FOX News Dominates First Quarter Ratings
In the first quarter of 2026, FOX News Channel led the cable television ratings for the 20th consecutive time. Impressively, it surpassed CBS in weekday prime-time viewers.
Throughout this busy news cycle, FOX News averaged about 1.7 million total daily viewers. In contrast, MS NOW attracted 691,000 viewers while CNN had just 577,000.
During prime time specifically, FOX News recorded an average of 2.6 million viewers. MS NOW managed only 1.1 million, and CNN lagged even further at 797,000. This marked the 97th quarter in a row where FOX News dominated prime time viewership. Notably, it even outperformed ESPN despite the college football and NFL playoffs.
Overall, FOX News accounted for nearly 60% of the total cable news audience during both daytime and prime time.
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In terms of the crucial 25-54 age demographic, which advertisers often target, FOX News averaged 172,000 daily viewers. CNN had 101,000, while MS NOW trailed with only 72,000.
Looking at primetime performances, FOX News scored 265,000 demo viewers, in comparison to CNN’s 156,000 and MS NOW’s mere 114,000. Additionally, FOX News aired 14 of the top 15 cable news programs and reported double-digit viewer increases over the previous quarter.
The show “The Five,” featuring Dana Perino and others, attracted 4 million total viewers, along with 354,000 from the key demographic. This success made it the first non-primetime program to maintain the title of the most-watched cable news show for 18 consecutive quarters.
“Special Report with Bret Baier” garnered over 3 million viewers, exceeding 289,000 in the demo, and outperformed “CBS Evening News” in 19 major markets, such as New York and Chicago.
Shows like “The Ingraham Angle,” “Jesse Watters Primetime,” and “Hannity” significantly outperformed their competitors during their timeslots, making this quarter one of the highest-rated for nearly all FOX News shows.
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The program “Gutfeld!” averaged around 3 million viewers, which placed it ahead of all broadcast and late-night television shows, including CBS’ “The Late Show” and NBC’s “Tonight Show.”
Across weekday prime time, FOX News averaged nearly 3 million viewers while CBS attracted about 2.9 million.
Programs such as “America’s Newsroom,” “The Martha McCallum Story,” and “The Will Cain Show” consistently surpassed competing cable news shows, as well as several network morning shows.
“FOX & Friends” captured an average of 1.4 million viewers while outperforming “CBS Mornings” in 23 markets, including major cities like New York and Los Angeles. This series maintained its position as the most-watched morning lineup in cable news.
Moreover, “FOX & Friends FIRST” and “FOX & Friends Weekends” had strong showings as well.
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Kayleigh McEnany’s “Saturday in America” attracted 2.3 million viewers, while various other programs also fared well against their Saturday competition.
Maria Bartiromo’s “Sunday Morning Futures” became the most-watched Sunday cable news show, bringing in 2 million viewers. Meanwhile, “The Sunday Briefing” saw a continual growth in viewership.
Programs like “Sunday Night in America” and “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade” also experienced strong quarter performances, contributing to FOX News’ overall success on Sundays.
Notably, FOX News was recognized as the fastest-growing network on television in prime-time ratings and led cable TV viewership among Hispanic and Asian viewers during the first quarter.
Ratings data was provided by Nielsen Media Research.
