Fox News remained the most-watched television network in August, extending a run that began in late June and carried through the summer, according to Nielsen data released this week.
From June 20 through Labor Day, Fox News averaged 2.43 million viewers across prime-time, leading all broadcast and cable networks. That performance put it ahead of ABC’s 2.38 million viewers, NBC’s 2.21 million viewers and CBS’s 2.03 million viewers.
For August alone, Fox News delivered 2.3 million viewers in the key 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. window, with 237,000 in the adults 25-54 demographic. Across total day programming, the network drew 1.4 million viewers and 160,000 in the demo. The numbers gave Fox News a 63 percent share of cable news viewing in total day and 65 percent in prime-time, while CNN and MSNBC both recorded historic lows in viewership. CNN averaged 333,000 viewers in total day, its second-lowest month ever in the 25-54 demo. MSNBC managed 502,000 in total day, its weakest August in more than two decades.
Fox News also secured the top 163 cable news telecasts of the month. Among individual programs, “The Five” led with an average 3.5 million viewers and 345,000 in the 25-54 demo, beating broadcast competitors like CBS’s “Big Brother.” At 8 p.m., “Jesse Watters Primetime” drew 3.1 million viewers and 302,000 in the demo, ahead of NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior.”
Late-night offering “Gutfeld!” continued to outpace broadcast rivals with 2.8 million viewers and 327,000 in the 25-54 demo, surpassing CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” “Hannity” averaged 2.6 million viewers at 9 p.m., while “The Ingraham Angle” attracted 2.5 million at 7 p.m., keeping Laura Ingraham as the highest-rated woman in cable news.
“Special Report with Bret Baier” at 6 p.m. averaged 2.6 million viewers and 249,000 in the demo, leading “CBS Evening News” in 23 markets and beating “ABC World News Tonight” in several regions, including Tampa and New Orleans.
In the mornings, “Fox & Friends” averaged 1.3 million viewers, marking its 54th consecutive month as the top cable news program in the time slot. It beat the combined totals of CNN and MSNBC and outperformed broadcast morning shows in several major markets, including New York and Boston.
Daytime programming also held strong, with “America’s Newsroom,” “The Faulkner Focus,” “Outnumbered” and “America Reports” each averaging between 1.7 million and 1.9 million viewers. “The Will Cain Show” drew 2 million viewers at 4 p.m., growing the slot.
On weekends, Fox News again led across all hours. “Sunday Morning Futures” was the top-rated weekend program with 1.6 million viewers. “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy” drew 1.5 million, while “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade” posted 1.3 million.
Overall in August, Fox News increased its prime-time audience by 1 percent year-over-year even as the 25-54 demo slipped 18 percent. CNN and MSNBC saw steeper declines, with both networks losing more than half their audiences compared to August 2024.
The Fox News Channel is part of Fox News Media, a subsidiary of Fox Corporation.
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