From Adweek · Mark Mwachiro · · 1m 20s
Cable news ratings sink across the board
Fox, MS NOW and CNN all lost viewers the week of September 7, defying the typical post-Labor Day bounce.
In brief
Fox, MS NOW and CNN all lost viewers the week of September 7, defying the typical post-Labor Day bounce. All three major cable news networks experienced simultaneous viewership declines in the week after Labor Day, with MS NOW hit hardest. Originally reported by Adweek.
All three networks lose viewers
Fox News, MS NOW and CNN all saw week-to-week declines in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demographic during both primetime and total day viewing.
Fox News holds up better
Fox News saw marginal primetime drops compared to its competitors, declining 1% in total viewers and 2% in the demo versus the prior week.
MS NOW hit hardest
MS NOW suffered the largest viewership loss, dropping 16% in total primetime viewers and 38% in the demo compared with the previous week.
Post-Labor Day bounce didn't happen
The week after Labor Day typically brings an uptick in viewership as audiences return to their routines, but all three networks declined instead.
Fox dominates most-watched shows
Fox News held 14 of the 15 most-watched cable news programs, with The Five leading at 2.796 million viewers. MS NOW's Deadline: White House ranked 14th with 992,000 viewers.
Year-over-year comparisons show steeper drops
Compared to September 2025, Fox News is down 42% in total viewers and 61% in the demo during primetime. MS NOW and CNN also show significant year-over-year declines.
The one thing
All three major cable news networks experienced simultaneous viewership declines in the week after Labor Day, with MS NOW hit hardest.
