This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of May 11, 2026.
Despite offering extensive coverage of President Donald Trump’s two-day visit to China, the cable news networks didn’t register any meaningful gains for the week in both total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo.
Also likely impacting their viewership numbers are the ongoing NBA and NHL playoff games, which are now progressing into the deeper rounds. However, Fox News’ programming still managed to finish ahead of ESPN’s live sports offerings in total viewers during primetime and total day.
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According to Nielsen big data + panel for the week of May 11, Fox News averaged 2.282 million total viewers and 202,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was down -8% in total viewers and -9% in the demo compared to the week prior (the week beginning May 4).
During total day viewing, Fox News averaged 1.465 million total viewers and 142,000 A25-54 viewers. Based on its average from the previous week’s measurements, the network saw declines of -7% in total viewers and -3% in the demo.
Fox News continued to rank first in total primetime viewership and third in demo viewership among all basic cable networks. During total day, it also finished first in total viewers and was No. 2 in the total day demo.
MS NOW averaged 903,000 total viewers and 87,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week that just concluded. The network was down -7% in total viewers and -4% in the demo compared to its primetime average the week prior.
During total day, MS NOW averaged 581,000 total viewers and 62,000 demo viewers. It was down -4% in total viewers and was flat in the demo compared to the network’s average the week prior.
Among all basic cable networks, MS NOW was third in total primetime viewers and was 13th in the demo. It finished in third place in total viewers and ninth in the total day demo.
CNN averaged 661,00 total primetime viewers and 104,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime for the week of May 11. The network declined by -3% in total viewers and -17% in the demo compared to the previous week.
During total day, the network had 447,000 total viewers and 69,000 viewers in the demo. CNN declined by -8% in total viewers and -14% in the demo during this daypart.
Among all cable networks, CNN finished fifth in total viewers and was 10th in the demo during primetime. It was No. 4 in total day among total viewers and seventh in the demo.
