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Economy & Your Money

Fox CEO Murdoch says viewer fatigue is behind Fox News ratings drop

Nielsen figures show Fox News ratings down in October, while the New York Post reports Fox Corporation's quarterly revenue rose 22% to $4.57 billion.

5 news outlets reported this
Liberal1 outletMurdoch's viewer fatigue explanation and wider political contextCenter3 outletsFox's ratings drop and where viewers goConservative1 outletFox's profit surge with the ratings dip explained
Published 4 min read
Overview

Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman and chief executive of Fox Corporation, told analysts on a Monday that "viewer fatigue" is cutting into Fox News ratings. Nielsen figures show a drop in October from a year earlier. Newsweek reports total day viewers down 27%, the New York Post says prime-time viewership fell 28%, and the Los Angeles Times reports audience levels down 28%.

Among viewers 25 to 54, the total day audience hit a 25-year monthly low of 98,000. Murdoch said viewers are not moving to other news channels and are watching slightly less television. He pointed to the heavy news of 2025, including Trump's inauguration and the murder of Charlie Kirk, described as a right-wing activist.

CNN and MS NOW both gained viewers in October. Fox News says it is on course to be its highest-rated year, and it remains the most-watched cable news network. The New York Post reports quarterly revenue rose to $4.57 billion, helped by World Cup and political advertising, and quotes Murdoch: "We've seen this playbook and know how to move through it."

The Journal reports Murdoch said the decline does not point to a deeper problem at the network.

Key figures
  • 28% drop in Fox News's October audience from a year earlier, per Nielsen — Los Angeles Times
  • 98,000 Fox News's total day audience among viewers ages 25 to 54, lowest monthly level in 25 years — Los Angeles Times
  • 1.1 million Fox News's total day average in October, down from 1.5 million a year earlier — Los Angeles Times
  • $4.57 billion Fox quarterly revenue, up 22%, according to the New York Post — New York Post
  • $350 million political advertising spending across Fox in the midterm cycle, the company said — New York Post

Three sides of the story

Liberal1 outlet

Murdoch's viewer fatigue explanation and wider political context

The Los Angeles Times headline puts Murdoch's explanation first: "viewer fatigue" is cutting into Fox News ratings. The report opens on Tuesday's midterms, noting that some Fox News viewers "are taking a break." It quotes Murdoch telling analysts that viewers "have gone through some incredible news cycles the last few years."

CNN and MS NOW gained viewers in October, which the paper says points to fatigue that does not reach all of cable news. It places the dip beside earlier ones, in 2006, after the 2020 election and after Tucker Carlson's ousting in April 2023, and notes that MS NOW's ratings fell sharply after Trump's 2024 win. It recalls the $787 million Dominion settlement, which followed Fox airing what the paper calls Trump's false claims of fraud.

It adds that Trump has complained Fox gives too little coverage to his rallies. The Seattle Times ran the same text.

Center3 outlets

Fox's ratings drop and where viewers go

The Seattle Times carries the Tribune wire text also run by the Los Angeles Times, with Murdoch's "viewer fatigue" remark and the 28% October drop per Nielsen. Newsweek's headline asks where Fox viewers are going instead. It cites Nielsen figures showing a 27 percent drop in Fox's total day viewers in October, and a 32 percent fall to an average of 98,000 in the 25-to-54 age group.

It quotes Murdoch saying viewers are "just fatigued and watching slightly less television overall." Newsweek adds that Fox still dominates cable news, taking 99 of the 100 highest-rated cable news telecasts of the month. It cites a Media Matters analysis of YouTube subscriber growth for right-leaning shows such as The Tucker Carlson Show, and quotes Trump's Truth Social post: ", and REAL Patriots will never like Fox!"

The Wall Street Journal's news report is titled "Fox Profit Increases as World Cup, Election Boost Ad Sales" and says Murdoch described the ratings decline as no sign of a deeper problem at the network.

Conservative1 outlet

Fox's profit surge with the ratings dip explained

The New York Post puts the money first. Fox's quarterly revenue rose 22% to $4.57 billion and advertising sales climbed 47%, with the streaming platform Tubi also contributing. Fox said on an analyst call that it took in $350 million in political advertising during the midterm cycle.

First-quarter income was $957 million, or $2.20 a share, against $609 million a year before, and Wall Street had expected earnings of $2.02 a share. The ratings come further down. Murdoch told investors that October's dip came from "viewer fatigue" and from unusually strong ratings a year earlier.

The Post reports he said this did not point to wider problems with viewership, and quotes him: "We've seen this playbook and know how to move through it." It says prime-time viewership fell 28% in October per Nielsen, and Fox still tops cable news, ahead of MS Now and CNN. It notes that Fox Corp and the Post's parent News Corp share common ownership.

All sources: 5 articles from 5 outlets

Liberal (1)

Center (3)

Conservative (1)

Quarterly earnings

Public companies report their profits every three months. “Beat estimates” means profit came in above analysts' forecasts, “adjusted” leaves out one-off items, and “per share” is the profit divided by the number of shares.

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Midterm elections

US elections halfway through a president's four-year term. The whole House, a third of the Senate and many governors are elected. In 2026 Election Day is November 3.

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Wall Street

A street in New York where the stock exchange stands. In the news it means US financial markets and the big banks and investment firms as a whole.

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MAGA

“Make America Great Again”: Donald Trump's slogan since his first presidential campaign, now also the name of his political movement and its supporters.

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