MS NOW Edges CNN in Demo as Fox News Dominates Wednesday Ratings

Fox News drew 1.224 million total viewers in total day on Wednesday, October 28, nearly triple the combined audience of CNN and MS NOW, according to Nielsen Media Research figures based on its Big Data + Panel methodology (a hybrid measurement combining set-top-box data with a traditional viewer panel).

The Adults 25-54 demographic (the advertiser-coveted age group that drives ad pricing for news programming) told a more competitive story. MS NOW finished second in total day demo viewers with 74,000, ahead of CNN's 67,000. Fox News led with 117,000.

What did the full-day numbers show?

Across total day measurement, the ranking was stable:

• Fox News: 1.224 million total viewers; 117,000 in the demo
• MS NOW: 729,000 total viewers; 74,000 in the demo
• CNN: 450,000 total viewers; 67,000 in the demo

Fox News's total-day lead over second-place MS NOW was roughly 495,000 total viewers. In the demo, the gap between MS NOW and CNN was 7,000 viewers — narrow enough that a single strong hour could reverse it on another night.

How did prime time shift the picture?

Prime time widened every network's audience, but it did not change the order in total viewers:

• Fox News: 1.852 million total viewers; 213,000 in the demo
• MS NOW: 1.415 million total viewers; 155,000 in the demo
• CNN: 618,000 total viewers; 104,000 in the demo

Fox News grew its demo audience by 82% from total day to prime (117,000 to 213,000). MS NOW grew by 110% (74,000 to 155,000), and CNN by 55% (67,000 to 104,000). MS NOW's prime-time demo number of 155,000 landed closer to Fox News's 213,000 than to CNN's 104,000 — a 58,000-viewer gap to the leader versus 51,000 ahead of CNN.

Where did CNN push back?

CNN scored one clear win in the hour-by-hour detail. The network's 5 p.m. ET program, The Lead with Jake Tapper, took second place in the demo for that hour, beating whatever MS NOW aired opposite it. The published highlights do not break out the exact demo figure for that hour, so the margin remains unknown.

That single-hour result cuts against the day-level narrative of MS NOW's demo superiority, and it suggests CNN's competitive position is strongest in early-evening news programming rather than across the full schedule.

For media buyers, the day's data points to a demo race worth watching: Fox News holds a wide margin in both metrics, while the second-place position in the Adults 25-54 demographic is now genuinely contested between MS NOW and CNN — at least until the next night's numbers.