Week of Feb. 16 Cable News Ratings: Across-the-Board Declines

This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of Feb. 16, 2026.

Week-to-week declines were registered by all three cable networks in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during primetime and total day. The primetime demo had all three cable networks posting double-digit declines, but MS NOW in the other dayparts only saw single-digit drops.

NETWORKS:

According to Nielsen big data + panel for the week of February 16, Fox News averaged 2.483 million total viewers and 235,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was down -10% in total viewers and -18% in the demo compared to the week prior (the week beginning February 9).

Fox News averaged 1.629 million total viewers and 149,000 A25-54 viewers in total day viewing. Based on its average from the previous week’s measurements, it was down -12% in total viewers and -20% in the demo.

Fox News ranked first in total primetime viewership and remained at No. 3 in the demo viewership among all basic cable networks. In total day, it finished in first place in total viewers and dropped to third from second in the total day demo.

MS NOW averaged 1.084 million total viewers and 112,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week that just concluded. The network saw a -4% decline in total viewers and -12% in the demo compared to its average the week prior during primetime.

During total day, MS NOW averaged 668,000 total viewers and 72,000 demo viewers. These were losses of -7% in total viewers and -9% in the demo compared to the network’s average the week prior.

Among all basic cable networks, MS NOW slipped to fourth from third place in total primetime viewers and dropped to 11th from eighth in the demo. It remained at No. 3 in total viewers and at No. 7 in the total day demo.

CNN averaged 749,000 total primetime viewers and 140,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime for the week of February 16. The network was down by -16% and -14% in the demo compared to the previous week.

During total day, the network had 519,000 total viewers and 82,000 viewers in the demo. CNN was down by -15% in total viewers and -17% in the demo during this daypart.

Among all cable networks, CNN continued to be in fifth place in total viewers and sixth in the demo during primetime. It dropped to No. 5 from No. 4 in total day among total viewers and slid back to sixth from fifth in the demo.

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

During primetime, Fox News was down by -21% in total viewers and -38% in the A25-54 demo. During total day, the network saw decreases of -18% in total viewers and -39% in the demo – it was the only network with declines within this yearly comparison.
MS NOW was flat in total viewers and up +20% in the demo. During total day, the network was also up +9% in total viewers and +26% in the demo.
In primetime, CNN grew by +41% in total viewers and +27% in the demo. During total day, it rose by +24% in total viewers and +14% 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 3.738 million total viewers at 5 p.m. ET. MS NOW was represented in the chart by The Rachel Maddow Show, airing only on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET, which landed in seventh place with 2.208 million total viewers. The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, airing weeknights at 10 p.m. ET, took the No. 15 position with 1.393 million total viewers.

Gutfeld!, which airs weeknights at 10 p.m. ET on Fox News, was the most-watched program in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 328,000 viewers. Fox News held 13 of the 15 top spots in the demo, with MS NOW’s The Rachel Maddow Show, airing only on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET, finishing in seventh place with 235,000 demo viewers. CNN had one show in the chart, CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, weekdays at 10 p.m. ET, with 153,000 demo viewers at No. 15.

February 16, 2026

Prime Time

	Fox News	MS NOW	CNN
• Total Viewers:	2,483,000	1,084,000	749,000
• A25-54:	235,000	112,000	140,000

Total Day

	Fox News	MS NOW	CNN
• Total Viewers:	1,629,000	668,000	519,000
• A25-54:	149,000	72,000	82,000

Week 2-9-26 Cable Ranker P25-54 BDP by Adweek