A Clean Sweep in Q2 2025

Fox News didn’t just edge out its competition this past quarter. It staged a takeover.
According to Nielsen data reported by AdWeek, the network now controls 14 of the 15 most-watched cable news programs — a near-total monopoly on America’s TV news audience.

The numbers speak volumes:

2.63 million average primetime viewers

1.63 million average total day viewers

That’s a slight dip from Q1 (down 13% in primetime and 15% in total day), but compared to last year? Fox is up a staggering 25%.

The Five: From Happy-Hour Chatter to America’s Town Square

Leading the charge is The Five, drawing 3.85 million viewers nightly. Once dismissed as casual banter at 5 p.m. ET, it’s now the nation’s most-watched cable news show.

Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Jesse Watters, Jessica Tarlov, and Harold Ford Jr. have turned their roundtable into appointment viewing.
“It’s politics, but with personality,” a Fox executive admitted off the record.

The Watters–Gutfeld One-Two Punch

#2 Jesse Watters Primetime — 3.43M viewers. Once Bill O’Reilly’s protégé, Watters is now a star in his own right.

#3 Gutfeld! — 3.00M viewers. Greg Gutfeld’s late-night comedy–politics hybrid now regularly outperforms Fallon, Colbert, and Kimmel. A cable news host beating network comedy giants — it’s a ratings bloodbath.

Old Guard, Still Strong

#4 Hannity — 3.00M

#5 Special Report with Bret Baier — 2.88M

#6 The Ingraham Angle — 2.74M

Fox’s legacy names remain pillars of its prime schedule.

Bench Depth Like No Other

Fox isn’t just winning at night — it’s winning all day:

#7 The Will Cain Show – 2.17M

#8 Outnumbered – 2.04M

#10 The Faulkner Focus – 1.94M

#11 America’s Newsroom – 1.94M

#12 America Reports – 1.93M

#13 The Story – 1.91M

#14 Fox News at Night – 1.68M

#15 Fox & Friends – 1.41M

From dawn to late night, Fox dominates nearly every hour.

The Lone Outsider: Rachel Maddow

The only non-Fox program in the Top 15 is MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show (#9, 2.04M). But with Maddow airing only one night a week, MSNBC struggles to compete consistently.

CNN, Newsmax, NewsNation: Fighting for Scraps

CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront — 610k viewers (Fox’s #15 show nearly triples it).

Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt Tonight — 412k.

NewsNation’s Cuomo — 170k (a 24% YoY boost, but still tiny).

CNBC’s Squawk on the Street — 220k.

The gap is enormous — and growing.

Why Fox Keeps Winning

Consistency: Viewers know what they’ll get — and they trust it.

Personalities: Hosts are stars, not just anchors.

Culture wars: Content that provokes, polarizes, and hooks.

Crossover appeal: Blurring lines between news, opinion, and entertainment.

Cracks in the Armor?

Yes, Fox dipped compared to Q1. But its year-over-year surge (+25%) shows momentum is still upward.
“Fox is so dominant that even its ‘bad’ quarter is untouchable,” said one media analyst.

The Bigger Picture: Politics and Power

As America heads into the 2026 election cycle, Fox’s grip on cable news could shape not just TV ratings but the national conversation itself.

Bottom Line

Fox News didn’t just win Q2. It crushed it.
With 14 of the Top 15 shows, the network has turned cable news into a one-network sport.

MSNBC still has Maddow. CNN is fading. NewsNation and Newsmax are barely blips.
For better or worse, the empire belongs to Fox.

👉 Do you think Fox dominates because it gives viewers what they want — or simply because no one else can compete?