Murdoch Blames Midterm Fatigue for Fox News Ratings Plunge

Lachlan Murdoch told investors that Fox News is suffering from viewer fatigue as the midterm election approaches, a claim that stands in sharp contrast to the performance of rival cable channels. While most news brands are seeing ratings increases due to the contentious election cycle, Fox News is experiencing a steep decline.

During the company's quarterly earnings call on Monday, the Fox Corp CEO argued that the network is in incredibly good shape despite the recent drop. He pointed to massive news events from 2025, including President Donald Trump’s inauguration and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, as creating a difficult comparison for this year's viewership.

Murdoch stated that the current cycle is somewhat analogous to the 2006 midterms under President George W. Bush. He said Fox fans are not switching to CNN or MS NOW but are simply watching slightly less television overall because they are tired of the news cycle.

However, recent data challenges the notion that the drop is solely due to a difficult comparison. In October, which was not an exceptionally busy news month, Fox News viewership fell 27 percent year over year. During that same period, CNN viewership rose 3 percent and MS NOW viewership increased 17 percent.

The gap was even wider among younger audiences. Fox recorded its lowest audience level in the 25 to 54 demographic since August 2001. This contraction occurred while MS NOW saw pronounced growth in that same age group.

Murdoch told analysts that the network has seen this playbook before and knows how to move through it. He referenced the 2020 election, when Fox ratings dropped after Trump allies criticized the network for accurately reporting his loss to Joe Biden. Emails from that era described the situation as a brand crisis that executives planned to handle with an all American cookout of hot dogs and hamburgers.

That previous slump ended as the Fox base tuned back in and Trump reestablished his control over the Republican Party. The current period may be more complicated because the post midterm era marks the effective start of the 2028 presidential primary, which will not feature Trump as a candidate.