The two cable networks that have made it their mission to hammer President Trump at every turn are paying for it big time in the ratings. Neilsen ratings for October are bad news for MSNBC, and even worse for CNN.

The Fox News Network continues to dominate across the board. In fact, the October numbers for Fox were higher than MSNBC and CNN combined. This is not good news with election day next week.

Fox averaged 2.8 million viewers in prime time in October, while MSNBC had an average of 1.8 million and CNN finished a distant third with an average of only 931,000 viewers.

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Fox had the five most-watched prime time programs in cable news in October. Hannity finished first with an average of 3.5 million viewers followed by Tucker Carlson Tonight with 3.23 million, The Ingraham Angle with 2.97 million, The Five with 2.84 million and Special Report with Brett Baier with 2.66 million viewers on average.

In sixth place was MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show. Not one CNN news program finished in the top ten--or even in the top twenty. CNN's Cuomo Prime Time ranked 23rd. MSNBC finished fourth overall in basic cable, and CNN ninth.

CNN and MSNBC positioned themselves early as the anti-Trump news networks, and have overplayed their hand on every issue that has arisen since Trump first declared his candidacy. Both networks have presented mean-spirited, unfair and unbalanced coverage of the administration, have offered shade for Trump's opponents and have quite often just gotten it wrong in the rush to condemn Trump.

Trump has fought back, often times lashing out at the networks by calling them "fake news" and the "enemy of the people." Their viewer base has crumbled.

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CNN and MSNBC are responsible for their own predicaments. Their presentations are biased and negative and a turnoff to viewers. Most cable news viewers feel that even though Fox is tainted more to the right of center, it is most likely to present a more balanced accounting of events.

MSNBC never really established itself as a credible source of information, but CNN, once a proud and powerful name in cable news, has become a caricature of its former self.

Trump didn't destroy CNN. CNN destroyed CNN. Trump just provided the narrative.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. 

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