By Fatma Younis
Fox News finished behind several rival networks in prime-time viewership on the 2026 U.S. midterm election night, according to preliminary Nielsen “Fast Nationals” data released Wednesday.
Preliminary ratings show Fox trailing competitors
The network averaged 3.882 million total viewers between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET, well behind broadcast leaders NBC (6.519 million) and ABC (4.906 million). It also trailed cable rivals CNN (3.927 million) and MSNBC (3.922 million), while narrowly beating CBS News (2.629 million). The figures are preliminary and likely to be revised upward when final data is released Thursday. Across the six major networks, prime-time election coverage averaged 25.784 million viewers, up from 22.215 million in the 2022 midterms, when Fox News itself averaged 7.422 million viewers.
Murdoch cites ‘viewer fatigue’
Fox Corp chief executive Lachlan Murdoch acknowledged “viewer fatigue” during an earnings call on Monday. The network’s total-day viewership last month was down 27% compared with the same month a year earlier, though it still led CNN and MSNBC.
Trump blames Fox for Republican losses
Former President Donald Trump criticized Fox News throughout election night and on his Truth Social platform, blaming the channel for Republican defeats. He mocked the network’s October ratings decline, attributing it to the booking of Democratic candidates. “FoxNews Ratings are way down (27%!) because they’re spending too much time covering the Trump Deranged Dumocrats!” Trump wrote. “All of those people who used to watch Fox, and no longer do, get it. It’s them, not me – My numbers are better than they have ever been.”
