Ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, Fox News is facing a steep decline in primetime viewership despite retaining its lead in cable news. The drop comes as the network says audience comparisons are distorted by unusually strong ratings a year earlier and as political advertising revenue reaches a record for a midterm cycle.
Highlights
- Fox News primetime ratings dropped 28% year-on-year in October, averaging under 1.7 million viewers versus 2.3 million in 2022.
- Network-wide declines worsened as 'The Five' averaged 2.7 million viewers, down from 3.7 million last year, despite Fox's continued leadership over CNN and MS NOW.
- Fox projects over $350 million in political ad revenue for this midterm cycle, a record, highlighting robust advertiser demand despite reduced audiences.
October audience decline and management explanation
As reported by Financial Times, Fox News posts a 28% drop in primetime ratings in October from a year earlier, with chief executive Lachlan Murdoch attributing the decline to "viewer fatigue" and slightly lower television consumption overall.Nielsen figures show the network averages fewer than 1.7 million viewers between 8 PM and 11 PM in October, down from 2.3 million a year earlier. Across the broader schedule, declines are even steeper, while its top-rated programme, "The Five", draws an average audience of 2.7 million, compared with 3.7 million last year.
Murdoch says last year's audience was lifted by exceptional news events, including Donald Trump's inauguration and the killing of rightwing activist Charlie Kirk. He adds that the current election cycle more closely resembles 2006, when George W. Bush was midway through his second term.
Advertising strength offsets pressure on viewership
Even with weaker ratings, Fox remains the most-watched cable news network in the U.S., drawing a larger primetime audience than CNN and MS NOW combined.Murdoch also says the network generates more than $350 million in political advertising revenue during the current election cycle, setting a record for a midterm election period. That performance suggests election-related demand from advertisers remains strong even as audience growth shifts toward rival networks.
In our earlier article on the pre-midterm political advertising surge, we explained how Republican candidates ramped up ad spending by hundreds of millions of dollars as polling tightened—even expanding into races once viewed as safely red. We noted that rising fuel costs and broader affordability pressures were shaping voter sentiment and forcing campaigns to reallocate resources across key Senate and House contests.
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