrong-doing from the President day after day after day after day...THEN SOMETHING MUST BE WRONG! Even if one thing is proven to have no legs anymore, another planted story is then bumped up to headline status. There is never even a 5 minute break from the constant pummeling with overlapping punches. It doesn't really matter how real or even how big the story is...it could be just to criticize the President actually taking a vacation!....the main thing it is a constant stream of diarrhea spewing from all their painted mouths.

[Mariana]

103. It's not effective for getting them new, younger viewers.

We can be grateful for that. It's true their effect on the current audience is scary, but the current audience won't be here forever.

[L0oniX]

86. Nothing drives young people away faster than them knowing that old people like it.

[Boysterload]

90. Kids these days... they just don't like Fox Tabloid News!

[gopiscrap]

96. welcome to DU

[Shankapotomus]

92. That's because it is a plague /nt

[yuiyoshida]

94. THIS NEEDS THREE STANDING OVATIONS

but, I will give it four.

[madville]

98. I looked up the MSNBC numbers

They have similar declines as well. They are down between 24-37% in total viewership, primetime, and age 25-54 demo, depending on the criteria you use. It's an industry wide problem, younger people just don't watch news on TV and the decline will continue. When's the last time you saw a person under 50 carrying around a newspaper?

[shenmue]

99. I hope I live to see the day they go off the air

Wouldn't that be swell!

[gopiscrap]

101. Excellent!

[AAO]

104. Thanks, Babylon! You bring us great news!!

[HughBeaumont]

110. Well, let's see . . .

Faux champions an economic system that's designed to keep them broke, indebted and expected to foot the bill for wealthy people's shenanigans, they declare ginned up wars on abstract concepts, they deny global warming and they have all of the warmth, concern and caring of Year-Zero Pol Pot.

I mean, COME on, who WOULDN'T watch?