In February, Fox News Channel (FNC) outperformed CBS in prime time viewership, marking its best monthly performance since March 2025.
FNC averaged 2.6 million viewers during prime time, while CBS trailed with 2.4 million, representing CBS’s lowest February ratings since 2000. On weekdays, Fox News attracted 3.1 million viewers, including 316,000 in the crucial 25-54 demographic that advertisers target, surpassing CBS’s 2 million viewers and 278,000 in the same group. Notably, this was the first time in 2026 that FNC led CBS in both total viewers and the demographic segment.
During the day, FNC pulled in 1.7 million viewers and ranked first among cable news channels for Hispanic and affluent audiences. Additionally, every single one of the top 100 cable news broadcasts for the month was from FNC, with all weekday shows achieving their best monthly ratings since at least September.
Conversely, CBS experienced its weakest prime-time ratings since the start of the century, with flagship programs like “CBS Evening News,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and “CBS Morning” setting record lows in February. ABC also saw its lowest February ratings in prime-time demographics across the century.
“Special Report with Bret Baier” averaged over 3.1 million viewers in February and brought in 289,000 viewers in the 25-54 age group, marking its most-watched month since March 2025. This program outperformed “CBS Evening News” in 14 major markets, including New York and Chicago, and surpassed ABC’s “World News Tonight” in cities like New Orleans and Jacksonville.
“The Five,” airing at 5 p.m. ET, was TV’s top program during its timeslot, pulling in over 4 million viewers and 337,000 in the 25-54 demographic, ahead of ABC’s “911 Nashville” and NBC’s “Happy’s Place.” Then at 8 p.m. ET, “Jesse Watters Primetime” led all evening broadcasts with 3.4 million viewers and 329,000 in the target demographic, just ahead of ABC’s “20/20.”
FNC also dominated late-night viewing, with “Gutfeld!” achieving over 3 million viewers and 347,000 in the 25-54 demographic, easily beating competitors like “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
In the 9 p.m. slot, “Hannity” drew 2.9 million viewers with 286,000 in the relevant demographic, while “The Ingraham Angle” also averaged 2.9 million, maintaining Laura Ingraham’s status as one of the most-watched female hosts in cable news. At 11 p.m., “FOX News @ Night with Trace Gallagher” led with 1.8 million viewers.
FNC’s morning programs remained strong as well. “FOX & Friends” wrapped up February with 1.4 million viewers, marking the 60th consecutive month at the top among cable news morning shows in the 25-54 demographic, far surpassing CNN and MSNBC combined.
In terms of overall viewership during the day, shows like “America’s Newsroom,” “Faulkner Focus,” “Outnumbered,” and “America Reports” each averaged around 2 million viewers or more. Meanwhile, “The Will Cain Show” saw growth, reaching 2.3 million viewers at 4 p.m. ET.
During weekends, FNC also led in viewership, dominating every hour of total weekend viewership with solid margins over CNN and MSNBC. “Saturday in America with Kayleigh McEnany” was the weekend leader with 2.1 million viewers. On Sundays, “Sunday Morning Futures” attracted 1.9 million viewers, becoming the most-watched cable program for the day, while “My View with Lara Trump” drew in 1.5 million on Saturday night.
For February, FNC averaged about 1.7 million viewers overall and 168,000 in the 25-54 demographic—a rise of 19% and 18%, respectively, compared to January 2026. In primetime, it saw an average of 2.6 million viewers and 260,000 in that demographic, representing increases of 28% and 32% month-over-month.
Data was sourced from Nielsen Big Data + Panel.
