Week of Dec. 1 Cable News Ratings: All Networks Up Double-Digits in Primetime

This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of December 1, 2025.

The cable networks roared back to life after the Thanksgiving break, posting double-digit gains in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during primetime. Fox News and MS Now continued the trend during total day. Meanwhile, CNN saw single-digit growth in total viewers and was the only network to record a decline in the advertiser-favored demo.

NETWORKS:

According to Nielsen big data + panel for the week of December 1, Fox News averaged 2.088 million total viewers and 168,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was up +32% in total viewers and +30% in the demo compared to the week prior (the week beginning November 24).

Fox News averaged 1.379 million total viewers and 112,000 A25-54 viewers in total day viewing. Based on its average for those measurements from the previous week, it was up +19% in total viewers and +15% in the demo.

Fox News remained in second place in total primetime viewership and jumped to third from fifth in demo viewership among all basic cable networks. In total day, it remained in first place in total viewers and in second place in the total day demo.

MS NOW averaged 965,000 total viewers and 80,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week that just concluded. The network was up +34% in total viewers and +36% in the demo compared to its average the week prior during primetime.

During total day, MS NOW averaged 613,000 total viewers and 50,000 demo viewers. The network grew by +25% in total viewers and +14% in the demo compared to its average the week prior.

Among all basic cable networks, MS NOW moved back to third from fourth in total primetime viewers and leaped from No. 25 to No. 13, tied with Adult Swim. It was also third in total viewers and climbed back to 12th from 16th in the total day demo.

CNN averaged 499,000 total primetime viewers and 70,000 A25-54 viewers in the demo during primetime for the week of December 1. The network was up +22% in total viewers and +17% in the demo compared to the previous week.

In total day, the network had 398,000 total viewers and 52,000 viewers in the demo. This resulted in gains of +6% in total viewers but a decline of -4% in the demo during this daypart—the only network to see a drop in viewership.

Among all cable networks, CNN moved to sixth from 10th place in total viewers and from 24th to 18th place in the demo during primetime. It remained in fifth place in total day among total viewers and jumped two spots to No. 10 in the demo.

When looking at these networks’ performance during the same period a year ago, which was calculated using Nielsen panel data:

During primetime, Fox News was down by -16% in total viewers and -40% in the A25-54 demo. During total day, the network saw decreases of -19% in total viewers and -46% in the demo.
MS NOW was up +53% in total viewers and +43% in the demo. During total day, the network was up +34% in total viewers and +25% in the demo.
In primetime, CNN grew by +36% in total viewers and +4% in the demo. During total day, it rose by +24% in total viewers but was flat in the demo.

PROGRAMMING:

Fox News had 13 out of the 15 spots of the most-watched cable news shows of the week, with The Five on top with 3.624 million total viewers at 5 p.m. ET. MS NOW was represented in the chart by two shows. It was led by The Rachel Maddow Show, which aired at 9 p.m. ET on Mondays, ranking No. 8 with 1.947 million total viewers.

Gutfeld at 10 p.m. ET on Fox News finished ahead of The Five to take the top spot in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 278,000 viewers. Fox News held 14 out of the 15 top spots in the demo, with MS NOW’s The Rachel Maddow Show, airing at 9 p.m. ET on Mondays, taking sixth place with 166,000 demo viewers.

Prime Time

	Fox News	MS NOW	CNN
• Total Viewers:	2,088,000	965,000	499,000
• A25-54:	168,000	80,000	77,000

Total Day

	Fox News	MS NOW	CNN
• Total Viewers:	1,379,000	613,000	398,000
• A25-54:	112,000	50,000	52,000