FOX News Channel’s (FNC) Special Report with Bret Baier delivered 7.8 million viewers and 1,126,000 in the 25-54 demo during anchor Bret Baier’s exclusive interview with Vice President Kamala Harris from 6 – 6:30 PM/ET on October 16th, according to Nielsen Media Research. The interview marked the highest rated of the Harris-Trump political season, outrating Harris’s appearances on 60 Minutes, The View, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CNN and MSNBC. For the full 6 PM/ET hour, Special Report drew 6.7 million viewers and 901,000 in the 25-54 demo. Combined with the show’s midnight airing (6-6:30 PM/ET and 12-12:30 AM/ET), Special Report’s interview with Vice President Harris nabbed 9.2 million viewers and 1.4 million in the 25-54 demo, beating ABC’s interview with President Biden before he dropped out of the race (8.5 million viewers). FNC averaged more than 12 million viewers on Wednesday between all three airings of its interviews with Vice President Harris (6 PM/ET & 12 AM/ET) and its town hall with former President Trump (11AM-12 PM/ET).

The network’s first formal interview with the vice president topped her appearance on CBS News’ 60 Minutes (5.7 million viewers), ABC’s The View (3.1 million viewers) and CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2.9 million viewers) as well as CNN and MSNBC’s Harris appearances. Special Report saw 189% growth with viewers and 285% growth in the 25-54 demo compared to its 2024-to-date average and was the top program on cable news on Wednesday.