When looking at these networks’ performance during the same period in 2023*, which was also a non-election year.
- During primetime, Fox News was up by +44% in total viewers and +32% in the A25-54 demo. During total day, the network grew by +40% in total viewers and +22% in the demo. It was the only network with across-the-board gains within this comparison.
- MSNBC was down by -24% in total viewers and -34% in the demo. During total day, the network declined by -29% in total viewers and -44% in the demo.
- CNN, in primetime, experienced a minimal decrease of -2% in total viewers but dropped by -19% in the demo. During total day, CNN fell by -10% in total viewers and -26% in the demo.
PROGRAMMING:
Fox News took 14 out of the 15 spots of the most-watched cable news shows of the year, with The Five at the top with 4.046 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET. MSNBC took the remaining spot. The Rachel Maddow Show landed at No. 13 with 1.864 million viewers at 9 p.m. ET on Mondays.
The Five at 5 p.m. ET was the top show in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 377,000 demo viewers. Once again, Fox News occupied 14 of the 15 spots in the demo, with The Rachel Maddow Show on Mondays at the 9 p.m. ET time slot finishing at No. 14 with 172,000 demo viewers.
*Please note that year-over-year comparisons are based on Nielsen big data+panel (2025) vs. panel (2024 and 2023) measurements.
Prime Time
| Fox News | MSNBC | CNN | |
| • Total Viewers: | 2,652,000 | 915,000 | 573,000 |
| • A25-54: | 278,000 | 80,000 | 102,000 |
Total Day
| Fox News | MSNBC | CNN | |
| • Total Viewers: | 1,691,000 | 551,000 | 432,000 |
| • A25-54: | 180,000 | 48,000 | 70,000 |