Fox News Channel finished behind several rival networks in prime-time viewership on a midterm election night that was a major disappointment for Republicans, who lost control of the US House and Senate to Democrats, according to The Guardian.
Preliminary "Fast Nationals" ratings from the Nielsen firm showed the network averaged 3.882 million total viewers between 8 and 11pm. That put it behind NBC, with 6.519 million, and ABC, with 4.906 million, and also behind the cable networks CNN at 3.927 million and MS Now at 3.922 million. Fox News did beat CBS News, which drew just 2.629 million viewers.
The figures are preliminary and are likely to be revised upward when final audience data is released on Thursday. Across the big six television networks, prime-time election coverage averaged 25.784 million total viewers, up from 22.215 million in 2022. Fox News averaged 7.422 million viewers during the 2022 elections.
The network has seen viewers tune out in recent months. Its viewership last month was down 27% in total day viewers compared with the same month a year earlier, though it still beat CNN and MS Now. Lachlan Murdoch, chief executive of parent company Fox Corp, acknowledged "viewer fatigue" on an earnings call on Monday. Trump, who criticized Fox throughout election night and blamed the network for his party's losses, poked fun at the October figures in a Truth Social post.