Fox News just made history in the first quarter of 2025 with record-breaking viewership numbers, setting new historic highs across multiple platforms since President Donald Trump retook office in January.
The network made cable news history with 2.2 million weekday viewers and 3.6 million prime-time viewers from 8 p.m. through 11 p.m., the most all-time.
The strong performance allowed Fox News to easily outpace broadcast competitors NBC and ABC, which each attracted 3.1 million viewers in the same time slot. According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News captured an unprecedented 65% of cable TV audiences in total daytime and 66% during prime time.
“Fox News notched its strongest ratings quarter ever during the first three months of 2025, with two of its shows drawing in particularly large viewership numbers,” according to industry reports.
The network’s afternoon program “The Five” continued its dominance, becoming the first non-prime-time television program to be the most-watched show for 14 consecutive quarters. Airing weekdays at 5 p.m., “The Five” averaged 4.6 million viewers, with 500,000 in the key demographic of adults aged 25-54.
“Special Report with Bret Baier” also posted impressive numbers in its 6 p.m. time slot, averaging 3.5 million viewers, including 404,000 in the coveted 25-54 demographic. The program featured several high-profile interviews that drove viewership, including a February 28 conversation with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky that attracted 5.2 million viewers. Baier’s March 27 interview with Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team drew 3.8 million viewers.
It wasn’t just good news on cable television, either.
Fox News’ digital presence showed similar strength, securing over 1.2 billion YouTube views in the first quarter, according to Emplifi data. This was a 26% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and solidified Fox News as the top news brand on YouTube for the second consecutive quarter, surpassing nearest competitor MSNBC by 26%.
The network’s business channel also performed well, with Fox Business securing 326 million YouTube views in the first quarter. This marked the 13th consecutive quarter that Fox Business led the business news competitive set, outperforming CNBC (90 million views) by 266% and Bloomberg (under 30 million views).
January’s presidential inauguration was a significant ratings bonanza for the cable news giant.
Fox News’ coverage of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House was watched by 10.3 million Americans. The channel captured 80% of the cable news audience share for special programming coverage of the inauguration.
The quarter also saw the successful debut of “The Will Cain Show” in January, which filled the 4 p.m. weekday slot previously occupied by “Your World with Neil Cavuto” after Cavuto’s December departure. The new program launched with 3.5 million viewers, making it the highest-rated daytime show debut in network history.
All told, Fox News dominated the ratings landscape, with the network’s shows occupying the top 12 spots in cable news. A highlight came on February 18, when Sean Hannity’s exclusive joint interview with Trump and billionaire partner Elon Musk attracted 5.4 million viewers.