This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of October 19, 2026.
Fox News, MS NOW, and CNN gained viewers week over week in total viewers. However, MS NOW grew across the board.
CNN’s demo loss was MS NOW’s gain as the network moved ahead of the now-owned Skydance property to capture second place within that measurement.
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According to Nielsen big data + panel for the week of Oct. 19, Fox News averaged 1.747 million total viewers and 140,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was up +1% in total viewers but fell by -11% in the demo compared with the prior week (the week beginning Oct. 12).
During total day viewing, Fox News averaged 1.156 million total viewers and 103,000 A25-54 viewers. Based on the previous week’s average, the network grew by +5% in total viewers and the demo.
Fox News moved from third to second in total primetime viewership and remained fourth in demo viewership among all basic cable networks. During total day, it remained first in total viewers and was in third place in the total day demo.
MS NOW averaged 954,000 total viewers and 111,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week that just concluded. This represented gains of +3% in total viewers and +19% in the demo compared with its primetime average the prior week.
During total day, MS NOW averaged 609,000 total viewers and 67,000 demo viewers. It was up by +2% in total viewers and +12% in the demo compared with the network’s average the prior week. It was the only network with double-digit gains in either of the measured categories.
Among all basic cable networks, MS NOW jumped to third from fifth place in total primetime viewers and was sixth in the demo. It continued to be in third in total viewers and finished in sixth place in the total day demo.
CNN averaged 632,000 total primetime viewers and 117,000 demo viewers. It was up by +1% in total viewers and +2% in the demo compared to the previous week.
During total day, the network had 424,000 total viewers and 65,000 viewers in the demo. For CNN, it gained +1% in total viewers but was down -4% in the demo during this daypart.
Among all cable networks, CNN climbed from sixth to fifth place in total viewers and was also in a similar position in the demo during primetime. It was No. 4 in total day among total viewers and remained in eighth in the demo.
When looking at these networks’ performance during the same period a year ago:
