MSNBC, CNN & Fox News Ratings Shocker: Which Network Had Huge Election Night Numbers?

Martin Holmes
8 Comments
Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, and Bret Baier
CNN YouTube; MSNBC YouTube; Fox News YouTube

What To Know

  • MSNBC led Tuesday’s election night cable news ratings in primetime, surpassing both Fox News and CNN in total viewers.
  • All three major networks saw significant viewership increases, with MSNBC and CNN tripling their recent averages, while Fox News remained the overall 24-hour ratings leader.
  • MSNBC’s ratings win coincided with its upcoming rebrand to MS NOW and coverage of major Democratic victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York.

The off-year elections gave a ratings boost across cable news on Tuesday (November 4), but especially for MSNBC, which topped the night in total viewers with its largest primetime audience of 2025.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, citing Nielsen preliminary ratings, MSNBC averaged 3.04 million total viewers, putting the network ahead of Fox News (2.85 million) and CNN (1.78 million). MSNBC also led Fox News in the key Adults 25-54 demo with 490,000 to 448,000; however, CNN topped the night in the demo with 574,000, and saw double-digit growth compared to recent off-year elections.

Tuesday’s ratings victory marked the first time MSNBC led Fox News in both total viewers and the key demo since the Democratic National Convention in August 2024. It was also the network’s best off-year election night showing since 2019.

All three outlets were above their recent primetime numbers, with MSNBC and CNN each tripling their average total audience from the past month. Fox News, meanwhile, drew around 500,000 more viewers than on an average night.

Despite MSNBC’s primetime victory, Fox News still topped the chart for the entire 24-hour day on Tuesday with 1.97 million viewers. MSNBC averaged 1.28 million (the network’s best numbers of the year), and CNN averaged 748,000. Per THR, these figures are based on fast national numbers.

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MSNBC’s primetime ratings win comes as the network prepares to rebrand as MS NOW on November 15. The change comes as Comcast spins off its cable networks into a new company, Versant, which includes separating MSNBC from NBC News.

The separation officially began last month, with NBC News no longer sharing staff, reporters, or resources with MSNBC. Tuesday’s election night saw MSNBC covering the results with its own reporters, including Ali Velshi taking over Steve Kornacki’s regular spot on the Big Board.

Tuesday’s results proved a big night for the Democrats, with wins for Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) in Virginia, Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) in New Jersey, and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s monumental victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York.

Anderson CooperBret BaierRachel Maddow



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  1. E

    erp

    Don't recall MsNBC or cnn ever paying $750M fine for fibbing.

    9

  2. J

    Joe

    You’re nuts like Master Trump.

    7

  3. F

    Free-to-Choose

    Only because the elections were in ultra-liberal states with nearly 100% chance of victory.

    1

  4. G

    Guest Oow

    Here’s to a good 🤘. That’s what we have. Nancy Pelosi… dude you go first🤮

    1

  5. G

    Guest 001

    MSNBC was originally a co-brand in 1996. They have so poisoned the NBC portion of the brand, that even after Microsoft completed their divestiture in 2012, 13 years ago, the re-brand to MS Now demonstrates how profoundly damaged they are from head to toe. It is just as shocking that CNN remains on the air, only by virtue of the airport/bus station model. Business school cases should be studied on these train wrecks of broadcasters.

    1

  6. C

    Charlie

    What happened to that ridiculous not funny comic show they tried to run on @CNN ? Everything they try turn to dung shut the door please.

  7. F

    factcheck77

    It's because the elections were all about DEMOCRATS, you dummies.

  8. G

    Guest My Weight

    I don't watch CNN almost any of the time, but they wouldn't be able to top a demo in ratings under the "airport/bus station model". That's not how Nielsen ratings work.