Below are the cable news ratings for the third quarter of 2025.
Even with the constant news emanating from Donald Trump’s administration, that was not enough to fuel viewer interest across all three networks as they did not record any quarter-to-quarter growth in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during primetime and total day.
However, CNN can take pride in being the only network not to lose any primetime total viewers during this quarter.
Meanwhile, Fox News, which won the summer ratings battle, stood tall when compared with the broadcast networks, finishing ahead of CBS and ABC in primetime total viewers.
Fox News Channel
Fox News averaged 2.483 million total primetime viewers and 243,000 Adults 25-54 viewers in Q3 2025. During total day, Fox News had 1.568 million total viewers and 159,000 demo viewers.
Compared to the second quarter, Fox News was down -6% in total viewers and -20% in the demo during primetime. When looking at total day, it was down by -4% and -21% in total viewers and the demo, respectively.
When comparing its performance in the same quarter of 2024, it saw a dip of -9% in total viewers and a -34% decrease in the demo during primetime. Looking at total day, the network was flat in total viewers and down -26% in the demo.
Fox News’ domination at the top of cable news now grows to 95 consecutive quarters, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Fox News was the most-watched cable network during primetime with total viewers and was the second most-watched network in the demo. During total day, Fox News was again on top in total viewers and finished in second place in the demo.
MSNBC
During Q3 2025, MSNBC averaged 802,000 total primetime viewers and 66,000 primetime demo viewers. During total day, MSNBC had 492,000 total viewers and 41,000 A25-54 viewers.
When looking at MSNBC’s performance vs. the second quarter in 2025, it was down in total viewers and the demo by -20% and -27%, respectively, during primetime, which can largely be attributed to Rachel Maddow‘s shift to anchoring her show once a week. During total day, the network was down -17% in total viewers and -28% in the demo.
When compared to the third quarter of 2024, MSNBC was down -46% in total viewers and -64% in the A25-54 demo during primetime. It was also down -45% and -59% in the demo during total day.