The major news stories in August included the federal takeover of the nation’s capital and the Minnesota school shooting.
Outside of those stories, a quieter news month led to all three cable news networks recording month-to-month declines across the board. The networks all registered double-digit declines in the advertiser-coveted demo during total day.
However, Fox News continued as the highest-rated network in all of television during primetime in total viewers for the second consecutive month. The news network commanded 63% of the cable news share across total day and 65% in primetime with total viewers during the month.
Fox News
According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News in August had 2.304 million total viewers in primetime and 237,000 viewers in the adults 25-54 demo. During total day, it had 1.448 million total viewers and 160,000 viewers in the demo.
Compared to its performance in July 2025, Fox News fell by -4% in total viewers and -8% in the A25-54 demo during primetime viewing hours. During total day, it was also down by -5% in total viewers and -13% in the demo when compared to the previous month.
Looking at Fox News’ performance against the same month in 2024, it was up by +1% in total viewers but down by -18% in the demo during prime. While in total day, it was also up by +1% in total viewers, but down by -16% in the demo. Fox News was the only network to record any year-over-year improvements in either of the observed dayparts.
The network finished June as the No. 1 cable network in total viewers and in second place in the demo during primetime. During total day, it was in first place in total viewers and fell to second place in the demo.
MSNBC
MSNBC finished as the second-most-watched cable news network in primetime and total day in total viewers in July, with 783,000 and 502,000 viewers, respectively. The network in the A25-54 demo had 72,000 viewers in primetime and 46,000 viewers during total day.
Compared to July, MSNBC was down -9% in total viewers and -11% in A25-54 during primetime. It also saw declines of -5% in total viewers and -12% in the demo during total day.
Looking at its performance in June 2024, MSNBC was down -57% in total viewers and -71% in the demo during primetime. It was down -51% in total viewers and -62% in the demo during total day. It is worth noting that August 2024 was a particularly busy news month on the presidential election front, which explains the sharp drops during this comparison.
MSNBC slid to third from second place during primetime and was also No. 3 in total viewers during total day. It dropped two spots to land at No. 19 in the demo tied with Bravo during primetime and finished in 13th place, up from 14th place, during total day.