Fox News edged out CBS in February’s primetime viewership, delivering one of its strongest monthly performances in about a year and a half. But here’s where it gets controversial: the numbers still show a broad industry-wide struggle for the traditional networks, not a simple win for one channel alone.
Fox News Channel (FNC) finished February with an average of 2.6 million total viewers in the Monday-to-Sunday primetime block, topping CBS’s 2.4 million. CBS posted its weakest February primetime performance in over two decades. On weekday primetime, Fox News drew 3.1 million viewers and 316,000 in the adults 25-54 demo, surpassing CBS’s 2.0 million viewers and 278,000 in the demo. This marks the first month in 2026 where FNC led CBS in both total viewers and the key 25-54 demographic.
In total day, Fox News averaged 1.7 million viewers and was the top cable-news network among Hispanic and upscale audiences during primetime. The network claimed all top 100 cable-news telecasts for the month, with every weekday program posting its best February since at least September.
CBS, by contrast, saw its flagship programs — including CBS Evening News, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and CBS Mornings — reach historic February lows. ABC also recorded its weakest February rating in the key demo for primetime this century.
Special Report with Bret Baier led February with more than 3.1 million viewers, and 289,000 in the 25-54 demo, making it Fox News’s most-watched month since March 2025. The program outperformed CBS Evening News in 14 major markets such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C., and even beat ABC’s World News Tonight in markets like New Orleans and Jacksonville.
In the 5 p.m. ET slot, The Five drew over 4 million viewers and 337,000 in the 25-54 demo, beating ABC’s 911 Nashville and NBC’s Happy’s Place. At 8 p.m. ET, Jesse Watters Primetime led primetime with 3.4 million viewers and 329,000 in the demo, narrowly ahead of ABC’s 20/20.
Late night remained a stronghold for Fox News, with Gutfeld! continuing to outperform rivals by drawing over 3 million viewers and 347,000 in the 25-54 demo, topping ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Gutfeld! also outperformed CBS’s The Late Show and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! across late-night, further cementing Fox’s dominance in that time block. Hannity averaged about 2.9 million viewers and 286,000 in 25-54 during the 9 p.m. hour, while The Ingraham Angle also posted 2.9 million viewers and 284,000 in the demo. At 11 p.m., FOX News Night with Trace Gallagher led the timeslot with 1.8 million viewers.
Fox News’s morning lineup remained a ratings powerhouse. Fox & Friends finished February as the No. 1 cable-news morning program in the 25-54 demo for the 60th consecutive month, with 1.4 million viewers, outperforming CNN and MSNBC combined. The morning show also outpaced CBS Mornings in 20 major markets and beat ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today in several key cities.
Daytime programming continued to gain momentum, with America’s Newsroom, The Faulkner Focus, Outnumbered, America Reports, and The Story with Martha MacCallum each averaging roughly 2 million viewers or more. The Will Cain Show also grew at 4 p.m. ET, attracting about 2.3 million viewers.
Jesse Watters Primetime led primetime with an average of 3.4 million viewers. Fox News also dominated weekend viewership, averaging wins across total viewers and beating CNN and MSNBC by large margins in every hour. Saturday’s lineup included Saturday in America with Kayleigh McEnany at 2.1 million viewers, while Sunday Morning Futures drew 1.9 million viewers and topped other cable offerings. The Big Weekend Show also reached about 1.7 million viewers.
For February, Fox News averaged 1.719 million total viewers and 168,000 in the 25-54 demo across total day, up 19% and 18% respectively from January 2026. In primetime, the network averaged 2.612 million viewers and 260,000 in the 25-54 demo, marking increases of 28% and 32% month over month.
Data are sourced from Nielsen Big Data + Panel. Fox News’ team contributions: Brian Flood and Lindsay Kornick (Fox News Digital). If you’d like, I can pull the underlying Nielsen breakdowns by program or market to illustrate how different regions contributed to these trends, or summarize how these numbers compare to last year’s February performance for a clearer long-term view.
Would you like a side-by-side comparison table of major programs and their February metrics, or a short explainer on how to interpret 25-54 demo figures in TV ratings?
