Below are July 2023 Nielsen ratings for Fox News, MSNBC and CNN, followed by a duo of full basic cable network rankers.
Fox News Channel:
After the late-April exit of Tucker Carlson, Fox News’ lead over MSNBC in the Nielsen primetime ratings race dipped to its tightest margin in two years. However, the gap has widened once again over the past couple weeks upon the installation of a reshuffled weekday primetime lineup, with Fox locking in Jesse Watters as Carlson’s permanent 8 p.m. replacement, Laura Ingraham taking over 7 p.m. from Watters, and Greg Gutfeld‘s late night talk show moving up an hour to 10 p.m., effective July 17.
According to Nielsen live plus same day data for July 2023, Fox News Channel averaged 1.57 million total primetime viewers, No. 1 on all of basic cable, and 148,000 adults 25-54 in primetime, No. 12 on all of basic cable. The 1.57 million total primetime viewer average is +5% from what Fox News averaged in June 2023, with the gain driven by the reshuffled weekday primetime lineup. The network’s 148,000 A25-54 average in primetime is even with what the network pulled in June.
Fox News also averaged 1.07 million total day viewers (No. 1 on all of basic cable) and 122,000 adults 25-54 in total day (No. 2 on all of basic cable). The 1.07 million is -1% from June, while the 122,000 A25-54 is -5% from June.
The year-over-year ratings trend for Fox News remains quite poor. FNC shed -21% in total day viewers—and -37% in total day demo—along with a -26% in total primetime viewers and lost a whopping -49% from the primetime demo relative to July 2022.
Despite those losses, Fox News can claim 29 consecutive months as the top-rated cable news network in total viewers and among Adults 25-54.
MSNBC
After a strong June driven in part by live coverage of breaking news events like the indictment and subsequent arraignment of ex-President Donald Trump, MSNBC saw its audience levels dip in July 2023.
According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, NBCU’s politics-focused cabler averaged 1.12 million total viewers in primetime, No. 2 overall behind Fox News (flat) and -15% from June. The network also averaged 108,000 A25-54 in primetime (No. 23 on basic cable), which is 25% from June and the steepest month to month decline of cable news “big three.”
In addition to primetime viewing, MSNBC averaged 723,000 total day viewers, No. 2 on basic cable (flat) and -13% from June. The network also averaged 75,000 A25-54 viewers in total day, -23% from June and No. 19 on basic cable (down eight spots).
Unlike recent months, MSNBC’s saw year-over-year viewer losses this past month. The network dropped -13% in total primetime viewers, -19% in the primetime demo, -5% in total day viewers and -11% in the total day demo.
MSNBC beat CNN in the primetime demo for the fifth consecutive month and in total primetime viewers for the 30th consecutive month.
CNN
After a strong June driven in part by live coverage of events such as the indictment and arraignment of ex-President Trump, in-depth coverage of the Titanic submersible story and the short-lived Wagner rebellion in Russia, CNN, like MSNBC, lost viewers in July 2023.
According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data for July, CNN averaged 534,000 total primetime viewers, No. 12 on basic cable (down four spots from June), and 426,000 total day viewers, No. 4 on basic cable (flat from June). The network also averaged 104,000 adults 25-54 in primetime, No. 25 on basic cable (down five spots from June), and 79,000 adults 25-54 in total day, tied for No. 15 on basic cable with A&E and TLC (down seven spots from June).
Relative to June, CNN shed -16% in total primetime viewers—and -19% among adults 25-54, -14% in total day viewers—and -21% among adults 25-54 in total day. Relative to the year-ago month (July 2022), the network is -27% in total primetime viewers, -35% in the primetime demo—and -21% in total day viewers, -28% in the total day demo.
CNN finished ahead of MSNBC in the total day demo for the second consecutive month.
July 2023 cable news network ratings (Nielsen live plus same day data)
| PRIMETIME | Fox News | MSNBC | CNN | Newsmax | NewsNation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 1,571,000 | 1,124,000 | 534,000 | 256,000 | 92,000 |
| • A25-54: | 148,000 | 108,000 | 104,000 | 26,000 | 18,000 |
| TOTAL DAY | Fox News | MSNBC | CNN | Newsmax | NewsNation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 1,071,000 | 723,000 | 426,000 | 165,000 | 56,000 |
| • A25-54: | 122,000 | 75,000 | 79,000 | 15,000 | 11,000 |
Here are the full ad-supported basic cable network rankers for July 2023: