July 2026 Cable News Ratings: Fox Leads but Loses Viewers as MS NOW and CNN Gain

In July 2026, Fox News remained the most-watched cable news network overall, but its audience fell across most metrics. According to Deadline, the network drew an average of 2.33 million primetime viewers, a 3 % decline from July 2025. In the total-day slot, viewership slipped to 1.5 million, down 2 % year-over-year.

Deadline Hollywood

MS NOW posted the strongest growth among the major outlets. Its primetime audience rose to 1.02 million, an 18 % increase over the same month a year earlier, while total-day viewers climbed to 636 000, up 20 %. CNN also improved, reaching 658 000 primetime viewers (up 32 %) and 465 000 total-day viewers (up 26 %). In the key 25-54 demographic, Fox’s primetime average fell to 204 000 (down 21 %), whereas CNN posted 102 000 (up 11 %) and MS NOW recorded 89 000 (up 10 %).

Deadline Hollywood

Fox’s flagship program, *The Five*, led the network’s primetime lineup with 3.31 million viewers, followed by *Jesse Watters Primetime* (2.98 million) and *Gutfeld!* (2.63 million). On MS NOW, *The Rachel Maddow Show* topped the schedule at roughly 2 million viewers. CNN’s most-watched show was *Anderson Cooper 360*, which attracted about 739 000 viewers.

Deadline Hollywood

The data suggest a modest erosion of Fox’s dominance, particularly among younger viewers, while MS NOW and CNN are capitalizing on audience growth. Continued gains for the latter networks could reshape advertising strategies and influence future programming decisions, as advertisers increasingly value the expanding 25-54 demographic shares of MS NOW and CNN.

Deadline Hollywood