Fox News

FOX News Channel Tops All Broadcast and Cable Networks During Presidential Address; Dominates Cable News During Democratic Response  

FOX News Held 67% of the Cable News Audience with Viewers

FOX News Social Media Platforms Generate 85.5 Million Views Delivering Best State of the Union Audience in History

NEW YORK – February 26, 2026 — FOX News Media’s coverage of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 24th was the highest-rated in television with an audience of 11.5 million viewers and 1.9 million in A25-54 demo across FOX News Channel, FOX Network and FOX Business Network according to final big data + panel from Nielsen Media Research. Co-anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, FNC’s programming surrounding the address that began at 9 PM/ET delivered 8.9 million viewers and 1.3 million in the 25-54 demo, topping broadcast networks ABC, NBC and CBS in viewers head-to-head and all cable networks across the board. The network also drew the largest audience during the democratic response, averaging 4.7 million viewers and 715,000 in A25-54.

Throughout the address, FNC held 67% of the cable news audience share in viewers and 57% in the A25-54 demo as MS Now (2.1 million P2+; 294,000 25-54) and CNN (2.3 million P2+; 704,000 A25-54). According to Nielsen MRI Fusion, FNC has the most politically diverse audience in cable news, attracting more Democrats and Independents than any other network in the category.

The special live edition of Hannity, following the democratic response at 11 PM/ET, delivered 3.1 million viewers and 437,000 in A25-54, easily besting the competition. FNC was number one in primetime television from 7-11 PM/ET with 6.3 million viewers and over 878,000 in A25-54. 

FOX News Digital saw 2.6 million livestream views with an average minute audience of 252,000 from 9-11 PM/ET. On YouTube, FOX News commanded 12 million views yesterday, making it first in YouTube Video Views among the news competitive set, according to Emplifi. FOX News made social media history with its most viewed State of the Union day on social media ever, posting 85.5 million social media video views across Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok. FOX News was number one in total social engagement among the news competitive set, with 7 million social interactions on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok, according to Emplifi & Comscore Social. 

Data from Nielsen Media Research 

9:15 – 11 PM/ET

FNC – 8.9 million viewers; 1,311,000 A25-54

ABC – 5.4 million viewers; 1,297,000 A25-54

NBC – 4 million viewers; 1,083,000 A25-54

CBS – 3.3 million viewers; 712,000 A25-54

MS Now – 2.1 million viewers; 293,000 A25-54

CNN – 2.3 million viewers; 704,000 A25-54

FOX – 2.6 million viewers; 642,000 A25-54

FBN – 310,000 viewers; 65,000 A25-54 

Source: Nielsen. Live+SD. 2-24-26 FINAL Big Data + Panel ratings data. Average audience for cable news networks Monday-Sunday based on Total Day and Prime (6a-6a, 8P-11P), P2+, P25-54, P18-49. Cable News/Broadcast Program averages exclude repeats and include the corresponding program name.

FOX News Media operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Digital, FOX News Audio, FOX News Books, the direct-to-consumer streaming services FOX Nation and FOX News International and the free ad-supported television service FOX Weather. Currently the number one network in all of cable, FNC has also been the most watched television news channel for 24 consecutive years, while FBN is the top business channel on cable. Owned by Fox Corporation, FOX News Media reaches nearly 200 million people each month and is also available to live stream on FOX One.

###

FOX News Media Contact:

Sofie Watson: 212.301.3818 or Sofie.Watson@FOX.com