Week of June 29 Cable News Ratings: See Who Won America 250 Coverage

This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of June 29, 2026.

Viewers tuned in to Fox News and CNN for America 250 coverage, as both networks finished the week with positive movement in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during primetime and total day.

The Independence Day celebration coverage by the two networks drew more viewers than they would have on a typical Saturday. Fox News had the most viewers throughout the day, peaking at 5.7 million viewers and 701,00 demo viewers during President Donald Trump’s speech.

Here is how the networks fared during total day, primetime, and during President Trump’s speech on Independence Day.

Total Day

Fox News: 2.3 million total viewers; 262,000 A25-54 viewers

CNN: 626,000 viewers; 110,000 A25-54 viewers

MS NOW: 368,000 viewers; 38,000 A25-54 viewers

Primetime

Fox News: 3.5 million viewers; 357,000 A25-54 viewers

CNN: 1.3 million viewers; 254,000 A25-54 viewers

MS NOW: 326,000 viewers; 24,000 A25-54 viewers

President Trump’s speech

Fox News: 5.7 million viewers; 701,000 A25-54 viewers

CNN: 1.3 million viewers; 337,000 A25-54 viewers

MS NOW: 367,000 viewers; 51,000 A25-54 viewers

NETWORKS:

According to Nielsen big data + panel for the week of June 29, Fox News averaged 2.48 million total viewers and 220,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network grew +12% in total viewers and +18% in the demo compared to the week prior (the week beginning June 22).

During total day viewing, Fox News averaged 1.618 million total viewers and 153,000 A25-54 viewers. Based on its average from the previous week’s measurements, the network was up +12% in total viewers and +21% in the demo.

Fox News remained in first place in total primetime viewership and was also tops in demo viewership among all basic cable networks. During total day, it continued to be No. 1 in total viewers and moved to first place in the total day demo, tied with ESPN.

MS NOW averaged 927,000 total viewers and 79,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week that just concluded. The network declined by -10% in total viewers and -8% in the demo compared to its primetime average the week prior.

During total day, MS NOW averaged 596,000 total viewers and 57,000 demo viewers. It was down -8% in total viewers and -3% in the demo compared to the network’s average the week prior—the only network to lose viewers in both categories across the two measured dayparts.

Among all basic cable networks, MS NOW finished in second place in total primetime viewers and was 15th in the demo. It was No. 2 in total viewers and remained in 11th place in the total day demo.

CNN averaged 670,00 total primetime viewers and 103,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime for the week of June 29. The network grew by +8% in total viewers and +21% in the demo compared to the previous week.

During total day, the network had 459,000 total viewers and 57,000 viewers in the demo. CNN was up by +3% in total viewers and +5% during this daypart.

Among all cable networks, CNN finished third in total viewers and seventh in the demo during primetime. It dropped from third to fourth place in total day among total viewers and was seventh in the demo.

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

During primetime, Fox News was up +3% in total viewers but down -27% in the A25-54 demo. During total day, the network posted losses of -2% in total viewers and -32% in the demo.
MS NOW was up +25% in total viewers and +13% in the demo. During total day, the network grew by +22% in total viewers and +12% in the demo.
In primetime, CNN saw gains of +27% in total viewers but a -7% decline in the demo. During total day, it grew by +14% in total viewers but was down -18% 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 3.229 million total viewers at 5 p.m. ET. MS NOW was represented in the chart by the Monday airing of The Rachel Maddow Show at 9 p.m. ET, with 1.961 million total viewers at No. 7, and by The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, airing weeknights at 10 p.m. ET, with 1.277 million total viewers at No. 15.

The Five also finished first in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 288,000 viewers at 5 p.m. ET. Fox News held 14 of the 15 top spots in the demo, with The Rachel Maddow Show in fifth place with 205,000 viewers.

June 29, 2026 (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):

Prime Time

	Fox News	MS NOW	CNN
• Total Viewers:	2,480,000	927,000	670,000
• A25-54:	220,000	79,000	103,000

Total Day

	Fox News	MS NOW	CNN
• Total Viewers:	1,618,000	596,000	459,000
• A25-54:	153,000	57,000	60,000