Fox News tops election-eve cable; Maddow leads primetime

By Tom Whitfield

MS NOW reached 1.527 million prime-time viewers and 178,000 adults ages 25-54 on Monday, November 2, 2026, while Nielsen Media Research named The Rachel Maddow Show the most-watched program in both measured categories during primetime.

Fox News’ The Five ranked No. 1 in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo on the evening before the midterm elections, Nielsen said. Nielsen’s results split the night between Fox’s earlier-evening leader and MS NOW’s primetime winner.

How did the networks perform across the full day?

Nielsen’s combined Big Data and Panel figures measured total viewers, ages 2 and older, and Adults 25-54. All times were Eastern Time. The full-day totals were:

• Fox News: 1.312 million total viewers and 134,000 adults ages 25-54.
• CNN: 514,000 total viewers and 84,000 adults ages 25-54.
• MS NOW: 861,000 total viewers and 101,000 adults ages 25-54.

From those Nielsen totals, Fox News led MS NOW by 451,000 total viewers and 33,000 demo adults. It led CNN by 798,000 viewers and 50,000 demo adults. MS NOW ranked second among the three in both groups, ahead of CNN by 347,000 viewers and 17,000 demo adults.

Fox News held the largest full-day audience among the three networks shown.

What changed in primetime?

Nielsen’s primetime totals were:

• Fox News: 1.953 million total viewers and 195,000 adults ages 25-54.
• CNN: 718,000 total viewers and 133,000 adults ages 25-54.
• MS NOW: 1.527 million total viewers and 178,000 adults ages 25-54.

Compared with total day, Fox News’ prime audience rose 48.9%, CNN’s rose 39.7%, and MS NOW’s rose 77.4%, based on Nielsen’s figures. In Adults 25-54, the respective increases were 45.5%, 58.3%, and 76.2%. MS NOW added 666,000 prime viewers against its full-day audience, compared with 641,000 at Fox News and 204,000 at CNN.

Fox News led MS NOW by 426,000 prime viewers and 17,000 demo adults. MS NOW led CNN by 809,000 viewers and 45,000 demo adults, while Fox News’ advantage over CNN reached 1.235 million viewers and 62,000 demo adults.

MS NOW made the largest proportional move into prime, though Fox News remained first in absolute audience.

Which programs led the night?

Nielsen identified The Five as the No. 1 program in total viewers and Adults 25-54 on the evening before the midterms. It separately identified The Rachel Maddow Show as the most-watched program in both measured demographics during primetime. The accompanying table reports network totals rather than separate program audiences, so the two program rankings should not be treated as a direct network-to-network comparison.

Fox News’ 1.953 million prime audience remained the largest network total in Nielsen’s table. The Rachel Maddow Show ranking establishes MS NOW’s program-level strength, even though Fox News held more prime viewers and demo adults across the network totals.

The Five won the earlier-evening audience, while Maddow won the measured primetime program contest.

What do these ratings mean for buyers?

For media buyers, Nielsen’s figures show two clear strengths on election eve. Fox News had the largest full-day and prime reach among the three networks. MS NOW paired the top-ranked primetime program with the strongest proportional increase into prime.

MS NOW’s 1.527 million prime viewers were 2.13 times CNN’s 718,000, according to Nielsen. Its 178,000 demo adults exceeded CNN’s 133,000 by 45,000 and trailed Fox News’ 195,000 by 17,000. For planners weighing broad network reach against the sharper rise of a leading primetime network, those gaps define the audience trade-off more clearly than the No. 1 rankings alone.

For media planning beyond the election, subsequent Nielsen ratings will show whether Fox News retained its reach advantage or MS NOW sustained its sharper rise into prime.