ADWEEK; Fox, MS NOW, CNN By Mark Mwachiro --> MS NOW was the standout network for the month of June, posting no losses in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during primetime and total day.
In a month that featured riveting sporting competition, the big three news networks were up against the NBA and NHL finals, as well as the start of the FIFA World Cup. Even with that, MS NOW grew in primetime in both measured categories.
According to Nielsen big data + panel, Fox News had 2.26 million total viewers in primetime and 197,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demo in June. During total day, it had 1.451 million total viewers and 133,000 viewers in the demo.
Compared to its May 2026 performance , Fox News was down -5% in total viewers and -6% in the A25-54 demo during primetime. In total day, the network fell by -5% in total viewers and -6% in the demo when compared to the previous month.
Looking at Fox News’ performance against the same month in 2025 , it declined by -19% in total viewers and -43% in the demo during primetime. In total day, it was down by -15% in total viewers and -40% in the demo.
The network finished June in first place among total viewers and remained at No. 3 in the demo during primetime. During total day, it remained in first place in total viewers and was No. 3 in the demo.
MS NOW finished in second place in total viewers in primetime and total day, with 1.015 million and 636,000 viewers, respectively, in June. The network in the A25-54 demo had 96,000 viewers in primetime and 61,000 viewers during total day.
Compared to May, MS NOW was up +8% in total viewers and +3% in the A25-54 demo during primetime. During total day, it registered a gain of +7% in total viewers and was flat in the demo.
Looking at its performance in June 2025, MS NOW was up +6% in total viewers and +1% in the demo during primetime. It was also up +7% in total viewers and +2% in the demo during total day—the only network with across-the-board growth within this yearly comparison.
MS NOW slid from third to fourth during primetime. During total day, it was in the No. 2 position among total viewers. It finished 15th in the demo during primetime and tied with CNN and HGTV for eighth in the demo during total day.
During primetime in June, CNN had 610,000 total viewers and 97,000 A25-54 viewers. Looking at total day, the network had 436,000 total viewers and 61,000 demo viewers.
Compared to the previous month, CNN was down -4% in total viewers and -12% in demo viewers during primetime. It also fell by -5% in total viewers and -14% in the demo during total day.
When looking at its performance to the same month in 2025 during primetime, CNN recorded declines of -5% in total viewers and -28% in the demo. It was down -2% during total day and -27% in the demo.
CNN was stuck in the No. 6 position during primetime and remained in fourth during total day in total viewers. Its position in the demo saw it finish 14th in primetime and eighth in total day, tied with MS NOW and HGTV.
Looking at the June performance of the other news nets:
June 2026 Cable News Ratings (Nielsen Big Data + Panel):
June'26 Cable Ranker P25-54 BDP by Adweek
Mark Mwachiro is a TVNewser contributor who has been writing for the blog since March 2022. Based out of New York, Mark has also contributed to ADWEEK.
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