Fox News Marks Milestone As It Tops January Ratings, While MS NOW And CNN See Viewership Gains

Fox News was well ahead of cable news rivals in January, but MS NOW and CNN made viewership gains during the newsy start of the year.

In primetime, Fox News averaged 2.05 million viewers, down 26% from 2.78 million in the same month last year. MS NOW averaged 887,000 total viewers, up 21% from 734,000 a year earlier. CNN averaged 660,000, up 26% from 522,000 in 2025. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 197,000, down 44% from 353,000 a year earlier. CNN averaged 135,000, up 14% from 118,000 in 2025; and MS NOW posted 76,000, up 21% from 63,000.

In total day, Fox News averaged 1.45 million, down 24% from 1.92 million a year earlier. MS NOW averaged 589,000, up 16% from 506,000 in 2025; and CNN averaged 510,000, up 21% from 421,000 last January. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 143,000, down 43% from 253,000, while CNN posted 96,000, up 20% from 80,000; and MS NOW averaged 55,000, up 22% from 45,000.

January saw the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and the shooting deaths of Rene Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. But last year President Donald Trump’s inauguration, with Fox News saw big gains while rivals fell.

Fox News marked a milestone: It passed 24 years as the top cable news network during the past month.

The Five was the top show in cable news, averaging 3.73 million, followed by Jesse Watters Primetime with 3.01 million, Gutfeld! with 2.76 million, Special Report with 2.71 million and The Ingraham Angle with 2.54 million.

In the 25-54 demo, The Five topped with 328,000, followed by Gutfeld! with 314,000, Jesse Watters Primetime with 275,000, Special Report with 257,000 and Hannity with 240,000.

MS NOW’s top show was The Rachel Maddow Show, averaging 1.88 million, while CNN’s most viewed was CNN Newsroom, averaged 730,000.

Other highlights: MS NOW said that its dayside coverage of former special counsel Jack Smith’s testimony to Congress drew an average of 1.2 million viewers. CNN said that it had its most watched primetime month since the November, 2024 election.

Among other networks, Newsmax’s top show was Rob Schmitt Tonight, averaging 345,000. NewsNation’s top show was Cuomo, averaging 188,000. NewsNation said that the Cuomo audience grew 5% year over year. On Jan. 19, NewsNation debuted opinion host Katie Pavlich in primetime, and her show averaged 70,000, down from the previous occupant of the slot, Ashleigh Banfield, who averaged 105,000.

The figures are from Nielsen.