Fox News finished fifth among the major television networks in election-night viewership during the 2026 midterm elections, marking a steep decline from its first-place finish four years ago. Preliminary Nielsen figures show the conservative-leaning network averaged approximately 4.1 million viewers during prime-time coverage on Tuesday, November 3, down roughly 45% from the more than 7.4 million viewers it attracted during the 2022 midterms.

NBC News led the ratings with approximately 6.8 million viewers, followed by ABC News with 5.1 million. MS NOW drew roughly 4.2 million viewers, narrowly ahead of CNN, which also attracted approximately 4.2 million. Fox News followed in fifth place, while CBS News finished sixth with approximately 2.8 million viewers.

The decline came despite an overall increase in election-night television audiences. Approximately 27 million Americans watched prime-time election coverage across the six major networks, an increase of roughly 22% from the 2022 midterms, according to preliminary Nielsen estimates. The figures suggest that while more viewers tuned in to follow this year's election results, Fox News captured a substantially smaller share of the audience.

Fox News had previously dominated election-night coverage, drawing more than 7.4 million viewers during the 2022 midterms. Its latest performance also comes after the network experienced a significant ratings decline in October. Nielsen figures showed its total-day audience fell approximately 27% year over year, while Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch acknowledged what he described as "viewer fatigue" among the network's audience during an earnings call earlier this week.

Murdoch attributed some of the decline to viewers taking a break after several years of intense political news coverage. He also noted that comparisons with the previous year were affected by an unusually strong news cycle in 2025, including President Donald Trump's return to the White House and the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

President Trump also criticized Fox News throughout election night as Republicans suffered losses across the country. In posts on Truth Social, Trump blamed the network's declining ratings on its coverage of Democratic candidates and accused it of giving too much attention to Democrats. He argued that the network's coverage had contributed to Republican losses, even as he maintained that his own political standing remained strong.

The ratings results came during an election in which Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, leaving Republicans facing a difficult political environment heading into the next legislative session. Fox News hosts discussed the economy, rising living costs and the war with Iran as potential factors behind the election results.

The figures remain preliminary and could be adjusted when Nielsen releases its final audience estimates. Comparisons with 2022 also require some caution because Nielsen has changed its measurement methodology, including the incorporation of out-of-home viewing.