CNN Gets Massive Ratings Boost as Fox News Takes Big Hit

The cable news ratings for the month of August are in, and it’s good news for CNN, the only network to buck the trend and finish with higher numbers in the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic.

According to AdWeek, citing Nielsen big data + panel, CNN averaged 624,000 total viewers and 109,000 demo viewers in primetime for the month of August. While this was down 5 percent in total viewers from the prior month, it was up 7 percent in the key demo.

It was a similar story in total day, with CNN averaging 437,000 total viewers and 66,000 demo viewers. This was down 6 percent in total viewers but up 6 percent in the demo compared to the previous month.

CNN’s year-over-year numbers were even better, with total viewers up a massive 41 percent and the demo up 40 percent across primetime. In total day, the network was up 31 percent in total viewers and up 25 percent in the demo.

One big reason for CNN’s ratings boost was CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, which landed as the network’s top performer with 725,000 total viewers and 152,000 demo viewers.

Despite the increases, CNN still trailed its cable news competition. Fox News held onto the top spot with 2.127 million total viewers and 188,000 demo viewers across primetime. Compared to the month before, the network was down 9 percent in total viewers and 8 percent in the demo.

In total day, Fox News averaged 1.35 million total viewers and 119,000 demo viewers in August. This was down 10 percent in total viewers and down 13 percent in the demo compared to July.

The network was also down compared to the same month in 2025, dropping 8 percent in total viewers and 21 percent in the demo during primetime. In total day, Fox News was down 7 percent in total viewers and 26 percent in the key demo.

Meanwhile, MS NOW held the second spot with 940,000 total viewers and 84,000 demo viewers in primetime. This was down 8 percent in total viewers and down 6 percent in the demo compared to the previous month.

During total day, the network averaged 597,000 total viewers and 57,000 demo viewers. This was down 6 percent in total viewers and was flat in the demo compared to the month before.

Fox News dominated the majority of the most-watched shows, with The Five coming out on top in both total viewers (3.283 million) and demo viewers (293,000). The only non-Fox shows in the Top 15 in total viewers were MS NOW’s The Rachel Maddow Show (1.963 million) and The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (1.221 million).

Maddow also ranked among the two non-Fox shows in the demo charts, averaging 169,000 viewers. CNN’s NewsNight was the other non-Fox show, finishing just behind Maddow with 152,000 demo viewers.