In a 12 months marked by intense political developments and shifting viewer habits, Fox News Channel solidified its place because the undisputed chief in cable information for 2025. According to Nielsen knowledge, the community achieved the best prime time common amongst all information shops, drawing a mean of two.759 million viewers in the course of the 8-11 p.m. ET slot. This represented a sturdy 12% enhance in comparison with the earlier 12 months, highlighting the channel’s rising attraction amid a aggressive media atmosphere, based on Variety.
Here are the important thing proportion modifications in prime time viewership from 2024 to 2025:
- Fox News: +12%
- MSNBC: –26%
- NCS: –16%
- Newsmax: –18%
- NewsNation: +16%
- HLN: –20%
- Fox Business: –20%
Fox News not solely maintained its prime spot in cable information but in addition steadily outperformed main broadcast networks in prime time viewership, a feat that underscored its broad attain and resonance with audiences searching for opinion-driven and breaking information protection. Programs reminiscent of The Five, Jesse Watters Primetime, and Gutfeld! contributed closely to this success, persistently rating among the many most-watched cable choices and serving to the community seize a dominant share of the general cable information viewers.
Trailing far behind in second place was MS Now (previously MSNBC), which averaged simply 937,000 prime time viewers. This marked a steep 26% decline from 2024, reflecting challenges in retaining viewers throughout a interval of great programming changes and a post-election viewers shift. The community struggled to take care of momentum, with its prime time lineup seeing decreased engagement throughout key segments.
NCS completed third in the rankings, with a mean of 591,000 prime time viewers—a 16% drop year-over-year. The community confronted ongoing difficulties in a fragmented viewing panorama, the place audiences more and more turned to options for information and commentary. Despite efforts to refresh its schedule, NCS’s numbers remained nicely beneath these of its essential rivals.
Further down the checklist, Newsmax positioned fourth with a mean of 241,000 prime time viewers, representing an 18% decline. The channel, identified for its conservative perspective, continued to construct a distinct segment following however couldn’t keep away from the broader downturn affecting a number of shops in the class.
NewsNation emerged as one of many few shiny spots, securing fifth place with a mean of 125,000 prime time viewers. The community posted a notable 16% enhance, demonstrating development via its deal with straight-news reporting and unbiased evaluation that appealed to viewers searching for much less partisan content material.
HLN ranked sixth, averaging 121,000 viewers in prime time and experiencing a 20% drop. The channel’s shift towards extra entertainment-oriented programming appeared to have restricted success in retaining or attracting news-focused audiences.
In seventh place was Fox Business Network, which averaged 72,000 prime time viewers—a 20% decline. While the business-focused outlet maintained a devoted viewership for market evaluation, it confronted headwinds just like different specialised networks in a 12 months dominated by political and common information occasions.
The 2025 scores panorama revealed a transparent divide in cable information efficiency. Fox News’s positive factors stood in stark distinction to the declines skilled by most opponents, notably these aligned with completely different editorial approaches. Factors reminiscent of robust internet hosting lineups, well timed protection of main nationwide developments, and viewer loyalty contributed to the community’s upward trajectory.
This dominance prolonged past mere numbers, as Fox News steadily commanded nearly all of cable information share and topped numerous demographic classes. The outcomes affirmed its standing because the go-to vacation spot for thousands and thousands of viewers all year long, even because the broader trade grappled with evolving consumption patterns and competitors from digital platforms.
Overall, 2025 proved to be a banner 12 months for Fox News, reinforcing its management in a extremely polarized and fast-changing media atmosphere. The community’s potential to develop whereas others contracted highlighted the enduring power of its programming technique and viewers connection.
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