FOX News Media’s Simulcast of CNN Presidential Debate Was the Highest-Rated Program in All of Television With 13.4 Million Viewers

FNC is Most-Watched Network in Viewers During 10 PM/ET Hour of Debate and During Post-Debate Coverage from 10:39-11 PM/ET

FOX News Media’s Simulcast Delivers Highest Share for Debate

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FOX News Media and FOX Network’s simulcast of the CNN presidential debate drew the largest audience in linear television, digital and streaming last night, averaging 13,421,000 viewers and 3,342,000 in A25-54 on FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX Network, FOXNews.com and FOX Nation, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. FOX News Media platforms and FOX Network secured 26% of the share for the debate while NBC platforms saw 21%, CNN platforms nabbed 20%, ABC had 18% and CBS took 10%.

From 9-10:39 PM/ET, FNC delivered 9,276,000 viewers and in 1,769,000 A25-54, outpacing every broadcast channel’s simulcast of CNN’s debate in viewers. FBN averaged 397,000 and 84,000 in A25-54 while FOX Network delivered 3,677,000 viewers and 1,489,000 in the 25-54 demo and FNM’s streaming platforms drew an audience of nearly 100,000. FNC was also the most-watched network in all of television in viewers during the 10 PM/ET hour of the debate with 9,116,000 viewers and 1,780,000 in A25-54.

For the duration of the network’s special coverage from 7PM-1 AM/ET, FNC drew the largest audience in cable news with 5,739,000 viewers and 1,045,000 in A25-54. Kicking off special debate coverage at 7PM/ET, an early edition of Jesse Watters Primetime swept the competition with 2,810,000 viewers and 324,000 in A25-54. At 8 PM/ET, FNC delivered 4,549,000 viewers and 716,000 in A25-54, topping the competition across the board. From 10:39-11PM/ET, FNC’s post-debate coverage topped cable news with 8,714,000 viewers and 1,731,000 in A25-54. Hannity’s post-debate coverage averaged 5,820,000 in viewers and 1,111,000 in A25-54, notching the number one-rated slot in cable news for the hour. From 12-1 AM/ET, FOX News @ Night anchored by Trace Gallagher drew 2,899,000 and 594,000 in A25-54, outpacing CNN and MSNBC. FNC finished marathon debate coverage as the highest-rated cable channel in primetime (7,635,000 P2+, 1,413,000 A25-54) and total day (2,499,000 P2+; 394,000 A25-54) in viewers.

FOX News Media’s digital properties, according to Adobe Analytics, YouTube Analytics and Meta, experienced a strong day of engagement across key performance indicators. FOX News Digital had 2.2 million livestream views between 9-11 PM/ET. During the debate, the network’s digital platforms, which includes FOX Nation, saw an average minute audience of 71,000. Additionally, FOX News Go’s unique viewing devices were up 237% compared to the average weekday this year and its media initiates were up 207% vs. the average weekday in 2024.

On social media, FOX News Media properties remained number one in total social engagement among the news competitive set. The platforms garnered 669,000 social interactions across Facebook, X and Instagram, according to Emplifi.

DATA FROM NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH

9-10:39 PM/ET
FNC: 9,276,000 P2+, 1,769,000 A25-54
FBN: 397,000 P2+, 84,000 A25-54
FOX: 3,677,000 P2+, 1,489,000 A25-54
CNN: 9,530,000 P2+, 3,379,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 4,122,000 P2+, 615,000 A25-54
ABC: 9,210,000 P2+, 2,431,000 A25-54
NBC: 5,390,000 P2+, 1,521,000 A25-54
CBS: 5,011,000 P2+, 1,388,000 A25-54

10:39-11 PM/ET
FNC: 8,714,000 P2+; 1,731,000 A25-54
CNN: 7,738,000 P2+; 2,597,000 A25-54
ABC: 7,238,000 P2+; 2,062,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 4,721,000 P2+; 693,000 A25-54
NBC: 3,733,000 P2+; 923,000 A25-54
CBS: 3,652,000 P2+; 923,000 A25-54

10-11 PM/ET
FNC: 9,116,000 P2+; 1,780,000 A25-54
CNN: 8,782,000 P2+; 3,099,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 4,256,000 P2+; 610,000 A25-54

7-11 PM/ET
FNC: 6,429,000 P2+; 1,141,000 A25-54
FBN: 246,000 P2+; 47,000 A25-54
CNN: 5,504,000 P2+; 1,861,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 3,127,000 P2+; 424,000 A25-54

8-11 PM/ET
FNC: 7,635,000 P2+ and 1,413,000 A25-54
CNN: 6,984,000 P2+ and 2,399,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 3,612,000 P2+ and 511,000 A25-54

3-3 AM/ET
FNC: 2,499,000 P2+ and 394,000 A25-54
CNN: 1,507,000 P2+ and 458,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 1,328,000 P2+ and 169,000 A25-54

FOX News Media operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Digital, FOX News Audio, FOX News Books, the direct-to-consumer streaming services FOX Nation and FOX News International and the free ad-supported television service FOX Weather. Currently the number one network in all of cable, FNC has also been the most watched television news channel for more than 22 consecutive years, while FBN is the top business channel on cable. Owned by Fox Corporation, FOX News Media reaches nearly 200 million people each month.