Fox News Channel commanded its highest share of the cable news audience in network history last week as CNN and MSNBC continue to hemorrhage viewers since Election Day.
Fox News finished the week of November 11-17 with its highest share of the cable news audience among total day in the network’s 28-year history across multiple categories. As Fox News makes history, MSNBC posted its lowest-rated week in over 25 years in key categories as viewers continued to flee the network on the heels of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Fox News Channel averaged 1.9 million total viewers during the week of November 11, finishing as the only cable option to crack the one-million viewer benchmark. ESPN finished second with 837,000 total viewers and Hallmark Channel finished third with 503,000.
MSNBC settled for fourth with 487,000 total viewers despite the historic news cycle, while CNN managed only 337,000 average total viewers to finish fifth among cable networks.
Fox News finished with a 69% share of total day cable news viewers for the week.
Fox News also crushed the competition during the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m. ET, finishing with three million average viewers to rank No. 1 in cable. ESPN finished second with 2.5 million average primetime viewers, followed by Hallmark and Paramount.
MSNBC finished fifth with 684,000 total primetime viewers and CNN barely made the top ten, averaging only 464,000 total primetime viewers. Fox News finished with a staggering 72% share of cable news viewers during primetime.
The top 100 cable news telecasts of the week all aired on Fox News Channel.
Fox News also dominated CNN and MSNBC when it comes to the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, averaging 236,000 total demo viewers and 360,000 during primetime. Fox News has now topped both MSNBC and CNN for 194 straight weeks among total viewers and 185 straight weeks in the demo.
From November 11-17, MSNBC lost 50% of its audience compared to its 2024 totals. The liberal network also shed 43% of its audience in the critical demo, and has lost roughly half its primetime audience.
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MSNBC also saw several programs post their lowest-rated shows ever. Every morning, daytime and primetime program on Fox News topped whatever MSNBC aired during the same hour, including "The Rachel Maddow Show."
As for CNN, the ratings-challenged network saw an all-time weekly low among total day viewers in the critical demo, drawing a dismal 58,000 average viewers age 25-54.
CNN saw double-digit percentage drops across the board in key metrics, shedding 33% of total viewers compared to 2024 averages, shedding 39% in the demo and losing 36% of its already small audience during primetime.
Last week, Fox News swept MSNBC and CNN in every hour among both total viewers and in the key demo.
"Outnumbered," Martha MacCallum’s "The Story," "The Faulkner Focus," "America’s Newsroom" with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino and "America Reports" with John Roberts and Sandra Smith all had strong weeks to help crush cable news competitors, and they each drew a larger audience than "CBS Mornings" on free TV, too.
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"The Five," with Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Dana Perino, Jeanine Pirro and rotating co-hosts Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr., averaged 4.4 million total viewers and 480,000 among the key demo to lead all of television in both categories. "The Five" even topped NBC’s "Saturday Night Live" among total viewers.
"Special Report with Bret Baier," "The Ingraham Angle," "Jesse Watters Primetime," Hannity," "Gutfeld!" and "FOX News @ Night" all had significant audiences to help Fox News make history.
"Life, Liberty & Levin" was the most-watched show on Saturdays, while Maria Bartiromo’s "Sunday Morning Futures" took the Sunday crown to help Fox News offerings win every hour of the weekend among both total viewers and the demo.
