The Lead
The first quarter of 2025 has concluded, and it was a fruitful one for Fox News, as the cable network finished the first three months of the year as the highest-rated quarter in cable news history.
The network led both the total day and primetime categories in the cable news space. In primetime, Fox News averaged just over 3 million viewers. That represents a year-over-year increase of 46% in the window. The growth was even greater in the Adults 25-54 demographic, as the network averaged 380,000 viewers, up 63%.
MSNBC averaged just over 1 million viewers throughout the quarter in primetime. CNN, meanwhile, averaged 558,000 viewers in the same window. Both were down, with MSNBC dropping by 18% overall and CNN dropping by 6% compared to 2024.
In the total day category, Fox News averaged 1.9 million viewers, which is a 48% increase year-over-year. MSNBC averaged 593,000 for the quarter, down 27%, while CNN finished with an average audience of 428,000 total viewers, down 8%.
During the first quarter, Fox News held the top five spots in the cable news ratings for individual shows. The Five — which became the first show in cable news history to finish as the highest-rated program outside of primetime to earn the top spot for 14 consecutive quarters — averaged 4.6 million viewers during the first three months of 2025.
It was followed by Jesse Watters Primetime (4.1 million), Hannity (3.5 million), Special Report with Bret Baier (3.5 million), and The Ingraham Angle (3.4 million).
Elsewhere, NewsNation saw triple-digit increases in the primetime window, as it grew 292% in total viewers from the same time period last year. It also saw a 200% increase in the Adults 25-54 demographic. Compared to the previous quarter, NewsNation’s audience in primetime were up 17% in the total audience, while growing by 25% in the key demographic.
Sunday Shows Ratings Grow Despite Nightly News Drop Off
There is an interesting trend in the Sunday political affairs show space: the ratings are up compared to earlier this year, while the nightly network news realm has seen a downturn in recent weeks and months.
Earlier this year, ABC News was averaging more than 8 million viewers during ABC World News Tonight, while NBC Nightly News (nearly 7 million) and the CBS Evening News (more than 5 million) each had rather robust audiences.
Those figures have dipped in recent weeks, with ABC News failing to capture an average weekly audience of 8 million since the week of February 24th. NBC News has seen its audience slightly diminish in recent weeks since Lester Holt announced he would depart the anchor chair. CBS News has seen its audience steadily decline, failing to eclipse 4.1 million viewers for three straight weeks, on average.
It is the exact opposite, however, for NBC’s Meet the Press, CBS’ Face the Nation, and ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Each of those programs has seen its ratings grow in recent weeks.
For instance, Face the Nation — anchored by Margaret Brennan — saw its second-highest average audience of the year during the Sunday, March 30th episode. The CBS News program featured a total audience of 3.3 million viewers.
Meet the Press, meanwhile, saw its fourth-largest audience of the year on the same date, averaging 2.5 million viewers.
This Week with George Stephanopoulos saw a slight dip in the ratings during the first two weeks of March, dropping below 2.5 million viewers. However, the final week of the month saw the show return to 2.6 million for the day.
On Sunday, March 30th, Face the Nation earned the top spot in the Adults 25-54 demographic, finishing with 421,000 viewers. Meet the Press was not far behind with 409,000 viewers, while the Stephanopoulos-led program earned 394,000 viewers from the demo for ABC News.
Fox Business Tops CNBC in Business Day, Market Hours, and Total Day for First Time Since 2022
The first quarter of 2025 was an encouraging one for Fox Business Network, as it bested CNBC in the business day, market hours, and total day ratings all at the same time for the first time since 2022.
Previously, CNBC had won the total day window over Fox Business, but the network reached 141,000 total viewers in the category during the first three months of 2025. CNBC, meanwhile, averaged 127,000 total viewers in that sector. However, CNBC had the higher audience in the Adults 25-54 demographic, beating Fox Business 34,000 to 13,000.
During market hours, Fox Business had an audience of 210,000 total viewers, just beating CNBC’s 204,000 audience. Again, CNBC had the larger total in the key demographic, 53,000 to 11,000.
During the business day sector (Monday through Friday, 9:30 AM-5:00 PM), Fox News averaged 221,000 total viewers, compared to 200,000 for CNBC.
Fox Business was led by Kudlow, which finished as the top program in the business news realm for the 13th consecutive quarter. That program, helmed by Larry Kudlow, averaged 326,000 total viewers during its 4 PM ET window. Additionally, the market opening show, Stuart Varney’s Varney & Co., averaged 269,000 total viewers, beating CNBC’s Squawk on the Street for the 12th consecutive quarter.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
