Fox News Maintains Lead in Viewership
Throughout October, Americans continued to turn to Fox News Channel (FNC) for news and analysis, keeping it at the forefront of weekday prime-time viewership for 2025.
Since the start of this year, FNC has averaged around 3.3 million viewers during prime time from Monday to Friday, making it the top network across all channels, including ABC, CBS, and NBC.
The network consistently outperformed its competitors in weekday prime-time ratings, attracting more viewers than both MSNBC and CNN combined. A look into the metrics from the busy month of October reveals this trend.
Fox News Digital recorded 94.1 million unique visitors in the third quarter, ranking it above all other news brands, including ABC, NBC, and CBS.
On average, Fox News attracted 1.5 million viewers per day, placing it at the top among cable news networks, while MSNBC and CNN lagged behind with averages of 504,000 and 388,000 viewers, respectively.
In prime-time, Fox News had 2.3 million viewers, leaving MSNBC and CNN far behind, with 815,000 and 504,000 viewers, respectively. The channel held a substantial audience share of 63% of daily viewers and 64% during prime time.
Breaking it down by age demographics, particularly the sought-after 25 to 54 age group, Fox News averaged 145,000 viewers per day, while CNN and MSNBC had significantly lower figures—58,000 and 45,000 viewers, respectively. Overall, CNN experienced its weakest October in key metrics, while MSNBC noted its lowest ratings in this demographic category since 1997.
In the prime-time demo, Fox News averaged 228,000 viewers, replicating its competitive edge over MSNBC and CNN, who found their numbers lacking.
Surprisingly, Fox News led all news brands with 1.1 billion YouTube views in the third quarter, a figure that surpassed the combined total of NBC, ABC, and CBS.
Meanwhile, CNN and MSNBC struggled with their prime-time lineups; CNN had a mere 77,000 viewers in the demo and MSNBC only 73,000.
The program “The Five” emerged as the most-watched show in cable news, averaging 3.7 million viewers. It was followed by other popular programs including “Jesse Watters Primetime,” “Gutfeld!,” “Special Report with Bret Baier,” and “Hannity.”
“Gutfeld!” maintained its dominance over late-night television, outpacing major competitors like CBS and NBC’s late-night offerings. It also stood out as the top cable news program among key demos, attracting an average of 325,000 adults aged 25 to 54.
“Special Report” further closed the viewership gap with its broadcast competitors, surpassing “CBS Evening News” in 19 major markets like New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
In addition to its weekday success, Fox News revamped its weekend lineup, emphasizing its commitment to unmatched coverage.
“FOX & Friends” wrapped up October with 1.3 million viewers, remaining the top morning cable news program for 56 consecutive months.
The network also dominated weekend ratings, winning every hour against CNN and MSNBC by significant margins.
Other programs such as “America’s Newsroom,” “The Faulkner Focus,” and “Liberty & Levin” maintained strong showings, solidifying their top spots. “Saturday in America” led Saturday with 1.4 million viewers, while “Sunday Morning Futures” topped Sunday’s ratings with an average of 1.6 million viewers.
