Fox News Owns Every Top 10 Spot in Cable News Ratings

• August 7, 2026

A man in a blue suit and striped tie smiles while seated in front of a blue background with large yellow and white letters partially visible behind him.

Fox News’ Jesse Watters (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

Fox News once again dominated the cable news scene last week, according to Nielsen Media Research. The cable news network wrapped up a strong July with another week as No. 1 in all demographics.

Among viewers aged 25 to 54, a key demographic for advertisers, Fox News led all cable channels in total day ratings with an average of 123,000 viewers during the week of July 27. In contrast, CNN finished sixth (68,000) and MS NOW at 10th (61,000).

In primetime, Fox News again outpaced every news channel, finishing second among all networks in the 25–54 demo.

10 for 10: Fox News Fills the Leaderboard

Fox News held every spot in the top 10 programs for cable news, according to Nielsen Media Research. “The Five” held the top four spots, its highest rated show finishing with 3.6 million viewers, an increase from its average of 3.3 million over the entire month of July.

Holding the next four spots was “Jesse Watters Primetime,” averaging 3.1 million viewers across those days.

Rounding out the top 10, “The Five” made another appearance, followed by an episode of “Gutfeld!” with 2.8 million viewers.

Bar chart ranking top 10 cable news shows by viewers for July 27–Aug 2, 2026. Screenshot taken on August 7, 2026, from Nielsen Media Research Website.

Total Viewership Wasn’t Much of a Competition

While Fox News was pushed to No. 2 by Discovery Channel for the top spot in primetime target demo ratings, there was no such competition in total ratings.

As Discovery Channel fell to fourth in total ratings during primetime, Fox News moved back to the top, averaging 2.3 million viewers. MS NOW, which finished second in total primetime ratings, ended the week with an average of 994,000, while CNN finished fifth with 636,000.

Fox News will now look to continue its cable success as summer comes to a close and November midterm elections approach.

Andrew Phelan

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