Fox News Continues Cable Domination as Industry Sheds Viewers From Last Month

Screenshots via Fox News

Fox News continued its cable news ratings domination while the industry as a whole saw double digit declines overall since last month.

The Nielsen data for the month of May has dropped and Fox News continued sitting comfortably atop the competition, though the Iran conflict dragging on, summer, and other factors slowed ratings overall for the big three when compared to the month prior.

Fox News’ total daytime viewers averaged to 1.5 million and around 140,000 in the key 25-54 demo, a drop of 13% in viewers and 18% in the demo. For primetime, the network averaged 2.4 million viewers and more than 200,000 in the 25-54 demo, marking a 17% and 27% drop, respectively.

CNN averaged 633,000 viewers in primetime and more than 100,000 in the key demo, which meant a month-to-month drop of 30% and 29%, respectively. For daytime, the network dropped 23% and 22% in those areas.

For MS NOW, the network averaged around 940,000 primetime viewers and more than 90,000 in the key demo, meaning a 25% and 32% drop. For daytime viewers, the decline was 21% overall and 24% in the key demo.

Networks still had some major wins to celebrate as the summer months roll in and the NBA Finals are capturing viewers’ attention (though it should be noted Fox did surpass ESPN in weekday primetime during coverage of the NBA and NHL playoffs).

Fox News notched its highest-rated May in a midterm election year in its history, definitely softening the blow of any month-to-month decreases overall.

The Five remained the number one show in cable news, averaging 3.6 million viewers (more than 300,000 in 25-54 demo). Jesse Watters Primetime averaged 3.1 million (260,000 in key demo), Gutfeld! pulled 2.9 million (293,000 in key demo), Hannity brought in 2.7 million (244,000 in key demo), and Special Report pulled 2.7 million (230,000 in key demo).

For its weekday primetime lineup, Fox averaged 2.8 million viewers, putting it just ahead of ABC’s 2.7 million. Fox & Friends also saw some significant wins, leading CBS Mornings in 22 major markets, including New York and Los Angeles. The morning show averaged 1.3 million viewers and approximately 130,000 in the key demo. Special Report similarly led CBS Evening News in more than a dozen top markets, including New York, Atlanta, and more.

CNN meanwhile, saw its highest-rated May performance since 2024 despite the drops from April. Compared to May of last year, the network saw double-digit growth in the 25-54 demo in both daytime and primetime (22% for day and 44% for primetime). According to CNN, their May 5 coverage of the California Governor Primary saw a “multiplatform” reach of 7.7 million.

MS NOW celebrated a sixth consecutive month of year-over-year growth, noting a 17% increase compared to the prior year. For total day viewers, the network saw a 12% gain in viewers and 39% demo gain — when compared to data from the year prior.

The Weeknight and The Briefing with Jen Psaki both saw notable gains. The shows averaged 1.2 million and 1 million viewers, respectively, but the young shows also saw a 110% and 74% gain in the 25-54 demo (equating to averages of 122,000 and 118,000).

The network’s Morning Joe remains the most-watched cable news program in Washington, D.C., and it also saw year-over-year growth in the key demo. It averaged 776,000 viewers and 87,000 in the key demo.

Over at NewsNation, the network has continued to show growth, increasing its total day viewers by 55% and their primetime viewership also saw a 51% increase in May.

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