Tucker Carlson Tops Cable News Ratings Amid George Floyd Protests

(Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Politicon)

Fox News host Tucker Carlson led all of cable news as coverage of protests and riots occurring in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death continued.

Carlson’s 8:00 p.m. (eastern time) show averaged roughly four million viewers during the week of June 8, edging out fellow Fox News primetime host Sean Hannity, who averaged roughly 3.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. Fox News had the three highest-rated primetime hosts during that week, as Laura Ingraham finished third, averaging roughly 3.5 million viewers. Carlson also led in the crucial age 25-54 demographic, averaging roughly 680,000 viewers, followed by Hannity and Ingraham, who averaged roughly 633,000 and 621,000 viewers in the demographic, respectively. (RELATED: ‘This Is A Sham’: Tucker Blasts Health Care Professionals Who Signed Letter Exempting George Floyd Protests From Coronavirus Restrictions)

 

Traffic on Sixth Avenue passes by advertisements featuring Fox News personalities, including Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity, adorn the front of the News Corporation building, March 13, 2019 in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Additionally, Hannity was able to extend his ratings winning streak to 66 weeks over fellow primetime host Rachel Maddow of MSNBC. Maddow’s show averaged roughly 2.8 million viewers, including roughly 431,000 viewers in the 25-54 demographic. (RELATED: Maddow’s Ratings Rebound After Several Tough Months, But Hannity, Carlson Still Top Cable News)

Carlson, a Daily Caller co-founder, has accused activist groups of having a “mob” mentality, and attempting to silence dissent as protests continue.

“At this point, we’re becoming North Korea,” Carlson said on his show recently. “We now believe in blood guilt. We punish people for the sins of their relatives. We don’t allow individuals to have private thoughts. We hurt anyone who disagrees with orthodoxy. We demand that the innocent plead guilty to things we know they didn’t do, and then read their confessions in public to prove they’ve been re-educated. And then we brag about doing all of this.”