Fox News pulled off a remarkable turnaround in 2021. The long-dominant network began the year with a historic run at third place in the January ratings but has since rebounded in a dramatic fashion.

Despite its slow start, Fox is set to finish 2021 – for the sixth year in a row – as the number one channel on basic cable, which will also mark its 20th straight year as the number one network in cable news. Fox News Media’s CEO Suzanne Scott boasted in a statement that it is the only cable news network to show growth in a year in which everyone lost viewers en mass. New programming, a host of new issues to cover, a president to oppose, and the strength of prime time opinion shows appear to have made the difference for Fox in 2021.

While the network has stirred its fair share of controversy this year and said goodbye to one of its most well-respected veteran journalists, Chris Wallace, Fox also managed to pull in a surprising, ideologically diverse audience.

According to data from Nielsen/MRI Fusion, Fox News is watched by more Democrats than CNN and by more Independents than both MSNBC and CNN. Data averages from April to August show that while Fox pulled in 62 percent of all conservatives watching cable, 29 percent of all liberals watched Fox – while 46 percent watched MSNBC and 25 percent watched CNN. MSNBC attracted 24 percent of the conservative audience, while CNN only pulled in 14 percent.