If there’s been one weakness to Fox’s dominance, it is the age of its audience. The median age of the Fox News prime-time viewer is 66, a few years older than for MSNBC (64) and CNN (59), according to Nielsen.
Some TV executives said on Wednesday that with such a sizable lead, Fox’s biggest threat will not come from rival networks but from challenges to the monopoly it has held on conservative commentary on nightly television.
What could keep Fox inoculated from any kind of significant defection is the lack of choice on the dial. MSNBC’s prime-time lineup is now defiantly positioned against the Trump administration, and CNN, though it has plenty of pro-Trump voices, has drawn withering criticism from the president.
“Fox News viewers are old enough to remember, ‘Don’t touch that dial,’” said Mr. Heyward. “Well, if they do touch the dial, there aren’t a lot of places for them to go.”
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