The Year in Ratings: FOX News Reached New Heights in 2025 While CNN, MSNOW Sank
“It would be unsurprising for ‘news’ networks to lose audience after a presidential campaign year, but Fox’s success makes the others look worse.”
FOX News had a fantastic year, reaching new heights in ratings while its more liberal competitors CNN and MSNOW (formerly MSNBC) saw their ratings sink significantly. It’s easy to see how this happened.
CNN is almost unwatchable. They have one pro-Trump voice in Scott Jennings. Without him, they would probably be underwater. MSNOW, which adopted its new name this year, saw its ratings shrink by about 25%, and some of that has to do with the name change. Without the gravitas of NBC News backing them up, they’ve lost whatever shred of credibility they used to have, along with the promotional power of a major network.
FOX News is the only cable news network that provides viewers with a variety of voices on the conservative and liberal sides. They also feature both critics and supporters of President Trump. No other cable news network can say they do the same thing.
NewsBusters reports (emphasis is theirs):
The Year in Ratings: Fox News Soars, MS NOW Is Down, Down, Down….
Fox News is on the upswing, while MS NOW and CNN are falling off. It would be unsurprising for “news” networks to lose audience after a presidential campaign year, but Fox’s success makes the others look worse. Overall, Fox News scored its highest ratings for the year ever for a non-election year, second only to 2020.
According to Nielsen Media Research, released on December 15, Fox News averaged 2.72 million primetime viewers and 287,000 viewers in the key adults 25-54 demographic in 2025. This was up 14 per cent in total viewers and 18 per cent in the demo compared to last year.
In comparison, MSNBC (now MS NOW) averaged 923,000 total viewers (down 25 per cent on 2024) and 81,000 demo viewers (down 39 per cent), and CNN averaged 580,000 total viewers (down 15 per cent) and 105,000 demo viewers (down 29 per cent).
The story was the same in total day numbers. Fox News came out on top with 1.7 million viewers (up 18 per cent on 2024) and 185,000 demo viewers (down 1 per cent). CNN averaged 436,000 viewers (down 9 per cent) and 71,000 demo viewers (down 22 per cent), while MS NOW averaged 552,000 viewers (down 30 per cent) and 49,000 demo viewers (down 42 per cent).
The TV Insider breaks it down by programs:
As for programming, Fox News shows made up the Top 12 cable news programs for 2025 in viewers, with The Five, Jesse Watters Primetime, Gutfeld!, and Hannity leading the way.
The Five finished top of the chart for the fourth year running, averaging its best ratings ever with 4.1 million viewers and 382,000 in the 25-54 demo. Frequent Five co-host Greg Gutfeld also had success with his own program, Gutfeld!, which delivered its highest-ever demo viewership, averaging 362,000.
Jesse Watters Primetime was the most-watched cable news program in primetime, averaging 3.6 million viewers and 377,000 in the key demo, while Laura Ingraham‘s The Ingraham Angle averaged 3 million viewers and 309,000 demo viewers, making Ingraham the highest-rated woman in cable news.
Meanwhile, Hannity dominated weeknights at 9 pm ET with an average of 3.2 million viewers and 353,000 in the 25-54 demo.
Congratulations to everyone at FOX News for another very successful year.
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Comments
Anyone who watches The Five is pathetic.
Why?
I’ll use Kat Timpf as only one example. Every minute she’s on The Five, she shows us she can keep the foul language under control. Every minute she’s on Gutfeld!, she shows us she’s too lazy to bother.
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Maybe she’s just trying to out- Gutfeld.
That should read out-Gutfeld Gutfeld.
Please expound, so my wife will have one justification for calling me pathetic. I will say, in my defense, I need humor in my life every day. The Five is the only news-adjacent show that provides (intentionally) a modicum of intentional humor.
I watch Gutfeld! only when I think I haven’t heard enough gutter language and suggestiveness. If he’d clean it up, it would be more easily watchable – at least in my house. YMMV.
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I’m no prude, and four years in the Navy, believe me I heard it all. But Gutfeld steps way over a line.
and while the fox does have elements of pro maga
the other 85% are clearly rinos..at best
which is fine for balanced opinions but not in the context of being pro maga
yeah,,you can disagree with particulars but either you are for the freedoms of individuals or you think that the state should have at least *some* control over innocent people
“FOX News is the only cable news network that provides viewers with a variety of voices on the conservative and liberal sides.”
Why should it have to?
NOBODY else does.
More “high road” BS.
There are no news shows, just low-brow, infotainment.
Fox’s very existence is due to the fact that the leftist media needed balancing, otherwise, they would just be another mouthpiece for the DNC.
I cut the cord when FOX cut Tucker. Don’t miss cable at all. I can watch everything from FOX on youtube an hour later if I wish to. Get my news here and other websites. Try watching VDH on youtube daily; many AI fakes out now which is disturbing. Happy New Year comrades.
“CNN is almost unwatchable.”
Probably the most welcome improvement to air travel since the invention of jet engines has to be the demise of CNN’s airport network a couple of years ago. What was once an inescapable torrent of liberal propaganda that followed you across the country has been replaced by the relative bliss of condescending TSA agents, screaming toddlers, and belligerent Spirit airlines customers. I for one am immensely thankful.
You’ve not been through ATL I take it…
I gave up on watching all MSM including Fox back the night of 2020 election when I saw them report that Trump was way ahead and then there was stopping of counting at the same time across the country. Later several hours at the same time the counting started up and Biden was ahead just by minor numbers in certain states and these MSM and Fox declared Biden the winner.
To me none of these national or local TV gave us the truth. I gave up all cable TV and used data only. Daily I use my local TV weather APP to see weather and traffic on my phone. I can go to their data site to see local info, politics, crime, and other info.
agree
that was a major night of corruption that the msm /fox refused to acknowledge ( or at least to the degree I thought they should) that fjb came out and said
we’re going to stop the counting ..going to bed ..will resume in the morning
I was on the ceiling when he commanded that….
maga for the mofo win
on a tangent…….
dem ro khanna is trying to find his liz cheny to give his fight for a wealth tax a legitimacy it should never have as his silicon valley elites are rebelling against the tax
so in undertones KONhanna is quietly threatening those who speak out on social media against his plan calling it fraud
the msm is covering for him of course but its plain as hunterbidens laptop games
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