The first month of 2026 saw all three cable news networks start with positive momentum compared to December 2025. Gains were recorded by all news networks in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during primetime and total day.
This was a result of an active news cycle in January, which began with military action in Venezuela and continued with the ongoing unrest in Minnesota stemming from ICE’s presence and the cold winter weather, drawing eyeballs to the networks, with Fox News and CNN recording double-digit growth across the board.
Fox News
According to Nielsen big data plus panel, Fox News in January had 2.046 million total viewers in primetime and 197,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demo. During total day, it had 1.442 million total viewers and 142,000 viewers in the demo.
Compared to its December 2025 performance, Fox News grew by +11% in total viewers and +24% in the A25-54 demo during primetime viewing hours. While in total day, the network saw gains of +14% in total viewers and +29% in the demo when compared to the previous month.
Looking at Fox News’ performance against the same month in 2025, it was down by -26% in total viewers and by -44% in the demo during primetime. While in total day, it was down by -25% in total viewers and -44% in the demo—it was the only network within this yearly comparison to record declines across the board in both measured categories.
The network finished January in second place among total viewers and was No. 2 in the demo during primetime. During total day, it dropped from first to second place in total viewers and was the No. 2 network in the demo.
MS NOW
MS NOW ranked second among the most-watched cable news networks in January in primetime and total day, with 887,000 and 586,000 total viewers, respectively. The network in the A25-54 demo had 76,000 viewers in primetime and 55,000 viewers during total day.
Compared to December, MS NOW was up +1% in total viewers and +6% in A25-54 during primetime. During total day, it grew by +4% in total viewers and +17% in the demo.
Looking at its performance vs. January 2025, MS NOW was up +21% in total viewers and in the demo during primetime. It was also up +16% in total viewers and +22% in the demo during total day.
MS NOW remained in third during primetime and total day with total viewers. It finished No. 15 in the demo during primetime, and it ranked 11th in the demo during total day.
CNN
During primetime in January, CNN had 660,000 total viewers and 135,000 A25-54 viewers. When looking at total day, the network had 508,000 total viewers and 96,000 demo viewers.
