Fox News Tops Primetime Ratings, Outshines ABC, NBC, CBS
This summer has been another big win for Fox News, which has managed to do something many people didn’t see coming — it didn’t just dominate cable news, it actually outperformed the three major broadcast networks in primetime: ABC, NBC, and CBS. According to Nielsen ratings, Fox News averaged about 2.43 million viewers in primetime throughout the summer, putting it slightly ahead of ABC’s 2.38 million, NBC’s 2.21 million, and CBS’s 2.03 million. That may not sound like a huge gap, but considering that broadcast networks typically reach broader audiences, it’s a striking sign of how strong Fox’s hold on viewers has become.
August alone brought Fox News an average of 2.3 million primetime viewers. MSNBC came in second with 783,000, and CNN trailed far behind with only 444,000. What makes these numbers even more remarkable is that Fox News was the only network to actually gain viewers compared to last summer — it saw a modest 1% increase. Meanwhile, MSNBC lost 57% of its primetime audience year-over-year, and CNN lost nearly 60%.
Fox also stayed strong in the key advertising demographic of adults 25 to 54, averaging 237,000 viewers in that age group during August. By comparison, CNN and MSNBC both pulled fewer than 80,000 in the same demo. Even when looking at total day viewership, Fox still led with 1.45 million viewers, again leaving MSNBC and CNN far behind.
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Several of Fox’s shows are proving to be consistent powerhouses. The Five once again ranked as the most-watched program in all of cable news, pulling in about 3.5 million viewers. Other big performers included Jesse Watters Primetime with 3 million, Gutfeld! with 2.8 million, and Hannity with 2.6 million. Even daytime shows like America’s Newsroom and The Faulkner Focus regularly drew in more viewers than competing programs on broadcast networks.
Fox’s morning show, Fox & Friends , also showed real strength. It averaged 1.3 million viewers in August and 148,000 in the key demo, not only crushing MSNBC’s Morning Joe and CNN’s New Day combined but also beating major broadcast morning programs in several big markets. In New York, Philadelphia, and Dallas, it outpaced CBS Mornings . In places like Orlando, Baltimore, and New Orleans, it topped Good Morning America . Even NBC’s long-running Today show lost to it in markets like New York, Atlanta, and Boston.
All of this suggests that Fox News has not only maintained its base but has also expanded its reach into territory that used to be dominated by traditional broadcast news. While cable competitors continue to see steep declines, Fox News has held steady, even growing slightly year-over-year. For the summer of 2025, at least, Fox News didn’t just lead cable — it led television news altogether.
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