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In addition to lapping its cable news competition in the ratings, Fox News has something else to brag about: topping the major broadcast networks when it comes to weekday, same-day primetime viewership.
According to Nielsen data obtained exclusively by TheWrap, Fox News is averaging 3.63 million live viewers during primetime between the start of 2025 and March 11, a period that includes Donald Trump’s inauguration and his recent address to Congress. That Monday-Friday viewership — spanning its primetime lineup of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld — surpassed ABC, NBC and CBS during that same time by the metric of same-day viewing.
Fox News is also beating ESPN and Fox’s weekday primetime ratings, and its viewership is nearly twice as high as the combined average of its cable competitors, MSNBC and CNN.
Here is how the channels stack up since the start of the year, in terms of average weekday primetime viewership:
- Fox News: 3.63 million
- CBS: 3.57 million
- NBC: 3.13 million
- ABC: 3.12 million
- ESPN: 3.03 million
- Fox: 1.63 million
- MSNBC: 1.26 million
- CNN: 635,000
And here’s how it looks in chart form:
Fox News’ strong start to the year comes after the channel enjoyed its best February ever, averaging 3.1 million primetime viewers across the entire month. That momentum carried into March, with Fox News averaging 10.7 million viewers during President Trump’s speech before Congress last week; the president’s speech also provided a nice ratings boost for the broadcast networks and other cable channels.
The channel has also benefited from exclusive interviews like Bret Baier’s Feb. 28 conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which hit 6.4 million viewers at its peak; and Sean Hannity’s interview with Elon Musk and President Trump, which averaged 5.4 million viewers.
While Fox News’ big 2025 is difficult to downplay, its gains relative to the broadcast networks require several key disclaimers.
CBS aired a lot of reruns in January, with many of its shows returning last month, and its most-watched show, “Tracker,” airs on Sundays. An NBC source also noted that the broadcast networks are more concerned with seven-day delayed viewing — which includes streaming and viewers who recorded shows and watched them later — rather than just live viewership, which significantly boosts their overall averages.
ABC, meanwhile, had a big NBA night last Saturday — the Lakers-Celtics game was watched by 4.6 million people — and that is not factored in, since it is on the weekend.
On the other hand, a Fox News source said its weekday lead over the broadcast networks is especially noteworthy, considering the cable channel is available in far fewer homes than CBS, ABC and NBC. Fox News is available in 63.6 million households, compared to the 111 million to 120 million the three major networks reach.
CBS will receive a healthy weekday ratings jolt next week when March Madness tips off. But no matter how you slice it, Fox News’ primetime performance has been impressive this year.
