CNN Gets Ratings Boost in Battle With MS NOW & Fox News

Martin HolmesMon, August 24, 2026 at 12:47 PM UTC

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Lawrence O'Donnell, Abby Phillip, Greg Gutfeld - MS NOW YouTube; CNN YouTube; Fox News YouTube

The cable news ratings for the week of August 10 are in, and it was a slow week across the board, with only CNN showing growth in one of the measured categories.

According to AdWeek, citing Nielsen big data + panel for the week of August 10, CNN averaged 624,000 total viewers and 115,000 viewers in the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic in primetime. This was down 6 percent in total viewers but up 1 percent in the demo compared to the week before.

During total day, CNN averaged 443,000 total viewers and 68,000 demo viewers. The network was down 6 percent in total viewers and 6 percent in the demo compared to the previous week.

However, CNN was up significantly on the same period in 2025. In primetime, the network rose 34 percent in total viewers and 37 percent in the key demo. In total day, it was up 25 percent in total viewers and up 21 percent in the demo.

While CNN was the only network to show an uptick in one of its week-over-week categories, Fox News firmly held on to the top spot, averaging 2.064 million total viewers and 188,000 demo viewers during primetime for the week of August 10. This was down 7 percent in total viewers and down 11 percent in the demo compared to the week before.

Across total day, Fox News averaged 1.326 million total viewers and 120,000 demo viewers. This was down 6 percent in total viewers and down 12 percent in the demo compared to the previous week.

However, Fox News was the only network down year over year. In primetime, the network dropped 12 percent in total viewers and 23 percent in the key demo. During total day, it was down 11 percent in total viewers and down 27 percent in the demo.

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Meanwhile, MS NOW averaged 924,000 total viewers and 85,000 demo viewers in primetime for the week of August 10. This was down 7 percent in total viewers and down 17 percent in the demo compared to the week prior.

During total day, MS NOW averaged 584,000 total viewers and 57,000 demo viewers. This was down 6 percent in total viewers and down 12 percent in the demo compared to the week before.

The network was up year over year, though, increasing 16 percent in total viewers and 15 percent in the demo in primetime. In total day, it was up 18 percent in total viewers and up 30 percent in the key demo.

As usual, Fox News dominated the Top 15 most-watched cable news shows of the week, holding 13 out of the 15 spots. The Five held the top spot with 3.227 million total viewers at 5 pm ET. The two non-Fox shows were MS NOW’s The Rachel Maddow Show (2.007 million viewers) and The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (1.29 million viewers).

In the demo charts, Gutfeld! took the No. 1 spot with 294,000 viewers. The only non-Fox shows in the Top 15 demo rankings were Maddow (211,000 viewers) and CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip (163,000 viewers).

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”