Week of August 4 Cable News Ratings: MSNBC Has Growth, Fox News Still No. 1

This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of August 4, 2025.

A week after being the only network with declines in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during primetime and total day, MSNBC rebounded to begin the first week of August as the only cable news network with gains in both categories across the board.

Though Fox News and CNN had declines in the measured categories, Fox News continues its trend of outperforming the cable and broadcast news networks in total viewers during primetime. Looking at Monday through Friday (not the full week), the network averaged 2.7 million total primetime viewers, outperforming NBC, with 2.3 million total viewers; ABC, with 2 million total viewers; and CBS, with 1.9 million total viewers.

NETWORKS:

According to Nielsen’s live plus same-day data for the week of August 4 (Mon-Sun), Fox News averaged 2.290 million total viewers and 217,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was down -4% in total viewers and -16% in the demo compared to the week prior (the week beginning July 28).

Fox News averaged 1.436 million total viewers and 153,000 A25-54 viewers in total day viewing. Based on its average in those measurements from the previous week, it was down -3% in total viewers and -8% in the demo.

Fox News remained in first place in total primetime viewers and fell to the No. 3 spot in the demo among all basic cable networks. In total day, it remained in first place in total viewers and finished as the No. 2 network in the total day demo.

MSNBC, in primetime, averaged 821,000 total viewers and 73,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week that just concluded. The network grew by +9% in total viewers and +7% in the demo compared to its average the week prior during primetime.

During total day, MSNBC averaged 523,000 total viewers and 48,000 demo viewers. This represented an increase of +3% in total viewers and +4% in the demo compared to the network’s average the week prior. It was the only cable news net with across-the-board growth.

Among all basic cable networks, MSNBC finished in second place in total primetime viewers and moved to No. 19 from No. 20 in the demo. It remained in second place in total viewers and in 13th place in the total day demo.

CNN averaged 450,000 total primetime viewers and 78,000 A25-54 viewers in the demo during primetime for the week of August 4. It was down -10% in total viewers and -8% in the demo compared to the previous week. The network had several fill-in anchors during the week.

In total day, the network had 320,000 total viewers and 49,000 viewers in the demo. This resulted in a -9% loss in total viewers and -17% in the demo during this daypart.

Among all cable networks, CNN slipped to seventh from fifth place in total viewers and finished in the No. 16 position, down from No. 12 in the demo during primetime. During total day, it dropped to fifth place in total viewers and went from No. 7 to No. 12 in the demo.

When looking at these networks’ performance during the same period a year ago:

During primetime, Fox News was down -4% in total viewers and down -28% in the A25-54 demo. During total day, the network dipped by -2% in total viewers and was down -20% in the demo.
MSNBC was down -41% in total viewers and -54% in the demo. During total day, the network was down -46% in total viewers and -56% in the demo.
In primetime, CNN declined by -35% in total viewers and -43% in the demo. During total day, it saw losses of -39% in total viewers and -53% in the demo.

PROGRAMMING:

Fox News had 14 out of the 15 spots of the most-watched cable news shows of the week, with The Five on top with 3.412 million total viewers at 5 p.m. ET. MSNBC had The Rachel Maddow Show at 9 p.m. ET on Monday, taking the No. 8 position with 1.934 million total viewers.

The Five remained in first place in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 336,000 viewers at 5 p.m. ET. Once again, Fox News held 14 out of the 15 top spots in the demo, with The Rachel Maddow Show at 9 p.m. ET on Monday landing in eighth place with 202,000 demo viewers.

Prime Time

	Fox News	MSNBC	CNN
• Total Viewers:	2,290,000	821,000	450,000
• A25-54:	217,000	73,000	78,000

Total Day

	Fox News	MSNBC	CNN
• Total Viewers:	1,436,000	523,000	320,000
• A25-54:	153,000	48,000	49,000

Week 8-4-25 Cable Ranker by Adweek