FOX News Channel (FNC) finished the week of March 2nd delivering its highest-rated week of the year while topping ABC and NBC in weekday and Monday - Sunday primetime viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research Big Data + Panel.
As audiences tuned into the network for breaking news coverage surrounding Iran, FNC averaged 3.6 million weekday primetime viewers, leading ABC (3,280,000 viewers) and NBC (3,262,000 viewers), according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.
Additionally, FNC averaged 3.1 million viewers in Monday - Sunday primetime viewers, outpacing ABC (2,849,000) and NBC (2,879,000) in total viewers, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel. Monday - Sunday total day (6 AM-6 AM/ET), FNC delivered over 2 million viewers and 224,000 in the 25-54 demo, while in primetime the network averaged over 3.1 million viewers and 362,000 in the 25-54 demo. FOX News also drove 198 million YouTube views, nearly tripling its nearest competitor and leading all news brands and broadcast networks. Additionally, The Will Cain Show marked the show's highest-rated week in program history.
As breaking news coverage continued throughout the week, every FNC program saw 2026 highs while CBS Evening News notably delivered its lowest rated week since Tony Dokoupil took over the helm. The Five saw 4.5 million viewers and 438,000 in the 25-54 demo, outpacing CBS Evening News (4.1 million viewers) and marked its highest rated week with total viewers since March 2025. At 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier averaged 3.6 million viewers and 362,000 in the 25-54 demo.
The Ingraham Angle at 7PM/ET drew over 3.4 million viewers and 378,000 in the 25-54 demo. Jesse Watters Primetime averaged 4 million viewers and 454,000 in the 25-54 demo at 8 PM/ET, outpacing the competition in the demo. At 9 PM/ET, Hannity delivered over 3.4 million viewers and 437,000 in the 25-54 demo. FOX News @ Night with Trace Gallagher at 11PM/ET posted over 1.8 million viewers.
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| Ratings Graphics Courtesy of RoadMN |
FOX News continued its run as the go to brand on YouTube leading all news brands and broadcast networks, according to Emplifi. FNC drove nearly 200 million YouTube views during the week (198 million), nearly tripling its nearest competitor MSNOW (76 million views) and outpaced CNN (74 million), NBC News (50 million), ABC News (40 million), and CBS News (22 million).
FNC’s late-night hit Gutfeld! (weekdays, 10 PM/ET) averaged over 3.4 million viewers and delivered 437,000 in the 25-54 demo, continuing to lead all late-night competition in total viewers and the 25-54 demo. It also continued to outpace the broadcast competition including CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (1,987,000 viewers; 275,000 A25-54), ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1,971,000; 318,000 A25-54) and NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (1.3 million viewers; 266,000 A25-54)
FNC continued to see its daytime programs outperform the broadcast competition. The Story with Martha MacCallum (weekdays, 3-4PM/ET; 2,692,000) and The Will Cain Show (weekdays, 4-5PM/ET; 2,976,000) outpaced ABC’s The View (2,638,000). The Will Cain Show marked the program’s highest-rated week in total viewers. America’s Newsroom (weekdays, 9AM-11AM/ET; 2,461,000 viewers), The Faulkner Focus (weekdays, 11AM-12PM/ET; 2,523,000 viewers), Outnumbered (weekdays, 12 PM/ET; 2,621,000 viewers) and America Reports (weekdays, 1PM-3PM/ET; 2,487,000 viewers) all led CBS Mornings (1.8 million viewers) and ABC’s GMA 3 (1.6 million viewers).
On Saturday: Kayleigh McEnany's Saturday In America (Saturdays, 10AM-12PM/ET) was the highest rated cable news program of the weekend in total viewers with over 2.2 million viewers and 245,000 in the 25-54 demo. FOX News Live anchored by Aishah Hasnie (Saturdays, 12 - 2PM/ET) and The Big Weekend Show (Saturdays/Sundays, 5-8 PM/ET) co-hosted by Tomi Lahren and Johnny Joey Jones both posted over 2 million viewers. In primetime, Life, Liberty, and Levin (weekends, 8-9PM/ET) delivered over 1.8 million viewers and My View with Lara Trump (Saturdays, 9-10PM/ET) nabbed over 1.9 million viewers. At 10PM/ET, FOX News Saturday Night with Jimmy Failla drew over 1.7 million viewers.
On Sunday: Maria Bartiromo’s Sunday Morning Futures (Sundays, 10 AM/ET) was the highest rated show of the day with 2.1 million viewers. The Sunday Briefing hosted by Peter Doocy (Sundays, 10 AM/ET) and FOX News Live (Sundays, 12-2PM/ET) anchored by Chief Washington Correspondent Mike Emanuel both delivered over 2 million viewers. Among Adults 25–54, FOX News Live ranked as the top cable news program of the day with 232,000 viewers, followed by The Sunday Briefing with 218,000 viewers. In primetime, Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy drew over 1.9 million viewers and One Nation with Brian Kilmeade posted over 1.8 million viewers.
Source: Nielsen. Big Data + Panel. Week of 3-2-26 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.