FOX News Channel stunned media observers and fans when they announced that January had delivered its highest-rated beginning of the year in history, commanding more than two-thirds of cable news viewership as rivals CNN and MSNBC fight to recover from post-election audience collapse.
The network averaged 1.9 million total day viewers, dwarfing MSNBC’s 506,000 and CNN’s 421,000 while growing its audience 53% compared to last January.
FOX News finished as the most-watched network across all of cable, with ESPN a distant second at 1.6 million viewers.
“The Five” dominated cable news with 4.8 million viewers, leading FOX’s sweep of the top five shows:
- Jesse Watters Primetime (4.1M)
- Hannity (3.8M)
- Special Report (3.5M)
- The Ingraham Angle (3.5M)
The network’s coverage of President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance’s inauguration set records, peaking at 12 million viewers for the highest-rated non-primetime cable news telecast in history.
While CNN and MSNBC showed some recovery from December lows, with CNN posting the largest percentage gains, both networks remained far behind their 2024 averages. MSNBC suffered particularly in the crucial 25-54 demographic, averaging just 45,000 viewers – trailing 26 basic cable channels including Nickelodeon and the Food Network.
“Each year, we surpass new milestones,” FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said, marking the network’s 23rd consecutive year as ratings leader.
Greg Gutfeld’s late-night show continued beating broadcast network competitors CBS’ Stephen Colbert, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon across all metrics.
FOX News has now aired the 603 most-watched programs on cable news since Election Day. The network also led with Independent and Democratic viewers, along with Asian, Hispanic and upscale audiences throughout the day.
Newcomer NewsNation posted its best January in total day audience with 66,000 viewers and second-best primetime performance at 121,000 viewers.