Fox News Continues Dominance in 2026 Cable Ratings

As Fox News Channel approaches its 30th anniversary, it maintains its stronghold on cable ratings, outperforming CBS in weekday primetime viewership for the third quarter of 2026. The network averaged 2.4 million viewers during these periods, surpassing CBS and maintaining its lead on broadcast networks year-to-date.

Fox News isn’t only leading against broadcast networks. In cable news, it averaged 1.3 million total-day viewers, securing its position as the sole network crossing the one-million viewer mark. This puts Fox News ahead of competitors like MS NOW, which had 592,000 viewers, followed closely by ESPN, CNN, and HGTV.

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Within the realm of cable news programs, “The Five” captured 3.1 million total day viewers, making it the top cable news show. It has held this rank for 20 consecutive quarters. The show features personalities like Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Emily Compagno, Jessica Tarlov, and Harold Ford Jr.

Fox News’s primetime lineup also excelled, averaging 2.1 million viewers, significantly outpacing ESPN’s 1.1 million and MS NOW’s 930,000. “The Five” led a strong roster including “Jesse Watters Primetime,” “Gutfeld!,” “Special Report with Bret Baier,” “Hannity,” and “The Ingraham Angle,” with almost all top cable news programs being Fox News offerings.

Despite airing once a week, MS NOW’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” managed to secure its place within the top 14, averaging 1.9 million viewers. Contrastly, CNN’s “Newsnight” stood at No. 24 with 686,000 viewers.

Fox News’s daytime lineup further fortified its ratings success. Programs like “America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino,” “The Faulkner Focus,” “Outnumbered,” “America Reports,” “The Story,” and “The Will Cain Show” performed strongly.

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Notable viewership numbers were also seen in “Fox News @ Night with Trace Gallagher,” which led its timeslot with 1.3 million viewers. Late-night show “Gutfeld!” outpaced all broadcast and late-night rivals, including ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show.”

“FOX & Friends” retained its status as the most-watched morning program in cable news across multiple markets. Weekend shows like “FOX News Saturday Night,” “The Big Weekend Show,” “Life, Liberty & Levin,” “Sunday Night in America,” and more also drew significant audiences.

On Saturdays, “Saturday in America with Kayleigh McEnany” led with 1.4 million viewers, while “Sunday Morning Futures” matched that viewership for Sundays.

In the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age group, Fox News averaged 120,000 total day demo viewers and 183,000 during primetime. “The Five” dominated this demographic with 289,000 viewers, making it the top show in the category.

Data provided by Nielsen Media Research reflects Fox News’s continued dominance in the cable news arena.

Brian Flood, media editor/reporter for Fox News Digital, can be reached for story tips at [email protected] and through Twitter @briansflood.