Fox News Sees Record Pre-Election Ratings Plunge as Rivals Surge
Nielsen data reveals a 28 percent drop in October viewership for Fox News, marking the steepest decline in the decade before a national election.
By Jonathan Ramirez ·
Fox News experienced its steepest ratings decline in the ten years leading up to a national election, according to Nielsen data released on October 28, 2026. The network’s primetime audience fell by 28 percent compared to October 2025, while its full-day viewership dropped by 27 percent. This marks the largest year-to-year drop for any major cable news outlet in the month prior to an election.
Despite the sharp decline, Fox News retains the largest cable news audience. The channel averaged 1.68 million viewers in primetime and 1.01 million across the full day in October. These figures remain well above competitors MS NOW, which drew 925,000 primetime viewers and 588,000 for the full day, and CNN, which recorded 598,000 and 402,000 respectively. In the key demographic of adults 25 to 54, Fox News also held the lead with 145,000 primetime viewers and 98,000 for the total day. The network also reported strong digital performance, citing 3.8 billion YouTube views for 2026 as measured by Emplifi.
The decline in Fox News viewership coincides with substantial growth for its rivals. MS NOW and CNN both posted double-digit percentage gains in primetime viewership compared to the same month last year. MS NOW also saw growth in its full-day audience, while CNN increased its full-day viewership by 3 percent. Media analysts have suggested that President Trump’s low approval ratings and an election cycle favoring Democrats may have contributed to the shift, though Nielsen data does not specify the reasons for viewer behavior changes.
The current drop is historically significant when compared to past election cycles. An analysis of October ratings from the six most recent national election contests shows that all three major networks typically see large gains in the month before a presidential election. Fox News saw substantial improvement in October 2016 and October 2020. In October 2024, Fox News total day ratings rose by approximately 20 percent compared to October 2023.
Midterm election years have historically shown more mixed results. The previous largest improvement for a major network in a pre-election midterm month was a 25 percent year-to-year boost in primetime viewers for Fox News in October 2018. The steepest prior decline was a 20 percent drop in primetime adults 25 to 54 for MSNBC in 2022. October 2026 set new records for the magnitude of change in both directions.
The surge among Fox’s competitors was particularly pronounced in the adult 25 to 54 demographic. CNN saw a 40 percent growth in its primetime audience within this group compared to a year ago. MS NOW recorded gains of 30 percent in primetime and 38 percent in total day viewers for the same demographic. These figures represent the largest swings in recent cable news history.
Month-to-month comparisons show a different trend, with Fox News experiencing a slight dip from September. The network was down 2.5 percent in primetime and 1 percent for the full day. In contrast, MS NOW and CNN continued their upward trajectory from the previous month, with MS NOW up 10 percent in primetime and 8 percent for the full day, and CNN up 11 percent in primetime and 8 percent for the full day.
