FOX News Channel (FNC) finished the week of January 5 averaging 2.7 million weekday primetime viewers leading CBS’ 2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.
Throughout total day (6 AM-6 AM/ET), FNC posted nearly 1.6 million viewers and nearly 160,000 in the 25-54 demo and in primetime saw 2.2 million viewers and 220,000 in the 25-54 demo. For the week, FNC drew 95 of the top 100 cable news telecasts.
The debut week of CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil was down in every scenario, posting declines across the board versus the first quarter of 2025, the same week last year and versus all anchor debuts. The debut week saw CBS Evening News average just 4,166,000 viewers and 533,000 in A25-54 down 20% with viewers and 27 in the 25-54 demo vs. the same week last year. Comparatively, ABC’s World News Tonight (8,078,000 P2+; 989,000 A25-54) and NBC’s Nightly News (6,725,000 P2+; 992,000 A25-54) outpaced CBS by 94% and 61% in viewers, respectively.
The Five averaged 3.9 million viewers and 372,000 in the 25-54 demo, leading cable news with viewers and in the demo. At 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier drew 3 million viewers and 313,000 in the 25-54 demo, its best week since September. The Ingraham Angle saw 2.6 million viewers and 256,000 in the 25-54 demo at 7 PM/ET. Jesse Watters Primetime commanded 3 million viewers and 279,000 in the 25-54 demo at 8 PM/ET, making it the most-watched show in primetime. At 9 PM/ET, Hannity posted 2.5 million viewers and 243,000 in the 25-54 demo, while at 11 PM/ET, FOX News @ Night with Trace Gallagher secured 1.5 million viewers.
FNC’s late-night hit Gutfeld! (weekdays, 10 PM/ET) averaged 2.7 million viewers and 319,000 in the 25-54 demo making it the top primetime cable news program in the demo. It also continued to outpace the broadcast competition including CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (1.9 million viewers; 264,000 A25-54), ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1.8 million viewers; 226,000 A25-54) and NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (1 million viewers; 181,000 A25-54).
FNC continued to see its daytime programs outpace the broadcast competition. The Will Cain Show (weekdays, 4 PM/ET; 2.4 million viewers), Outnumbered (weekdays, 12 PM/ET; 2.2 million viewers), America Reports (weekdays, 1-3 PM/ET; 2.1 million viewers), The Story (weekdays, 3 PM/ET; 2.1 million viewers) and The Faulkner Focus (weekdays, 11 AM/ET; 2 million viewers) all led NBC’s TODAY Third Hour (1,954,000 viewers) ABC’s GMA3 (1.5 million viewers), and NBC’s Today with Jenna and Friends (1.4 million viewers). Additionally, The Will Cain Show had its most-watched week since September.
The Five averaged 3.9 million viewers and 372,000 in the 25-54 demo, leading cable news with viewers and in the demo. At 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier drew 3 million viewers and 313,000 in the 25-54 demo, its best week since September. The Ingraham Angle saw 2.6 million viewers and 256,000 in the 25-54 demo at 7 PM/ET. Jesse Watters Primetime commanded 3 million viewers and 279,000 in the 25-54 demo at 8 PM/ET, making it the most-watched show in primetime. At 9 PM/ET, Hannity posted 2.5 million viewers and 243,000 in the 25-54 demo, while at 11 PM/ET, FOX News @ Night with Trace Gallagher secured 1.5 million viewers.
FNC’s late-night hit Gutfeld! (weekdays, 10 PM/ET) averaged 2.7 million viewers and 319,000 in the 25-54 demo making it the top primetime cable news program in the demo. It also continued to outpace the broadcast competition including CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (1.9 million viewers; 264,000 A25-54), ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1.8 million viewers; 226,000 A25-54) and NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (1 million viewers; 181,000 A25-54).
FNC continued to see its daytime programs outpace the broadcast competition. The Will Cain Show (weekdays, 4 PM/ET; 2.4 million viewers), Outnumbered (weekdays, 12 PM/ET; 2.2 million viewers), America Reports (weekdays, 1-3 PM/ET; 2.1 million viewers), The Story (weekdays, 3 PM/ET; 2.1 million viewers) and The Faulkner Focus (weekdays, 11 AM/ET; 2 million viewers) all led NBC’s TODAY Third Hour (1,954,000 viewers) ABC’s GMA3 (1.5 million viewers), and NBC’s Today with Jenna and Friends (1.4 million viewers). Additionally, The Will Cain Show had its most-watched week since September.
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| Ratings Graphics Courtesy of RoadMN |
On Saturday: the debut of FOX News Live with Aishah Hasnie (Saturday, 12 - 2 PM/ET) was the most-watched show of the day with 1.6 million viewers. Saturday in America (Saturday, 10 AM - 12 PM/ET), which was guest-anchored by Molly Line, led the way in the 25-54 demo with 192,000 viewers. In primetime, Life, Liberty & Levin (weekends, 8 PM/ET) was the top cable news show with over 1.1 million viewers.
On Sunday: Maria Bartiromo’s Sunday Morning Futures (Sunday, 10 AM/ET) was the number one cable news show of the weekend with 1.7 million viewers. In primetime, Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy (Sunday, 9 PM/ET) led the way with 1.1 million viewers. The Sunday Briefing (Sunday, 11 AM/ET) hosted by Peter Doocy drew over 1.6 million viewers.
Source: Nielsen. Big Data + Panel. Week of 1-5-26 ratings data. Average audience for cable news networks Monday-Sunday based on Total Day and Prime (6a-6a, 8P-11P), P2+, P25-54. Cable News/Broadcast Program averages exclude repeats and include the corresponding program name.
📺BROADCAST EVENING NEWS
“NBC Nightly News” notched a rare ratings win over longtime rival “ABC World News Tonight” in the prized 25-54 demographic last week — as “CBS Evening News” fell further behind with new anchor Tony Dokoupil at the helm.
“NBC Nightly News” had its first fully rated weekly win in the key demo in six years, generating an average 992,000 viewers aged 25 to 54 for the week of Jan. 5-11. The figure narrowly topped ABC’s 989,000 viewers in the same demographic, according to Nielsen figures.
“ABC World News Tonight,” anchored by David Muir, maintained its first-place status in total viewership — though 30 Rock execs trumpeted that the Tom Llamas-helmed “NBC Nightly News” has closed the total viewership gap with its rival by 15% year-over year.
This week marked Tony Dokoupil's debut as anchor of the relaunched CBS Evening News (starting January 5), which drew attention but placed third overall.
Key Weekly Averages (January 5–11, 2026)
ABC World News Tonight (David Muir):
- Total viewers: ~8.08 million (or nearly 8.1 million in some reports)
- Adults 25–54 demo: ~989,000 (narrowly second in the demo)
- Led in total viewers but down ~9% year-over-year from the same week in 2025.
- Total viewers: 6.725 million (or nearly 6.73 million)
- Adults 25–54 demo: 992,000 (first place in the demo, edging ABC by ~3,000 viewers)
- This was NBC's first fully rated weekly win over ABC in the key 25–54 demo since Llamas took over in June 2025. It also marked strong gains, including the largest single-day win over ABC in four years on one broadcast. Down ~9% year-over-year in total viewers.
- Total viewers: 4.17 million
- Adults 25–54 demo: 533,000 (or ~596,000 in some early/debut-focused reports)
- Placed a distant third, down 23% in total viewers and similarly in the demo compared to the same week in 2025 (when coverage included major events like California wildfires). However, it showed modest improvement over CBS's Q4 2025 averages (4.03 million total, ~502,000 in demo).
Additional Context
- NBC highlighted narrowing gaps with ABC in demos (e.g., 47% improvement in A25-54 gap year-over-year at that point in the season) and beat CBS significantly (+2.559 million total viewers, +61%).
- ABC maintained its long-standing strength in total audience.
- CBS's numbers declined steadily during the week after a solid debut (Monday: ~4.37–4.4 million total viewers, 596,000 in demo), falling to ~3.9 million by Thursday.