Fox News Sees Sharpest Pre-Election Ratings Drop in Ten Years

Fox News experienced its largest year-over-year decline in pre-election ratings over the past decade, according to Nielsen data released this week. The network averaged 1.68 million viewers during primetime hours in October, down 28 percent from the same month in 2025. Its full-day audience fell 27 percent to 1.01 million viewers.

Despite the slide, Fox News maintained its position as the top-rated cable news channel. MS NOW followed with 925,000 primetime viewers and 588,000 for the full day. CNN trailed with 598,000 primetime viewers and 402,000 for the full day. The Five remained the most-watched individual program on cable news, drawing 2.7 million daily viewers.

In the adults 25-54 demographic, the competition tightened. Fox News recorded 145,000 primetime viewers in this group, compared to 107,000 for CNN and 95,000 for MS NOW. For the full day, Fox News had 98,000 viewers in that age bracket, while CNN had 60,000 and MS NOW had 62,000. Fox News still leads this key demographic, but the gap is narrower than in previous years.

The network cited its digital performance to offset the broadcast decline. Fox News reported 3.8 billion YouTube views in 2026, based on data from social media analytics firm Emplifi. That total exceeds MS NOW's 2.96 billion views and CNN's 2.36 billion views for the same period.

Analysts and pundits linked the drop to President Trump's low approval ratings and an election cycle that appears to favor Democrats. Nielsen data does not specify why viewers switch channels, but the shift in numbers is distinct. MS NOW and CNN both posted double-digit percentage gains in primetime compared to October 2025. MS NOW also grew its full-day audience, while CNN saw a 3 percent increase.

A comparison of the past six national election cycles shows mixed results for cable news. Fox News saw large gains in October 2016 and October 2020. In October 2024, Fox News total day ratings rose about 20 percent. MS NOW remained flat in total day ratings that month, while CNN declined, though both networks grew in primetime.

Midterm years have shown varied trends. The previous largest improvement was a 25 percent rise in Fox News primetime viewers in October 2018. The steepest fall was a 20 percent decline in primetime adults 25-54 for MSNBC in 2022. October 2026 marked new highs for growth, with CNN's primetime adults 25-54 audience up 40 percent and MS NOW's 25-54 averages up 30 percent in primetime and 38 percent over the full day.