Cable news is a competitive game, and shows can rise and fall in popularity quite quickly. Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham debuted her own show, called The Ingraham Angle, on the network back in October 2017. While Fox News is generally a big winner in cable news ratings, there was no guarantee that Ingraham's show would be a hit, and recent controversy surrounding her cast doubt on her cable news future. Now, the numbers are in for second quarter of 2018, and The Ingraham Angle is more popular than ever.
In the second quarter of 2018, The Ingraham Angle was watched by 2.654 million viewers, with 544,000 adults in the important 25-54 age demographic on average. The numbers for June mark the highest-rated month of The Ingraham Angle since its premiere in October 2017. Laura Ingraham has not only found an audience; Variety reports that the audience is growing.
Those numbers wouldn't mean much in the big picture if they didn't compare to the top programs on the entire cable news circuit. As it happens, The Ingraham Angle ranks in the top five cable news shows in two categories: total viewers and adults 25-54. In total viewers, The Ingraham Angle's 2.654 million places it in fourth, behind Hannity, The Rachel Maddow Show, and Tucker Carlson Tonight, beating The Five. In adults 25-54, The Ingraham Angle actually comes in third, behind Hannity and The Rachel Maddow Show. In the fourth and fifth places are Tucker Carlson Tonight and Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, respectively.
Laura Ingraham's impressive numbers are surprising for a couple of reasons. For one, The Ingraham Angle is still a very new show, with less than a year on the air at this point. It's by far the newest show on the two top five lists, and many shows require more time to get so far up the ranks. Who would have guessed back in October that Ingraham would be catching up to some of the biggest shows on cable news?
Another -- and perhaps more significant -- reason why Laura Ingraham's ratings growth come as a surprise is the fact that her show has gotten a lot of negative press in the months that it's been on the air. Her comments first toward a Parkland shooting survivor and then regarding the separation of children and parents at the United States' border resulted in two separate calls for advertiser boycotts.
While some advertisers did jump ship from The Ingraham Angle, Fox News didn't cut Laura Ingraham loose and the show clearly hasn't lost its audience. Assuming Ingraham's numbers remain consistent or even continue to grow, she could enjoy a long future on Fox News.
Of course, Fox News isn't really struggling at the moment. The cable news network has been at the top of the game for a long time, and only two non-Fox News shows made it to the top five of total viewers and adults 25-54. Interestingly, both The Rachel Maddow Show and Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell air on MSNBC. MSNBC is second in total viewers in the second quarter, with CNN behind in third. In the key demo, CNN pulls ahead and leaves MSNBC in third. If Fox News' streaming service happens and is a hit before the end of the year, 2018 could be a big winner for the network.
If you want to check out Laura Ingraham's show, you can find her on Fox News on weeknights at 10 p.m. ET. If you're in the mood for something other than cable news, check out our summer TV premiere guide.
