Fox News maintains its position as the leading cable news network for 24 straight years.

Fox News Channel Continues to Dominate Cable News Ratings

For 24 straight years, Fox News Channel (FNC) has held the title of America’s top cable news network, recently accounting for roughly 60% of the total cable news audience combined, both day and night.

In January 2026, FNC outperformed competitors MS NOW and CNN in terms of overall viewership, reinforcing its status as a key source for news and analysis. Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, expressed pride in the team’s achievements and highlighted their commitment to delivering important stories globally.

Strong Performance and Viewer Trends

In the first month of 2026, Fox News logged an average of 1.4 million daily viewers, significantly ahead of MS NOW’s 589,000 and CNN’s 510,000. In prime time, Fox News reached around 2 million viewers, while MS NOW garnered only 887,000 and CNN 660,000, marking an impressive consistent lead in prime time for 60 consecutive months.

In terms of the crucial 25-54 demographic, which advertisers often target, Fox averaged 143,000 daily viewers—far exceeding CNN’s 96,000 and MS NOW’s 55,000. Interestingly, MS NOW struggled so much that it couldn’t even place in the top 10 for cable viewing options.

On a weekday evening, Fox’s lineup averaged 2.4 million viewers, outperforming CBS, which had 2.2 million. This trend is indicative of Fox News’ ability to simplify its content and cater to its audience’s interests effectively.

YouTube Success

In 2025, FNC shone on YouTube as well, achieving 4.5 billion video views—resulting in its best year on the platform. Shows like “The Five” and “Special Report with Bret Baier” dominated their slots, with “The Five” boasting 3.7 million viewers and leading its time slot.

Other popular programs included “Jesse Watters Primetime,” which attracted 3 million viewers and “Gutfeld!” that ruled late-night TV with 2.8 million viewers. Meanwhile, “FOX & Friends” maintained its position as the best morning show on cable news for 59 months, consistently surpassing rivals.