Fox News maintains cable leadership in October despite viewership fall

Fox News kept its position as the top cable news channel in October 2026, according to reports by Fox News and Variety. Data from Nielsen Media Research cited by Fox News showed the channel averaged 1.1 million total day viewers from Monday through Sunday, taking more than 50% of the cable news audience share. [1][2]

The network outperformed its primary competitors combined, Fox News reported. MS NOW placed second among cable news networks with an average of 588,000 total day viewers, while CNN averaged 402,000 total day viewers in the same period. Fox News also led in primetime viewing with an average of 1.7 million total viewers. [1]

Despite maintaining its top spot, Fox News experienced a significant drop in audience size ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Variety reported that the network lost more than a quarter, or 27%, of its overall viewing audience during the month of October. [2]

CNN, which was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as the first 24-hour news television channel in the United States, is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The network operates as a unit of Skydance division CNN Worldwide. [11]