Week of March 30 Cable News Ratings: Wednesday’s Live Events Lift Cable Networks

This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of March 30, 2026.

A week that featured two major news events on the same day, live coverage of the launch of the Artemis II mission to the moon, and President Donald Trump’s primetime address to the nation, was enough to give the cable news networks a positive return in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during primetime and total day.

Fox News was the most-watched cable network during Wednesday’s Artemis coverage in both measured categories and was also the most-watched network in total viewers during Trump’s address.

Artemis II coverage (6-7 p.m. ET)
Fox News: 4 million total viewers/493,000 Adults 25-54
MS NOW: 1.406 million total viewers/172,000 Adults 25-54
CNN: 2.229 million total viewers/485,000 Adults 25-54

President Trump’s Address (9-9:30 p.m. ET)
Fox News: 6.654 million total viewers/1.002 million Adults 25-54
MS NOW: 1.910 million total viewers/265,000 Adults 25-54
CNN: 1.676 million total viewers/339,000 Adults 25-54

NETWORKS:

According to Nielsen big data + panel for the week of March 30, Fox News averaged 2.763 million total viewers and 300,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was up +4% in total viewers and +16% in the demo compared to the week prior (the week beginning March 23).

During total day viewing, Fox News averaged 1.726 million total viewers and 179,000 A25-54 viewers. Based on its average from the previous week’s measurements, the network was up by +1% in total viewers and +6% in the demo.

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

MS NOW averaged 1.26 million primetime total viewers and 132,000 viewers in the primetime A25-54 demo for the week that just concluded. It was 3,000 demo viewers short of tying with CNN for second place. The network was up +8% in total viewers and +31% in the demo compared to its primetime average the week prior.

During total day, MS NOW averaged 752,000 total viewers and 82,000 demo viewers. It grew by +6% in total viewers and +17% in the demo compared to the network’s average the week prior—it was the only network with double-digit growth during the daypart.

Among all basic cable networks, MS NOW slid from third to fourth in total primetime viewers and jumped from 17th to eighth in the demo. It remained in second place in total viewers and moved from No. 9 to No. 7 in the total day demo.

CNN averaged 810,000 total primetime viewers and 135,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime for the week of March 30. The network was up by +8% and +2% in the demo compared to the previous week.

During total day, the network had 598,000 total viewers and 94,000 viewers in the demo. CNN saw gains of +8% in total viewers and +3% in the demo during this daypart.

Among all cable networks, CNN slid from fifth to sixth in total viewers and remained seventh in the demo during primetime. It moved up from No. 5 to No. 4 in total day among total viewers, but dropped from fifth to sixth in the demo.

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

During primetime, Fox News was down by -1% in total viewers and -10% in the A25-54 demo. During total day, the network posted declines of -1% in total viewers and -20% in the demo—it was the only network with depreciation in this yearly comparison.
MS NOW was up by +2% in total viewers and +17% in the demo. During total day, the network was up +7% in total viewers and +19% in the demo.
In primetime, CNN grew by +42% in total viewers and +18% in the demo. During total day, it rose by +33% in total viewers and +24% in the demo.

PROGRAMMING:

Fox News had 13 out of the 15 spots of the most-watched cable news shows of the week, with Hannity taking the top spot with 3.787 million total viewers weeknights at 9 p.m. ET. MS NOW was represented in the chart by two programs: The Rachel Maddow Show, airing only on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET, which ranked seventh with 2.436 million total viewers, and its Wednesday airing of President Trump’s address at 9 p.m. ET, with 1.75 million total viewers in 14th place.

Hannity, which airs weeknights at 9 p.m. ET on Fox News, was also No. 1 in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 453,000 viewers. Fox News had 12 of the 15 top spots in the demo, with CNN’s Mission to the Moon coverage on Wednesday with 334,000 viewers in sixth place. MS NOW’s The Rachel Maddow Show, airing only on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET, finished in eighth place with 262,000 demo viewers, and MS NOW’s presidential address coverage on Wednesday night had it in 15th place with 195,000 demo viewers.

March 30, 2026 (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):

Prime Time

	Fox News	MS NOW	CNN
• Total Viewers:	2,763,000	1,260,000	810,000
• A25-54:	300,000	132,000	135,000

Total Day

	Fox News	MS NOW	CNN
• Total Viewers:	1,726,000	752,000	598,000
• A25-54:	179,000	82,000	94,000

Week 3-30-26 Cable Ranker P25-54 BDP by Adweek