The New York Times reported today that Fox News will end up the year with 2.4 million prime-time viewers, behind only the NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox. And this is the first time Fox News will finish No. 1 in prime time and total day ratings for basic cable channels.
Even beleaguered CNN was up 76 percent year over year in prime time, averaging 1.3 million viewers. In the 25-54 demographic, CNN averaged 423,000 viewers, almost matching Fox News’s 481,000 total.
MSNBC tallied the biggest gain of the cable news networks with an 87 percent increase in total prime time viewers to 1.1 million. The network also posted a 97 percent increase in the 25-54 segment.
Fox News closes out the year hosting the top two most-viewed cable news shows with Bill O’Reilly’s “The O’Relly Factor” in first place followed by Megyn Kelly’s “The Kelly File.”
The median viewer age is 66 for Fox News, 61 for CNN and 63 for MSNBC.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
