TV Ratings: Fox News, CNN See Primetime Gains

Fox News and CNN saw primetime viewership gains during the week of June 16, driven by U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, marking a second week of major news. Fox News led with Saturday’s breaking coverage, averaging 4.938 million viewers from 8-11 p.m. ET, surpassing broadcast networks.

Network Rankings (Nielsen Live Plus Same-Day Data):

Fox News: 

• Primetime: 3.430M total viewers (+9% vs. prior week), 474K A25-54 (+17%). 
• Ranked #1 in total viewers, #1 in demo (up from #2).
• Total Day: 2.001M total viewers (+4%), 268K A25-54 (+4%). #1 in both metrics.
• Dominated with 14 of 15 top cable news shows; The Five led with 3.867M viewers at 5 p.m. ET and 450K demo viewers, reclaiming #1 in demo from Jesse Watters Primetime.

MSNBC: 

• Primetime: 1.078M total viewers (-3%), 117K A25-54 (+2%). #2 in total viewers, #7 in demo (up one spot).
• Total Day: 637K total viewers (-9%), 67K A25-54 (-3%). #2 in total viewers, #7 in demo.
• The Rachel Maddow Show (Monday, 9 p.m. ET) ranked #13 with 2.065M viewers, #14 in demo with 202K.

CNN:

• Primetime: 831K total viewers (+7%), 208K A25-54 (+25%). #4 in total viewers (up from #5), #3 in demo (up three spots).
• Total Day: 536K total viewers (-4%), 112K A25-54 (+1%). #3 in both metrics.

Fox News’ Saturday coverage and consistent gains solidified its lead. CNN’s demo growth was notable, while MSNBC saw slight declines in total viewers but held steady in rankings.