Fox News crushed the competition in the third quarter of 2025, dominating both cable and business news while CNN and MSNBC hit historic lows.
According to Nielsen via Fox News press releases, Fox News Channel (FNC) and Fox Business Network (FBN) not only topped their rivals on TV but also pulled far ahead online with massive YouTube numbers.
Fox Business Beats CNBC Across the Board
Fox Business Network (FBN) once again topped CNBC in every major category.
- Business Day (9:30 AM–5 PM): FBN averaged 218,000 viewers to CNBC’s 153,000, a 42% lead.
- Market Hours (9 AM–4 PM): FBN averaged 215,000 viewers, a 37% lead over CNBC’s 157,000.
- Total Day: FBN had 132,000 viewers, 36% higher than CNBC’s 97,000.
Programs like Varney & Co. and Kudlow have now led business news for 14 straight quarters. The Big Money Show scored its first win over CNBC’s Fast Money Halftime Show/The Exchange, while Maria Bartiromo’s Mornings with Maria notched its 10th consecutive win over Squawk Box.
Meanwhile, CNBC had its lowest-rated quarter in decades, dropping to levels not seen since the early 1990s.
Fox News Destroys CNN and MSNBC
Fox News Channel didn’t just beat CNN and MSNBC—it beat ABC and CBS in primetime. For the third quarter of 2025, Fox averaged 2.5 million viewers in primetime, compared to CNN’s 538,000 (down 42%) and MSNBC’s 802,000 (down 43%). In the key 25-54 demo, Fox averaged 243,000, while CNN sank to 87,000 (down 58%) and MSNBC to 66,000 (down 64%)—historic lows.
Some highlights:
- The Five remained the most-watched show in cable news with 3.7 million viewers.
- Jesse Watters Primetime and Hannity both cleared 3 million viewers.
- Gutfeld! beat every late-night show, including Colbert, Kimmel, and Fallon.
CNN saw its lowest-rated demo quarter in history, while MSNBC hit its worst demo numbers since the 1990s.
Fox News Rules Digital with YouTube
It wasn’t just TV. Online, Fox also led the pack. Fox News closed the quarter with 1.1 billion YouTube views, ahead of MSNBC (848 million) and CNN (627 million). That’s more than NBC, ABC, and CBS combined. Fox was also number one in September with 408 million views, nearly double CNN’s 232 million.
On social media, Fox delivered over 500 million interactions across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X—its best quarter ever.
The Big Picture
The data shows a clear trend: Fox is pulling away while CNN and MSNBC keep sliding. Fox dominated across TV, business news, and digital platforms, while its rivals saw double-digit declines and record lows.
