During total day, the network had 393,000 total viewers and 56,000 viewers in the demo. For CNN, this represented gains of +7% in total viewers and +8% in the demo during this daypart.
Among all cable networks, CNN moved from seventh to sixth place in total viewers and was 11th in the demo during primetime. It slipped to No. 5 in total day among total viewers and was ninth in the demo.
When looking at these networks’ performance during the same period a year ago:
- During primetime, Fox News was down -30% in total viewers and -34% in the A25-54 demo. During total day, the network was down -28% in total viewers and -35% in the demo.
- MS NOW was up +11% in total viewers and +13% in the demo. During total day, the network gained +13% in total viewers and +24% in the demo—the only network with gains in both measured categories in this yearly comparison.
- In primetime, CNN was up by +26% in total viewers and +52% in the demo. During total day, it was up by +3% in total viewers and flat in the demo.
PROGRAMMING:
Fox News held 12 of the 15 spots among the week’s most-watched cable news shows, with The Five in first place with 2.649 million total viewers at 5 p.m. ET. MS NOW was represented in the chart by Monday’s 9 p.m. ET airing of The Rachel Maddow Show, with 1.779 million total viewers at No. 6. The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, airing weeknights at 10 p.m. ET, had 1.122 million total viewers at No. 14, and The Briefing with Jen Psaki, airing Tuesday to Friday at 9 p.m., was in the No. 15 position, with 1.078 million total viewers.
The Rachel Maddow Show dethroned The Five to take the top spot in the Adults 25-54 demo, with 252,000 viewers. Despite this, Fox News held 12 of the 15 top spots in the demo, with The Five averaging 239,000 viewers to take second place. CNN was represented by CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, which airs five nights a week at 10 p.m. ET and finished in eighth place with 144,000 viewers, and The Source with Kaitlan Collins, which airs weeknights at 9 p.m. ET, and finished in 14th place with 116,000 demo viewers.
October 5, 2026 (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):
Prime Time
| Fox News | MS NOW | CNN | |
| • Total Viewers: | 1,600,000 | 902,000 | 577,000 |
| • A25-54: | 145,000 | 88,000 | 100,000 |
Total Day
| Fox News | MS NOW | CNN | |
| • Total Viewers: | 1,070,000 | 570,000 | 393,000 |
| • A25-54: | 94,000 | 57,000 | 56,000 |
