MSNBC, CNN & Fox News Top Shows and Ratings Revealed

Martin Holmes October 3, 2025, 8:35 am

Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, and Greg Gutfeld — CNN YouTube; MSNBC YouTube; Fox News YouTube

The cable news ratings for the third quarter of 2025 are in, and Fox News continues to dominate, accounting for 14 of the 15 top-watched programs in both total viewers and the key adults 25-54 demographic.

Fox News’ The Five was not only its own network’s most-watched program but was the top-ranked show across all cable news for the third quarter with an average of 3.7 million total viewers and 338,000 demo viewers, per AdWeek. The conservative political talk show is hosted by Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Jesse Watters, and alternating hosts Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr.

Overall, Fox News was down 6% in total viewers and 20% in the key demo during primetime when compared to the second quarter.

The only non-Fox News show in the Top 15 was MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, which averaged 1.842 million total viewers and 176,000 demo viewers, making it the network’s top-rated show. Maddow’s show landed at 13 in total viewers and 14 in the demo.

Compared to the second quarter, MSNBC’s total viewership decreased by 20% and its demo audience by 27%. This could partly be attributed to Maddow switching from five nights a week back to Monday nights only.

Over on CNN, Anderson Cooper 360 remained the network’s most-watched program in total viewers, averaging 616,000 viewers. However, CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip was the network’s most-watched show in the key demo, with 111,000 viewers. Neither number was enough to see either show rank in the Top 15.

CNN was down 17% in both total viewers and the demo in primetime compared to Q2.

Rob Schmitt Tonight was Newsmax’s most-watched program in total viewers with 367,000, while Finnerty held the top spot in the demo with 29,000. However, Newsmax overall was down 15% in total viewers and 14% in the demo during primetime compared to Quarter 2.

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NewsNation’s top show was Cuomo with 184,000 total viewers and 17,000 demo viewers. The network was also up in primetime compared to the second quarter, with an increase of 8% in total viewers and 18% in the demo.

On CNBC, Squawk on the Street remained the network’s top-viewed program with 1760,000 total viewers and 37,000 demo viewers. In comparison to Q2, it was down 11% in total viewers and 30% in the demo during primetime.

Finally, Kudlow remained the top show in total viewers for Fox Business, averaging 261,000 viewers. Meanwhile, Making Money with Charles Payne held the top spot in the demo with 13,000 viewers. The network experienced an 8% decline in total viewers and a 20% decrease in the demo during primetime compared to Q2.

Check out the Top 15 most-watched shows in both total viewers and the key demo below.

Most Watched (Total Viewers)