The Lead

Both CNN and MSNBC have ridden the ratings roller coaster since President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. That was on display in July, with both networks — along with Fox News — seeing double-digit declines compared to 2024.

At CNN, the network finished the month with an average of 497,000 total viewers in primetime. Of those nearly half a million viewers, 92,000 came from the Adults 25-54 demographic. That represents a month-over-month decrease of 23% in total viewers.

The news is worse in the year-over-year metrics. CNN declined by 42% in total viewers and 55% in-demo viewers compared to July 2024.

It is worth noting that the month of July last year was one of the most news-heavy months in recent memory. On Saturday, July 13th, Trump was shot by a would-be assassin at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Furthermore, on Sunday, July 21st, President Joe Biden revealed he would no longer seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for President, instead turning the candidacy over to Vice President Kamala Harris.

CNN was not alone in seeing diminished audiences during the month of July. MSNBC averaged 865,000 total viewers in primetime, with 81,000 coming in the key demographic. Compared to July 2024, that figure represents a 27% decrease in total viewers and a 40% drop in demographic viewership in primetime.

Despite the drop, MSNBC still finished the month as the second-most viewed primetime cable network, trailing only Fox News.

Fox News averaged 2.4 million total viewers in primetime during July, with 257,000 coming from the Adults 25-54 demographic. That figure represents a decline month-over-month from June, down 14% in total viewers and 26% in the key demo during primetime.

The losses were steeper compared to July 2024. The network saw a 48% decrease in primetime viewership from the key demographic. Meanwhile, the total viewership figure in primetime saw a year-over-year decline of 30% during the month.

In addition to finishing as the top cable network in primetime, Fox News also finished as the top television channel overall during the month, besting broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC in the process. It was also the #1 channel in total viewership.

During July, 14 of the top 15 cable news broadcasts were from Fox News. The only non-Fox program cracking the top 15 was MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, which averaged 2 million viewers during the month. That was good for eighth.

NewsNation Remains Fastest-Growing Cable Network During July

During July, NewsNation remained the fastest-growing network in all of cable.

In total day viewership, NewsNation was up 6% in total viewers and rose 15% in the key demographic.

During the month, the primetime program hosted by Chris Cuomo was the most-watched program on the network. Meanwhile, On Balance with Leland Vittert — airing at 9 PM ET — averaged 101,000 total viewers during the month, representing a 28% increase in total viewers compared to when his program was seen at 7 PM ET.

NewsNation saw double-digit year-over-year growth in all of its dayside programming in both total viewers and in the Adults 25-54 demographic.

Morning in America was the biggest grower, jumping 64% in total viewership, while NewsNation Live with Marni Hughes (58%), NewsNation Now with Nichole Berlie (37%), and NewsNation Now with Connell McShane (31%) all saw more than 30% increases during the month in total viewers.

ABC News Sees Largest Lead Over NBC News in Nightly Newscast Ratings In More Than A Year

The week of July 21st was a big one for ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, as the broadcast featured its largest lead over NBC Nightly News since the week of July 1st, 2024.

During the week, ABC News averaged 7.3 million viewers, with exactly one million viewers coming from Adults 25-54 demographic. The total viewership figure was the highest since the week of June 23rd.

NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas averaged 5.5 million viewers for the week. That total was the network’s lowest since the week of June 2nd, when Llamas took over the program from longtime anchor Lester Holt.

NBC News averaged 775,000 viewers from the key demographic, a week-over-week drop of nearly 8%.

Meanwhile, CBS Evening News saw its second-smallest total viewership finish in 2025 during the week of July 21st. The program averaged 3.6 million viewers for the week, matching the total seen during the week of Memorial Day, which was also the final week of Holt’s tenure at NBC News.

CBS News averaged 495,000 viewers from the Adults 25-54 demographic during the week.

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Garrett Searight

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.