Fox News Ratings Fall 27% in October as CNN and MS NOW Gain

Fox News lost more than a quarter of its audience in October 2026, according to preliminary Nielsen figures reported by Variety. The channel averaged 1.1 million total-day viewers, down 27% from a year earlier. "Total-day" means everyone watching at any point across the full 24-hour schedule.

Fox still finished as the most-watched cable news channel that month, ahead of CNN and MS NOW. The fall was steeper among viewers aged 25 to 54, a group advertisers pay close attention to. That audience dropped 32% to 98,000 viewers.

The evening block fared no better. Primetime averaged about 2 million total viewers, down 28%. Primetime viewers aged 25 to 54 fell 36% to 183,000.

The morning show Fox & Friends had its second month in a row below 1 million total viewers. Its October audience was its lowest since July 2015 in total viewers, and its lowest since June 2001 in the 25-54 group, Variety reported. TheWrap described the channel's 25-54 result as a 25-year low.

The slide has been building for months. Across the third quarter of 2026, Fox's total-day viewing fell 16%, and its 25-54 viewing fell 24%. Variety also said October was on track to be Fox's lowest-rated month in total-day viewers since December 2023.

Its rivals moved the other way. MS NOW's daytime audience rose 16% to 588,000 total viewers. CNN's viewing went up 3% to 402,000 viewers. Both figures are preliminary.

The month also brought public friction between the network and the White House. In an Oct. 19 post on Truth Social, his social media platform, President Donald Trump criticised Fox News for not backing Republicans strongly enough. The same day, a Reuters/Ipsos poll put his approval at a record low of 31% as the midterm elections approached. Reuters also reported that Democrats led Republicans 47% to 35% on the congressional vote.

The numbers themselves are preliminary and can change once Nielsen finalises them.