福克斯新闻频道成为今年收视率最高的有线电视台

事实证明，美国总统大选引发的兴趣和唐纳德·特朗普出人意料的获胜，成为有线新闻频道的福音。例如，福克斯新闻频道（Fox News）获得了公司史上最高的年度收视率，不仅超过了有线新闻频道竞争对手，也超过了其他基本有线电视网络。

周四，该新闻频道迎来了创纪录的一年。据尼尔森（Nielsen）的年底数据显示，隶属于21世纪福克斯的福克斯新闻频道，不论黄金时段平均收视率，还是全天收视率，均领先于其他基本有线电视网络。福克斯新闻频道最终的黄金时段收视率数据比2015年提高了36%，总体收视率排在第五位，晚间观众人数达到240万，排在四大电视频道之后：NBC（720万）、CBS（700万）、ABC（510万）和福克斯（400万）。

福克斯新闻频道更令人印象深刻的是，它的黄金时段平均收视率超过了竞争对手CNN（127万）和MSNBC（109万）两个频道之和。而且，CNN与MSNBC均通过大选报道提高了黄金时段收视率。CNN的黄金时段收视率年比提高了79%，MSNBC提高了89%。

福克斯新闻频道联席总裁杰克·阿伯内西与比尔·夏恩在一份联合声明中表示：“随着福克斯新闻频道第20个年份的结束，我们将继续重新定义电视新闻，不断打破收视率记录。”

过去15年，福克斯新闻频道一直在有线新闻领域占据主导地位。今年早些时候，CNN终于取得了对更保守的竞争对手的一次胜利。10月份，时代华纳（Time Warner）旗下的CNN，在各方争夺激烈的25-54岁人群中获得了最高的黄金时段收益率。这是CNN自2001年以来首次取得这一成就。

不过，对于福克斯新闻频道来说，今年也是喧闹的一年，今年夏天，长期担任董事长和CEO的罗杰·埃尔斯，因为一系列性骚扰指控而被驱逐。埃尔斯曾帮助将这家右倾的电视台变成媒体帝国。（有报道称，埃尔斯后来曾为特朗普的竞选活动提供咨询，而另外两位福克斯资深高管夏恩与阿伯内西在8月份担任福克斯新闻频道联席总裁。）9月份，该频道以2,000万美元了结了前主持人葛雷琴·卡尔森提起的诉讼。卡尔森曾指控埃尔斯对其实施了性骚扰。

随着2016年的结束，关于频道最耀眼的明星之一：主持人梅根·凯莉的未来，依旧会有许多猜测。凯莉主持的《凯莉档案》（The Kelly File）是2016年黄金时段有线新闻节目收视率第二位的节目——仅次于福克斯新闻频道的《奥莱利实情》（The O’Reilly Factor）。但今年一直有传言称，凯莉将在2017年7月合同到期后，离开福克斯新闻频道。

凯莉自己在今年早些时候曾向《Variety》暗示，她可能会考虑跳槽。在10月份，《华尔街日报》（The Wall Street Journal）报道称，她正在考虑一份年薪2,000万美元的新协议。但无论如何，关于围绕自身职业的各种猜测，凯莉在本月早些时候发推文警告称：“除了由本人发布的消息，请不要相信你听到的任何传闻。” （财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

The intrigue surrounding the presidential election—and Donald Trump’s surprising victory—proved to be a boon to cable news this year. Fox News, for instance, saw its best annual ratings ever, topping not only all of its fellow cable news channels but also every other basic cable network in the process.

On Thursday, the news channel celebrated a record year that saw the 21st Century Fox-owned network claim the crown as the most-watched basic cable network, both in terms of average primetime and full-day viewers, according to year-end Nielsen figures. Fox News’ final primetime numbers represented a 36% bump over 2015, good for fifth a fifth place finish overall in primetime ratings, averaging 2.4 million nightly viewers, behind only the “Big Four” networks: NBC (7.2 million), CBS (7 million), ABC (5.1 million), and Fox (4 million).

Fox News’ surge was even more impressive since it beat the primetime averages posted by rival networks CNN (1.27 million) and MSNBC (1.09 million) combined. And that’s after both CNN and MSNBC also rode their election coverage to increases in their primetime viewership as well. CNN’s primetime ratings went up 79% over the previous year, while MSNBC jumped by 89%.

“As we close out our 20th year, Fox News continues to redefine television news and break ratings records,” Fox News co-presidents Jack Abernethy and Bill Shine said in a joint statement.

Fox News has been a dominant force in the cable news landscape for the past 15 years. Earlier this year, CNN managed to squeak out a victory over its more conservative rival when the Time Warner-owned network posted the top primetime ratings for the coveted 25-54 demographic in October. It was the first time CNN had managed the feat since 2001.

But it has also been a tumultuous year for Fox News, which saw the ouster of longtime chairman and CEO Roger Ailes over the summer, in the wake of a series of sexual harassment accusations against the man who helped build the right-leaning network into a media empire. (Ailes later spent some time reportedly advising Trump on his presidential campaign, while two longtime Fox executives—Shine and Abernethy—took over as Fox News co-presidents in August.) In September, the network also settled a lawsuit brought against the network by former anchor Gretchen Carlson—who had accused Ailes of sexual harassment—for a reported $20 million.

As 2016 comes to a close, there also continues to be constant speculation around the future of one of the network’s brightest stars: anchor Megyn Kelly. The anchor’s The Kelly File was the second highest-rated primetime cable news program in 2016—behind only Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor. But rumors have persisted throughout the year that Kelly may be looking to leave Fox News once her current contract expires in July 2017.

Kelly herself hinted to Variety that she might be considering a move earlier this year. Then in October, The Wall Street Journal reported that she was looking for a new deal that would pay her $20 million annually. But for what it’s worth, Kelly weighed in on the swirling speculation over her career with a Tweet earlier this month that warned: “Don’t believe a thing [you] hear unless it comes from me, period.”