Fox News Just Hit Its Highest-Rated Quarter In Network History
AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File
Fox News surged to record heights in the first quarter of 2025, crushing its industry rivals and notching its highest-ever total day ratings and a record share of the cable news audience.
While Fox averaged some 1.92 million total day viewers, rivals CNN and MSNBC were down to 428,000 and 593,000 total day average viewers for the quarter, respectively. Fox, therefore, accounted for 65% of the total day cable news audience in the U.S. and 66% of the total prime time viewership.
In prime time, Fox averaged a whopping 3 million total viewers, while CNN and MSNBC brought in 558,000 and 1 million average viewers, respectively. On the whole, the first quarter of 2025 offers mixed news for the cable news industry as Fox saw significant gains compared to the first quarter of 2024, while CNN and MSNBC both saw drops.
In total day, Fox is up 48% compared to the first quarter of 2024 in total viewers and an impressive 58% in the key 25-54 age demographic. CNN, meanwhile, is down 8% in total viewers and 7% in the demo. MSNBC, however, was down significantly, dropping 27% in the total day viewers and 30% in the total day demo. The trend was similar for prime time, Fox gaining 46% in total viewers and 63% in the demo – a very strong sign that Fox is increasing its share of younger viewers favored by advertisers.
CNN dropped 6% in total prime time viewers and 1% in the prime time demo. MSNBC, meanwhile, was down 18% in total prime time viewers and 21% in prime time demo viewers, compared to the same quarter last year.
Fox’s boom in the demo has also led to the network attracting a slew of new blue-chip advertisers, with over 125 major companies signing up to buy ads. Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Netflix, and UBS are just some of the major global brands that will now run ads on the network, which once lost advertisers due to content-related scandals.
“Historically, after an election, networks will see ratings dips. When we saw an acceleration in ratings, we saw new advertisers coming in,” Jeff Collins, Fox Corp’s president of ad sales, recently told the Financial Times.
Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch also pointed to a shift in the political climate as being behind the corporate shift toward the network. “Because of the election results, many advertisers have sort of rethought their positioning in this country and understand that the Fox News viewer really does represent middle America — and they’re responding with their cheque books,” Lachlan Murdoch told FT.
Among Fox’s ongoing success stories is The Five, which broke yet another record for being the top-rated show on cable news – despite airing outside of prime time.
The Five averaged a booming 4.6 million viewers for the quarter, with 499,000 demo viewers, making it the most-watched show on cable news for the 14th straight quarter, as well as one of the most-watched shows on cable. Fox’s Bret Baier also saw a major ratings boost, jumping 58% with total viewers and 89% in the demo year over year for the quarter. Baier, notably, beat the CBS Evening News four different times in the ratings for the quarter.
In total, Fox averaged 14 of the top 15 shows on cable news for the quarter, with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow breaking into the top 15.
