Lachlan Murdoch blames Fox News ratings dip on "viewer fatigue"

Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch told investors that Fox News' recent ratings decline reflects viewer fatigue after an intense 2025 news cycle, saying the audience has not switched to rival channels and that Fox has "seen this playbook" before.

Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch addressed Fox News' recent ratings declines on the company's quarterly earnings call on Monday, acknowledging a "difficult" comparison with last year as rivals CNN and MS NOW gained during the midterm election cycle, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

"What we are seeing is some viewer fatigue, where our viewers have gone through an incredible news cycle last year with the inauguration, the Charlie Kirk tragedy, DOGE, flooding," Murdoch said, comparing the situation to the 2006 midterms during President George W. Bush's second term.

The News Corp. and Fox News building at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York (file photo)

"Those viewers are not switching to another news channel, they are just fatigued and watching slightly less television overall. We have seen this playbook, and we know how to move through it," he said.

Fox News still draws more viewers than CNN and MS NOW combined and is even ahead of ESPN despite the return of college football and the NFL, according to the report. Murdoch said the midterms brought Fox about $50 million in advertising revenue at its national networks, $250 million at its local stations and $50 million at its streaming service Tubi.