Fox News Has Highest Rated Year In Network History

Yet CNN and MSNBC remain clueless as to the reasons.

Fox News will finish 2009 as the top-rated cable news network, a perch it has enjoyed for eight years running. But 2009--the first year of the Obama administration--also marks FNC's highest rated year in the channel's 13-year-history.

FNC topped the competition in all dayparts: morning (1 million total viewers, 340,000viewers in news' target demographic of 25-54-year-olds); total day (1.2 million viewers, 323,000 in the demo); primetime (2.2 million viewers, 551,000 in the demo). Those numbers mark year-to-year demo gains of 14% in the morning, 16% in total day and 10% in primetime (Mon-Sun), according to Nielsen.

FNC saw double-digit gains for all of its programs. Year-to-year, Glenn Beck is up 96% among total viewers (2.3 million) and 148% in the demo (612,000). Special Report with Bret Baier posted gains of 25% among total viewers (2 million) and 33% in the demo (454,000). The O'Reilly Factor is up 13% among total viewers (3.3 million) and 27% (801,000) in the demo, marking its tenth consecutive year as the No. 1 cable news program.