Fox News Channel finished the first quarter of 2026 by outpacing CBS in total viewers and maintaining its position as the most-watched network in all of cable for 20 consecutive quarters.
According to Nielsen data released on April 1, 2026, the network secured its 97th straight quarterly win in cable news primetime, outperforming ESPN even during the height of the NFL playoffs and college football season.
The first three months of the year saw Fox News average 1.7 million daily viewers, capturing more than half of the total cable news market share. In primetime, the network drew 2.6 million viewers, with 265,000 falling in the 25-54 age demographic.
By contrast, CBS and ABC reported their lowest-rated primetime first quarters of the 21st century.
Programming at the network saw significant growth in March, largely driven by coverage of the ongoing war in Iran. Primetime viewership jumped to 3 million for the month, representing a double-digit increase over February.
The Five remained the most-watched program in cable news for its 18th consecutive quarter, averaging 4 million viewers. Jesse Watters Primetime led the month in the key 25-54 demographic with 387,000 viewers.
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In the late-night slot, Gutfeld! averaged 3 million viewers for the quarter, surpassing all broadcast late-night competitors. The program’s March average of 3.2 million viewers beat CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2 million), ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2 million), and NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (1.2 million).
The network’s news and morning programs also saw gains relative to broadcast television. Special Report with Bret Baier grew 12% over the previous quarter, outpacing the CBS Evening News in 19 major markets, including New York, Chicago, and Dallas. In the mornings, FOX & Friends averaged 1.4 million viewers, beating CBS Mornings in 23 markets. CBS Mornings recorded its lowest-rated quarter on record in both total viewers and the 25-54 demo.
Daytime programming across the board, including America’s Newsroom and The Faulkner Focus, averaged over 2 million viewers, consistently outperforming broadcast offerings like NBC News Daily and ABC’s GMA3.
On weekends, Saturday in America with Kayleigh McEnany and Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo led their respective time slots, with the latter drawing 2 million viewers on Sunday mornings.
Nielsen numbers for the quarter showed Fox News rising 23% in total day viewers compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. During the same period, CNN rose 42% to 577,000 viewers, while MSNBC (MS NOW) grew 23% to 691,000 viewers. In primetime, Fox News grew 25%, while CNN and MS NOW saw increases of 54% and 25%, respectively.
For the month of March, Fox News outranked NBC in primetime viewers, as NBC saw a 75% viewership decline following the conclusion of previous seasonal programming. Fox News also ranked as the top cable network among Hispanic and Asian audiences for both the month and the full quarter.
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