News networks have experienced a drastic dip in viewership in 2021, with left-leaning outlets faring the worst.
According to Nielsen data, CNN saw a 38 percent drop in weekday prime-time viewership, while MSNBC saw a 25 percent drop in viewership for the same time slots.
Fox News came on top in 2021, averaging 1.3 million in total day viewers this year, compared to 919,000 at MSNBC and 787,000 watching CNN, according to a new report from The Hill.
Fox averaged 2.3 million viewers during prime time hours, including an average of 374,000 within the key 25- to 54-year-old demographic.
Network news channels fared better than their cable counterparts, though still losing viewers compared to 2020.
Viewership for ABC's "World News Tonight" and "CBS Evening News" dropping by 12 percent each and viewership for NBC's "Nightly News" dropping 14 percent.
Experts speaking with the Associated Press said the dip in viewership was expected after 2020 and the final days of the Trump presidency.
"It was entirely predictable," news media analyst Ken Doctor told the Associated Press.
Tom Rosenstiel, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland, told the outlet that news networks and outlets built a model in recent years focusing primarily on political combat during the Trump administration, making it difficult to pivot to other things.
"You become, to some extent, a prisoner of the audience you built," Rosenstiel said.
"People to some degree have focused inward," he added. "They're getting the news that they need but it's not as much news as it was a year ago."
News networks are not the only news sources faring worse this year compared to last.
Citing Comscore data, the Associated Press said that the number of unique visitors at The Washington Post's website dropped by 44 percent in November compared to the year prior, while it dropped by 34 percent at The New York Times.
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