Lachlan Murdoch says 'viewer fatigue' is cutting into Fox News ratings

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Set us as preferred As President Trump tries to convince voters to maintain the Republican majority in the House and Senate ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, some Fox News viewers are taking a break.That’s what Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman and chief executive of Fox Corporation, believes is behind the steep October ratings drop for the conservative-leaning cable news channel.Fox News, which often draws more viewers in prime time than some broadcast networks, saw its October audience levels drop 28% compared to a year ago, according to Nielsen.

Its total day audience among viewers ages 25 to 54 fell to 98,000, the lowest monthly level in 25 years.“The business is in incredibly good shape and we’re very proud of the team,” Murdoch told analysts Monday on the company’s quarterly earnings call.“What we are seeing, though, is some viewer fatigue where our viewers have gone through some incredible news cycles the last few years.”Murdoch noted that Fox News suffers in a year-to-year comparison with a 2025 news cycle that included President Trump’s inauguration, and the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, which spiked the network’s ratings last fall.Murdoch also said Fox News viewers are not switching to MS NOW or CNN and are instead watching slightly less television.

But both of those networks gained viewers in October, which suggests the fatigue is not being felt across all of cable news.Even with the ratings decline, Fox News says it is on pace for its highest-rated midterm year in total day viewers.The network’s total day average was 1.1 million viewers in October, down from 1.5 million a year earlier.Politically minded viewers tuning out when their side is struggling has happened at the other end of the political spectrum.

Progressive-leaning MS NOW, formerly known as MSNBC, saw its rati...