Fox News Notches Major Wins Over Broadcast Networks as Ratings Surge, CNN Hits Quarterly Demo Low
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via AP
Fox News posted strong ratings in the second quarter of the year, even notching wins over broadcast networks like CBS and NBC, while CNN and MSNBC continued to see year-over-year declines.
Fox News saw its second-highest rated quarter in network history and averaged just over three million viewers during weekday prime time, putting it ahead of ABC (2.8 million) and NBC (2.7 million). In June, Fox also beat CBS in total viewers and in the key 25-54 age demographic. For the quarter, Fox was up year-over-year 25% and 31% among total day viewers and in the total day demo, respectively.
CNN saw its worst quarter in history in terms of the demo, averaging 71,000 younger total day viewers. For context, the network hit a total day all-time demo low in 2024 with an average of 92,000 — down from a low of 94,000 for 2023. Compared to the first quarter, CNN was down 4% and 13% in total viewers and the key demo overall. CNN’s total day demo in the first quarter came in at 79,000 viewers.
Year-over-year, CNN was down 14% and 16% for the quarter in total day viewers and in the demo, respectively.
It’s not all bad news for CNN, however. “Visitors across CNN’s digital platforms are continuing to spend more time engaging with CNN’s reporting and content offerings as the network continues to pursue a direct-to-consumer subscription strategy,” the company said.
CNN touted their strong digital performance as well as a big ratings boost from a broadcast of George Clooney’s Broadway version of Good Night, and Good Luck, which brought in 7.3 million viewers across platforms during its broadcast. CNN said in their press release that their ratings rose 26% in June from the previous month, and they saw demo gains.
The network has emphasized both their global and streaming brands as of late amid cord-cutting, and they called June one of their strongest months overall. The company has leaned into its digital brands rather than focusing more specifically on year-over-year ratings.
“Stories like these are an outdated view of the media landscape and do not reflect how audiences today actually consume news,” a network spokesperson told Mediaite.
MSNBC, meanwhile, averaged one million primetime viewers and 90,000 in the demo. For the total day, the network brought in around 600,000 viewers and 60,000 in the demo. MSNBC fell by double digits in total viewers and the demo, compared to the second quarter of last year — dropping 26% and 31%, respectively.
NewsNation has meanwhile continued to see impressive growth, with the channel notching the biggest year-over-year growth for a cable news network. NewsNation saw a 50% increase in overall viewership and 70% increase in the key demo viewership. In primetime, the network saw a gain of 24% in overall viewership from the same time last year.
In terms of viewers, Fox News aired 14 of the 15 highest-rated cable news shows. The Five continued its impressive run, averaging four million viewers and more than 400,000 in the 25-54 demo. Fox touted that it’s the first non-primetime cable show to be the most watched show for 15 consecutive quarters.
Special Report with Bret Baier also dominated its timeslot, averaging three million viewers and 360,000 in the key demo. The show has doubled its demo audience since the same time last year.
Also in primetime, Laura Ingraham drew 2.7 million total viewers and 317,000 in the demo, Jesse Watters scored 3.4 million and 396,000, and Sean Hannity brought in 2.9 million and 342,000 in the demo.Greg Gutfeld’s Gutfeld! also continued bringing larger audiences than other late-night programs (which do air later than Gutfeld’s 10 p.m. timeslot). Gutfeld averaged three million viewers and 365,000 in the 25-54 demo.
