Murdochs’ MAGA Math

On Monday morning, some 20 minutes into Fox Corporation’s quarterly earnings call, a financial analyst addressed the elephant in the room with a question to the company’s chief executive, Lachlan Murdoch. The analyst, Michael Morris of Guggenheim Securities, pressed Murdoch about the staggering ratings declines Fox News is experiencing ahead of the midterm elections—a troubling trend for the pro-MAGA network that Status first reported on last week.

Earlier in the call, Murdoch had acknowledged “difficult ratings comparisons to last year.” Indeed, while Fox News continues to dominate the cable news landscape, even beating out ESPN, its total day ratings have plummeted an astonishing 27% compared to the same period last year. In the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults ages 25-54, the decline is even steeper, with viewership plunging 32% to its lowest level in a quarter century. Meanwhile, ahead of Tuesday’s high-stakes midterm elections, MS NOW has surged 16% in total day viewers, while CNN has posted a more modest 3% gain, though they both average far less viewers than Fox News.