ADWEEK; Fox, MS NOW, CNN By Mark Mwachiro --> This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of Aug. 31, 2026.
Fox News and MS NOW finished the week with gains in the Adults 25-54 demo in one of the measured dayparts during this concluded week. Fox News experienced an uplift in demo viewers during total day, while MS NOW experienced its uptick during primetime.
Both networks reported double-digit demo gains within their respective dayparts ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend, while CNN registered across-the-board declines.
According to Nielsen big data + panel for the week of Aug. 31, Fox News averaged 1.8 million total viewers and 167,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network dropped by -11% in total viewers and -1% in the demo compared to the week prior ( the week beginning August 24 ).
During total day viewing, Fox News averaged 1.193 million total viewers and 117,000 A25-54 viewers. Based on its average from the previous week’s measurements, the network declined by -5% in total viewers but grew by +13% in the demo.
Fox News continued to rank first in total primetime viewership and landed in third place in demo viewership among all basic cable networks. During total day, it also finished first in total viewers and was No. 2 in the total day demo.
MS NOW averaged 823,000 total viewers and 88,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week that just concluded. The network fell by -12% in total viewers but grew by +10% in the demo compared with its primetime average the prior week.
During total day, MS NOW averaged 534,000 total viewers and 54,000 demo viewers. It declined by -10% in total viewers and -4% in the demo compared to the network’s average the week prior.
Among all basic cable networks, MS NOW slid to third place in total primetime viewers and was 13th in the demo. It also ranked third in total viewers and was 11th in the total day demo.
CNN averaged 518,000 total primetime viewers and 97,000 demo viewers. It fell by -15% in total viewers and -14% in the demo compared to the previous week.
During total day, the network had 367,000 total viewers and 55,000 viewers in the demo. CNN was down -8% in total viewers and -10% in the demo during this daypart—the only network with declines across the board.
Among all cable networks, CNN finished seventh in total viewers and was 10th in the demo during primetime, tied with Adult Swim. It remained at No. 4 in total day among total viewers and was No. 10 in the demo.
When looking at these networks’ performance during the same period a year ago :
Fox News had 13 out of the 15 spots of the most-watched cable news shows of the week, with The Five leading the way with 3.003 million total viewers at 5 p.m. ET. MS NOW was represented in the chart by The Rachel Maddow Show, airing Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET, with 2.029 million total viewers at No. 7, and The Briefing with Jen Psaki , airing Tuesday through Friday at 9 p.m. ET, with 1.058 million total viewers at No. 15.
The Five was No. 1 in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 291,000 viewers. Fox News held 13 of the 15 top spots in the demo, with MS NOW’s The Rachel Maddow Show in fourth place with 225,000 viewers. CNN’s CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip , airing five nights a week at 10 p.m. ET, finished with 127,000 viewers, taking the No. 15 position.
August 31, 2026 (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):
Mark Mwachiro is a TVNewser contributor who has been writing for the blog…