Fox News Leads Cable Ratings in July, Nielsen Reveals

Fox News Continues to Dominate Prime-Time Ratings in July

Fox News Channel maintained its stronghold on television viewership throughout July, consistently outperforming all major broadcast networks during prime-time hours, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. The network’s impressive ratings solidified its position as the top-rated channel across all television platforms.

In July, Fox News averaged 2.4 million viewers during prime-time, securing the highest rating among all networks. This performance surpassed NBC with 2.1 million viewers, CBS with 2 million, and ABC with 2 million. On weekdays, the network led with an average of 2.8 million viewers, significantly outpacing NBC's 2.4 million, CBS's 2 million, and ABC's 2 million.

From June 20, the first day of summer, Fox News held the prime-time lead with 2.6 million viewers, compared to ABC's 2.3 million, NBC's 2.1 million, and CBS's 2 million. Throughout the month, in the 8–11 p.m. ET prime-time window, the network delivered 2.4 million viewers and 257,000 in the 25–54 demographic. Across the entire day, it drew 1.5 million viewers and 184,000 in the 25–54 demographic.

Fox News claimed 63% of the total day cable news share and 64% during prime-time, far exceeding CNN and MSNBC. Both CNN and MSNBC experienced double-digit declines in both total day and prime-time ratings and demographics. For CNN, this was one of the lowest-rated Julys in its history within the 25–54 demographic, averaging 62,000 viewers in total day ratings and 92,000 in prime-time ratings. Despite this, CNN still ended July as one of the top five cable networks overall.

Strong Performance in Cable News Programming

Fox News placed 148 of the top cable news telecasts in July and has now commanded the top 1,398 post-election telecasts. In terms of prime-time viewership, CNN recorded 497,000 viewers, trailing even HGTV, which drew 586,000. Additionally, Fox News ranked number one among Asian, Hispanic, and upscale viewers across the total day in July.

The network’s flagship program, “The Five,” secured 3.5 million viewers and 378,000 in the 25–54 demographic, leading all cable programming and surpassing CBS’s “Big Brother” with 3.1 million viewers. At 8 p.m. ET, “Jesse Watters Primetime” led all prime-time shows with 3.1 million viewers and 323,000 in the 25–54 demographic, outperforming ABC’s “Press Your Luck” (2.7 million) and NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior” (2.6 million).

Late-Night Dominance and Key Shows

In late-night programming, “Gutfeld!” posted 2.9 million viewers, 327,000 in the 25–54 demographic, and 207,000 in the 18–49 demographic. It outpaced several other late-night shows, including CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (2.2 million; 303,000 A25–54; 189,000 A18–49), ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (1.1 million; 202,000 A25–54; 136,000 A18–49), NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” (1 million; 242,000 A25–54; 145,000 A18–49), “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (713,000; 155,000 A25–54; 89,000 A18–49), and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” (507,000; 154,000 A25–54; 142,000 A18–49).

At 9 p.m. ET, “Hannity” drew 2.7 million viewers and 302,000 in the 25–54 demographic, topping key broadcast offerings such as ABC’s Good Morning America (2.6 million), This Week (2.4 million), and 20/20 Friday (1.9 million). Meanwhile, “The Ingraham Angle” at 7 p.m. ET recorded 2.5 million viewers and 266,000 in the 25–54 demographic, cementing Laura Ingraham’s status as the highest-rated woman in cable news.

Strong Morning and Weekend Performance

Fox News’s Special Report with Bret Baier (weeknights at 6 p.m. ET) averaged more than 2.6 million viewers and 288,000 in the 25–54 demographic, narrowing the competitive gap. It led the “CBS Evening News” in 19 markets and outpaced ABC’s “World News Tonight” and “NBC Nightly News” in other key markets across the country.

The network’s morning staple, “Fox & Friends” (weekdays 6–9 a.m. ET), drew 1.3 million viewers and 169,000 in the 25–54 demographic, retaining its position as the number-one cable news morning program for 53 consecutive months. It led CBS Mornings in 21 major markets, topped ABC’s Good Morning America in 14, and defeated NBC’s The Today Show in eight markets in July.

Over the weekend, Fox News won every hour in both total viewers and the 25–54 demographic, defeating CNN and MSNBC by margins of two to three percentage points.

Fox News Channel is part of Fox News Media, a unit of Fox Corporation.