Week of March 16 Cable News Ratings: MS NOW Grows in Primetime and Total Day

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

MS NOW was the only cable news network to see growth with total viewers during primetime and total day. In fact, the Versant-owned news outlet was the only network to show growth in either of the measured categories in the just-concluded week.

However, it joined the other news networks in seeing week-to-week declines in the advertiser-prized demo, with the losses likely attributed to the start of the March Madness men’s and women’s tournaments.

NETWORKS:

According to Nielsen big data + panel for the week of March 16, Fox News averaged 2.475 million total viewers and 227,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was down -11% in total viewers and -20% in the demo compared to the week prior (the week beginning March 9).

During total day viewing, Fox News averaged 1.666 million total viewers and 156,000 A25-54 viewers. Based on its average from the previous week’s measurements, the network declined by -5% in total viewers and -11% in the demo.

Fox News ranked first in total primetime viewership but dropped from third to sixth in demo viewership among all basic cable networks. In total day, it finished in first place in total viewers and fell to No. 5 from No. 2 in the total day demo.

MS NOW averaged 1.194 million total viewers and 100,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week that just concluded. The network was up +3% in total viewers but down -18% in the demo compared to its primetime average the week prior.

During total day, MS NOW averaged 719,000 total viewers and 71,000 demo viewers. It was up +3% in total viewers but fell by -3% in the demo compared to the network’s average the week prior.

Among all basic cable networks, MS NOW slipped from fourth to fifth place in total primetime viewers and finished 16th in the demo, down from 11th. It remained in third place in total viewers and dropped two spots to No. 10 in the total day demo.

CNN averaged 786,000 total primetime viewers and 134,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime for the week of March 16. The network was down by -4% and -10% in the demo compared to the previous week.

During total day, the network had 570,000 total viewers and 89,000 viewers in the demo. CNN fell by -4% in total viewers and -9% in the demo during this daypart.

Among all cable networks, CNN dipped from fifth to sixth in total viewers and from eighth to tenth in the demo during primetime. It slid one spot to No. 5 in total day among total viewers and dropped two spots to seventh in the demo.

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

During primetime, Fox News was down by -14% in total viewers and -34% in the A25-54 demo. During total day, the network posted declines of -7% in total viewers and -29% in the demo.
MS NOW was up by +4% in total viewers but down -7% in the demo. During total day, the network was up +18% in total viewers and +20% in the demo.
In primetime, CNN grew by +50% in total viewers and +35% in the demo. During total day, it rose by +41% in total viewers and +22% in the demo—the only network with across-the-board growth within this yearly comparison.

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 3.812 million total viewers at 5 p.m. ET. MS NOW was represented in the chart by two shows, The Rachel Maddow Show, airing only on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET, which ranked seventh with 2.393 million total viewers, and The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, airing weeknights at 10 p.m. ET, with 1.536 million total viewers in 15th place.

The Five, which airs weekday evenings at 5 p.m. ET on Fox News, reclaimed the No. 1 position in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 367,000 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 226,000 demo viewers. CNN had one show in the chart with Anderson Cooper 360, airing weeknights at 8 p.m. ET, finishing in the No. 15 position with 164,000 demo viewers.

March 16, 2026

Prime Time

	Fox News	MS NOW	CNN
• Total Viewers:	2,475,000	1,194,000	786,000
• A25-54:	227,000	100,000	134,000

Total Day

	Fox News	MS NOW	CNN
• Total Viewers:	1,666,000	719,000	570,000
• A25-54:	156,000	71,000	89,000

Week 3-16-26 Cable Ranker P25-54 BDP by Adweek