# TV Ratings: Why Fox News Suffered Its Largest Pre-Election Month Drop in the Past Decade

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/tv-ratings-why-fox-news-suffered-its-largest-pre-election-month-drop-in-the-past-decade/
- Published: 2026-10-28T22:03:03+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-28T23:04:58+00:00
- Original publisher: The Hollywood Reporter
- Original article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/fox-news-october-ratings-fall-analysis-1236741894/
- Topics: Elections, Entertainment, Politics, TV

## Key points

- Fox News kept its cable news lead despite a record pre-election audience drop.
- Primetime viewers fell 28 per cent year on year.
- CNN and MS NOW gained viewers in key demographics.

## Summary

Fox News remained the most-watched US cable news network in October 2026, but its audience fell more sharply than in any pre-election month over the past decade. The decline came as rivals MS NOW and CNN gained viewers year on year, making the figures a notable shift in an election cycle that appeared to favour Democrats.

Fox averaged 1.68 million primetime viewers and 1.01 million across the full day, still ahead of MS NOW and CNN; its programme The Five led cable news with 2.7 million daily viewers. Compared with October 2025, Fox’s primetime audience fell 28 per cent and its full-day audience 27 per cent, while its 25-54 audience dropped by more than 30 per cent. Analysts have pointed to President Trump’s low approval ratings and the political climate as possible factors, though ratings data cannot establish why viewers tuned in or away.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.