Fox News Channel closed out June by beating two broadcast networks in weekday primetime viewers while also easily outpacing its cable news rivals. According to Nielsen data released this week, Fox News drew 2,628,000 weekday primetime viewers in June, compared with 2,419,000 for NBC and 2,049,000 for CBS. Fox News also led all of cable news for the second quarter of 2026, averaging 2.5 million primetime viewers and commanding nearly 60% of the cable news audience in both total day and primetime, ahead of CNN and MS NOW combined. Beating Broadcast TV Even though cable TV channels are available in far fewer homes than the broadcast giants, Fox News outdrew two networks that have dominated American television for decades. CBS posted its worst second quarter of the 21st century in primetime, drawing under 3.3 million viewers. “CBS Mornings” averaged 1.7 million viewers, the lowest in the program’s history. “CBS Evening News,” now anchored by Tony Dokoupil, drew 3.9 million viewers, its second-lowest second-quarter total this century. In June, both CBS and NBC recorded their lowest weekday primetime totals of the century in the 25-54 age demographic, with 261,000 and 396,000 viewers, respectively. Meanwhile, Fox News’ lineup kept humming. ‘The Five’ Finishes First “The Five” extended its run as the most-watched cable news program for the 19th straight quarter, drawing 3.6 million viewers. That’s more than CBS’ “NCIS: Origins,” CBS’ “CIA,” and ABC’s “Inside the NBA.” “Special Report with Bret Baier” beat the “CBS Evening News” outright in 18 major markets, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. “FOX & Friends” beat “CBS Mornings” in 23 markets. And then there’s late night, where Greg Gutfeld’s show beat every broadcast late-night program, including Stephen Colbert (whose “Late Show” ended in May), Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon. “Gutfeld!” averaged 2.8 million viewers in the 10 p.m. hour, more than any of the others. Cable TV Competition For the quarter overall, Fox News commanded nearly 60% of the cable news audience in both total day and primetime, easily beating CNN and MS NOW. According to the Nielsen data, Fox News averaged 1,575,000 total day viewers for the quarter, more than double CNN’s 500,000 and MS NOW’s 655,000. In primetime, Fox News drew 2,493,000 viewers, compared with 716,000 for CNN and 1,063,000 for MS NOW. Fox News also led both networks in the 25-54 demographic across total day and primetime for both the quarter and the month. Top-Performing Shows Fox News placed 13 of the top 15 shows in cable news by total viewers for the second quarter, according to Nielsen. “The Five” (5 p.m.): 3,575,000 viewers “Jesse Watters Primetime” (8 p.m.): 3,232,000 viewers “Gutfeld!” (11 p.m.): 2,837,000 viewers “Hannity” (9 p.m.): 2,799,000 viewers “Special Report with Bret Baier” (6 p.m.): 2,723,000 viewers Outside primetime, “The Ingraham Angle” averaged 2.6 million viewers at 7 p.m. for the quarter, and “Fox News @ Night” with Trace Gallagher averaged 1.5 million viewers at 11 p.m. During the day, “America’s Newsroom,” “The Faulkner Focus,” “Outnumbered,” “America Reports,” and “The Story with Martha MacCallum” each led their respective time slots. On weekends, “My View with Lara Trump” ranked as the most-watched primetime program on Saturdays with 1.4 million viewers, while “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo led all weekend programming with 1.9 million viewers.