The Lead
Fox News continues to dominate the television this summer, as the network saw a six-week high in the primetime ratings, as it continues to best both cable and network counterparts.
During the week of August 18th, Fox News averaged 2.415 million viewers in primetime. That’s the highest mark for the network since the week of July 7th, when it averaged 2.436 million viewers.
Additionally, the week of the 18th marked a 3% viewership increase for Fox News compared to the prior week. In weekday primetime, Fox News averaged 2.9 million viewers for the week, besting network rivals ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC in the process.
Again, The Five was the top-rated show for Fox News during the week. It averaged 3.5 million viewers, and 359,000 viewers from the key Adults 25-54 demographic, topping both categories.
In other week-over-week upticks, MSNBC saw a slight increase in its primetime viewership figures. The network’s average primetime audience was 804,000 total viewers, up from the 797,000 it saw in the prior week.
Meanwhile, NewsNation saw a 13% increase in overall primetime viewership week-over-week during the most recent time period. That network’s audience grew from 90,000 to 102,000 overall.
CNN and Newsmax each experienced losses week-over-week. CNN saw its primetime audience drop from 467,000 to 442,000, representing a 5% decrease. Newsmax dropped to its lowest rating of 2025 during the week of August 18th, finishing the week with an average of 166,000 total viewers in primetime. That figure represents a week-over-week decline of 21%.
World News Tonight Stays Top-Rated Show for 15th Straight Week, While NBC Nightly News Tightens Race in Key Demo
ABC’s World News Tonight has been virtually unchallenged as the top program in all of television this summer. That remained true during the week of August 18th, as the David Muir-led program featured an average audience of 6.9 million viewers for the week.
That figure far outpaced rival NBC Nightly News, which ended the week with an average of 5.7 million viewers.
However, the ratings battle is much tighter in the Adults 25-54 demographic. During the most recent week, the ABC News broadcast saw its lowest finish in that category of 2025, with 838,000 total viewers. NBC News averaged 792,000 in the same time period.
That finish is slightly below average for NBC Nightly News, which has seen an average of 875,00 viewers during the nightly newscast throughout 2025. Since Tom Llamas took over the anchor duties from longtime host Lester Holt, the figure dips slightly to 800,000 viewers on average.
The week of August 18th saw CBS Evening News finish with an average of 3.8 million viewers. That is a slight uptick compared to the previous week, up just over 0.5% overall. In the Adults 25-54 demographic, however, the broadcast saw its second-lowest finish of 2025, with an average audience of 478,000 viewers from that sector. Its previous low was the week of June 30th, when it finished the week with 466,000 viewers from the key demographic.
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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.
