When looking at these networks’ performance during the same period a year ago, which coincided with the death of Charlie Kirk:
- During primetime, Fox News was down -42% in total viewers and -61% in the A25-54 demo. During total day, the network was down -39% in total viewers and -55% in the demo.
- MS NOW recorded declines of -21% in total viewers and -27% in the demo. During total day, the network was down by -9% in total viewers and -12% in the demo.
- In primetime, CNN fell by -20% in total viewers and -31% in the demo. During total day, it was down -20% in total viewers and -35% in the demo.
PROGRAMMING:
Fox News held 14 of the 15 spots among the week’s most-watched cable news shows, with The Five leading with 2.796 million total viewers at 5 p.m. ET. MS NOW was represented in the chart by the 5 p.m. ET edition of Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace. It airs weekdays and averaged 992,000 total viewers, ranking No. 14.
The Five remained in the pole position in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 279,000 viewers. Once again, Fox News had 14 of the 15 top spots in the demo, with CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, airing five nights a week at 10 p.m. ET, finishing with 123,000 viewers and taking the No. 13 position.
September 7, 2026 (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):
Prime Time
| Fox News | MS NOW | CNN | |
| • Total Viewers: | 1,783,000 | 689,000 | 490,000 |
| • A25-54: | 163,000 | 55,000 | 77,000 |
Total Day
| Fox News | MS NOW | CNN | |
| • Total Viewers: | 1,115,000 | 489,000 | 349,000 |
| • A25-54: | 105,000 | 43,000 | 49,000 |
