Fox News Channel maintained its position as the most-watched cable news network in October, while competitors CNN and MS NOW reported double-digit increases in year-over viewership as audiences followed political developments ahead of the November midterm elections.
Fox News averaged 1.1 million total-day viewers during October, compared to 588,000 for MS NOW and 402,000 for CNN, according to Nielsen ratings released by the network and confirmed by The Desk on Wednesday.
In prime-time, Fox News averaged 1.68 million viewers, compared to 925,000 for MS NOW and 598,000 for CNN. Among adults ages 25 to 54, Fox News averaged 98,000 total-day viewers and 145,000 prime-time viewers. CNN averaged 60,000 and 107,000 viewers in the demographic, respectively, while MS NOW recorded 62,000 and 95,000.
Fox News said it accounted for 99 of the 100 most-watched cable news telecasts during October and has led the category in total-day and prime-time viewership for 68 consecutive months. “The Five” was the network’s highest-rated program, averaging 2.71 million viewers, followed by “Jesse Watters Primetime” with 2.34 million and “Special Report with Bret Baier” with 2.02 million.
While Fox News maintained its overall audience lead, MS NOW reported its 11th consecutive month of year-over-year audience growth: Total-day viewership on MS NOW increased 16 percent compared to October 2025, while viewership among adults ages 25 to 54 increased 38 percent, according to Nielsen data.
During weekday prime-time, MS NOW averaged 1.2 million viewers, an increase of 15 percent, while its audience among adults ages 25 to 54 grew 30 percent to 117,000. “The Rachel Maddow Show” averaged 1.7 million viewers and 184,000 adults ages 25 to 54, leading cable news in its Monday time slot.
CNN also reported stronger year-over-year ratings, with seven-day prime-time viewership increasing 17 percent to 626,000 total viewers. Its audience among adults ages 25 to 54 increased 34 percent to 114,000. During weekday prime-time, CNN averaged 665,000 total viewers, up 15 percent, while viewership among adults ages 25 to 54 increased 30 percent to 129,000.
CNN highlighted its October 14 town hall with Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, which generated the network’s strongest prime-time performance since President Donald Trump’s July 16 address.
All three networks used interpretations of Nielsen’s ratings data and focused on different demographics and dayparts in their announcement on Wednesday, meaning some audience figures and year-over growth aren’t directly comparable.
Beyond traditional television, all three networks reported substantial digital engagement.
Fox News generated approximately 3.8 billion YouTube video views between January 1 and October 27, according to Emplifi. MS NOW followed with approximately 2.96 billion views, while CNN recorded 2.36 billion. Fox News Digital reported 4.6 billion multi-platform views and 10 billion minutes of engagement during the third quarter, according to Comscore.
Separately, MS NOW reported 3.1 billion YouTube views year-to-date using its own analytics and competitor data, along with more than 4.5 billion combined views across YouTube and TikTok. CNN said it surpassed 20 million YouTube subscribers in October, becoming the first U.S. news publisher to reach that milestone. The network also claimed the highest October YouTube viewership among tracked news brands, citing Rival IQ data.
In digital audio, MS NOW reported more than 113 million downloads year-to-date, including 10 million during October. CNN reported 90 million podcast downloads and streams during the year.
The latest audience figures come as all three networks prepare for coverage of the November 3 midterm elections, when control of Congress and numerous state offices will be decided.
CNN will begin its main “Election Night in America” coverage at 4 p.m. Eastern, with Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper leading the broadcast. John King will return to the network’s Magic Wall, while a new data tool called Sightline will track developments in competitive Senate and gubernatorial races. CNN will also offer expanded digital election results and additional programming for subscribers.
Fox News Channel will begin its “Fox News Democracy 26” coverage at 6 p.m. Eastern, with Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum leading the network’s election-night programming. The coverage will incorporate race projections from the Fox News Decision Desk, augmented reality graphics and real-time election results.
Fox is also introducing an interactive election experience through Fox One, allowing subscribers to watch Fox News coverage alongside continuously updated voting results, polling information and race analysis. A new election-focused version of Ask Fox will use artificial intelligence to answer questions about current results and historical voting patterns.
All three networks will offer their coverage through DIRECTV’s Election HQ, a special pop-up channel that starts November 2. The channel will provide live video feeds from those channels and Newsmax alongside real-time data from the Associated Press related to political races, campaigns and causes.
Fox News Channel and Fox News Digital are operated by Fox News Media, which is part of Fox Corporation. CNN is operated by Warner Bros Discovery, a division of Skydance. MS NOW is part of Versant, the cable networks and digital platforms business that was spun out of Comcast’s NBC Universal earlier this year.
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