Just one hour of the day but still fairly amazing in that Newsmax was until recently regarded as a fringe network.

Source: CNN

Newsmax TV has notched a ratings win over Fox News Channel for the very first time.

The win, fueled by conservative viewers who are disappointed by the election results, happened Monday evening. In the key 25- to 54-year-old demographic prized by advertisers, "Greg Kelly Reports" on Newsmax out-rated "The Story with Martha MacCallum" on Fox.

The margin was narrow — Kelly averaged 229,000 viewers in the demo and MacCallum averaged 203,000 — but it is still a milestone in the cable news industry.

Before the election, Newsmax was not regarded as a formidable competitor to Fox; it was mostly dismissed as one of a handful of wannabe challengers.

But President Trump's loss on November 3 changed the cable TV calculus. Viewers who were frustrated when Fox admitted the truth of Trump's loss sought other options. Trump encouraged them to try Newsmax.

Newsmax — and Kelly in particular — offered a safe space in which Biden was not called president-elect and Trump was not yet defeated.

This just in: For the first time ever, Newsmax has scored a ratings win against Fox News. Monday at 7pm, in the 25-54 demo, @GregKellyUSA out-rated @MarthaMacCallum. It's just one hour of one day, but still a milestone for Newsmaxhttps://t.co/8FGEJr8h4v

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 8, 2020

Hard to communicate how seismic this is. Question about whether there's any durability here. But I also think it shows the pathologies of conservatism might be more a demand-side issue than a supply-side one. https://t.co/D6VvjnrzGC

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) December 9, 2020