Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch attributed declining audiences at Fox News Channel to viewer fatigue on Monday, November 2, telling investors that the network’s viewers were reducing their television consumption. The decline extended through the third quarter and into October, even as Fox News continued to lead its cable news competitors in the ratings.
Speaking on an analyst call after the company released its latest earnings, Murdoch said he did not believe the missing viewers were switching to rival news outlets. He described the audience as tired and watching somewhat less television. Fox News Media executives have encountered similar conditions before, he added, and have an established approach to managing them.
Preliminary Nielsen figures indicated that October was on course to be Fox News Channel’s weakest month for total-day viewership since December 2023. The network averaged 1.1 million total viewers for the month, a decline of 27%. Among adults ages 25 to 54, a group particularly important to advertisers, its audience averaged 98,000, down 32%.
Those figures followed substantial losses during the third quarter of 2026, when Fox News recorded a 16% decline in total-day audiences and a 24% decrease among viewers ages 25 to 54. Television viewing overall has continued to shrink, but Fox News has posted double-digit audience declines while CNN and MS NOW have registered slight gains in recent months.
Despite that erosion, Fox News remains a powerful television draw. On many nights, its live audience exceeds that of at least one broadcast network. During Monday’s call, Murdoch suggested that difficult news over the past year, including the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, had contributed to viewers becoming weary of news coverage.
The downturn has drawn competitors’ attention as the midterm elections approach. Polls have suggested an outcome favorable to Democrats rather than Republicans, who form Fox News’ strongest audience. Election periods are generally important to cable news businesses because they attract more viewers than usual, giving networks an opportunity to turn occasional election audiences into regular viewers.
Other television news organizations have experienced comparable audience declines. MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, has faced downturns during political periods unfavorable to its progressive and liberal viewers. Murdoch’s comments placed Fox News’ current challenges in the context of a pattern its executives have managed previously.
The audience losses have not appeared to undermine Fox Corp.’s broader financial results. The company reported Monday that recent World Cup broadcasts and political advertising helped lift both revenue and profit in its first fiscal quarter.
