Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch attributed Fox News’ recent ratings decline to what he described as “viewer fatigue” during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Monday.
Murdoch acknowledged that the network faces a difficult comparison with the previous year, while CNN and MS NOW have posted significant gains during the midterm election cycle. He said Fox News viewers had gone through an exceptionally intense news period last year, citing the inauguration, the Charlie Kirk tragedy, DOGE and flooding among the events that drove coverage.
According to Murdoch, those viewers are not necessarily switching to other news channels. Instead, they are watching slightly less television overall. He compared the situation with the 2006 midterms and said Fox had experienced a similar pattern before.
Fox News continues to outperform CNN and MS NOW combined. Murdoch also suggested that the ratings gap makes comparisons with those networks less useful, saying Fox prefers to measure its performance against the four major broadcast networks.
Despite that advantage, the decline remains a challenge for Fox and Fox News. Murdoch said the company would need to reverse the trend while navigating the coming months, although he noted that the 2028 election cycle will begin bringing a new group of candidates and renewed political attention.
Murdoch also said Fox’s national networks had generated approximately $50 million in advertising revenue connected to the midterms. Fox’s local stations accounted for another $250 million, while Tubi contributed $50 million. The competitive political environment has therefore benefited Fox overall, even as Fox News’ ratings have fallen.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter.