Fox News Channel has marked its 30th anniversary by outperforming CBS in weekday primetime viewers during the third quarter of 2026. With an average of 2.4 million weekday primetime viewers, Fox News led CBS, maintaining dominance year-to-date among weekday primetime audiences.
Fox News excelled in cable television by averaging 1.3 million total-day viewers. It stood out as the sole cable network surpassing the one-million viewer threshold, with MS NOW coming next at 592,000 viewers, followed by ESPN, CNN, and HGTV.
Leading Programs
“The Five,” featuring hosts Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Emily Compagno, Jessica Tarlov, and Harold Ford Jr., attracted 3.1 million viewers, securing the number one position in cable news. Achieving top ratings for 20 consecutive quarters, “The Five” underscores Fox News’s consistent popularity.
Other top-performing Fox News programs include “Jesse Watters Primetime,” “Gutfeld!,” “Special Report with Bret Baier,” “Hannity,” and “The Ingraham Angle,” nearly sweeping the leading 14 cable news shows. MS NOW’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” airing weekly, was the only non-Fox News program to make the top 14 with 1.9 million viewers.
CNN’s “Newsnight” averaged 686,000 viewers, ranking 24th among cable news programs.
Fox News maintained strong performances during daytime broadcasts with “America’s Newsroom,” “The Faulkner Focus,” “Outnumbered,” “America Reports,” “The Story,” and “The Will Cain Show,” contributing to its overall success.
“Fox News @ Night with Trace Gallagher” led its timeslot with 1.3 million viewers, and “Gutfeld!” surpassed all broadcast and late-night shows including ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.”
In morning cable news, “FOX & Friends” attracted 1.1 million viewers, outshining “CBS Mornings” in 21 major markets.
Weekend Programming Success
Fox News’s weekend programming thrived with shows like “FOX News Saturday Night with Jimmy Failla,” “The Big Weekend Show,” “My View with Lara Trump,” “Life, Liberty & Levin,” “The Sunday Briefing,” “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy,” and “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade.”
“Saturday in America with Kayleigh McEnany” topped Saturday cable news shows with 1.4 million viewers, while “Sunday Morning Futures” led Sunday ratings also with 1.4 million viewers.
Fox News leads among the coveted age 25-54 demographic, attracting 120,000 total-day viewers and 183,000 during primetime. “The Five” excelled in this category with 289,000 viewers.
Data is provided by Nielsen Media Research.
Brian Flood, a media editor/reporter for FOX News Digital, authored this report. Tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @briansflood.