For channels like Fox News and MSNBC, the battle for news-hungry viewers has moved beyond the TV screen. The top cable and network news outlets are increasingly fighting for viewers on YouTube, which has established itself as the go-to hub for all-things television in 2025.
Fox News, just as it does versus traditional linear broadcasters, leads the way when it comes to YouTube. As the midway point of 2025 approaches, the network’s YouTube channel so far this year has racked up 2.3 billion views on the Google-owned platform, more than doubling the number of views it had at the same time last year, according to data from Emplifi, a company that tracks social media metrics.
Its 109% jump in YouTube views year-over-year helped Fox News leapfrog over MSNBC — which had led all news channels on YouTube in 2024 — as the top mainstream outlet on the platform so far this year.
While Emplifi did not provide age demographics, the rise in YouTube viewership for all these news outlets is helping to expose their brands to much younger audiences than TV. Median ages for viewers of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC range from 67 to 70 years old, meaning YouTube essentially offers viewers who are at least 30% younger. EMarketer says more than 50% of YouTube viewers are still millennials or Gen Zers.
What has worked for Fox News? For starters, President Trump’s return to the White House in January drove more viewers to watch YouTube clips from shows like “Jesse Watters Primetime” and “Gutfeld!,” just as it helped propel the channel to its best TV ratings quarter ever earlier this year.
Fox News has also benefited from several exclusive interviews with Trump administration officials, including Sean Hannity’s conversation with the president and Elon Musk in February, which has been viewed 7.4 million times; Bret Baier’s interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Feb. 28 — hours after his explosive meeting with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance — was another hit, pulling in 11.8 million views.
MSNBC, on its end, has kept its momentum from 2024 rolling into 2025, with its YouTube views up 27% year-to-date to 1.9 billion. And something that should jump out for anyone who keeps a close eye on cable news ratings: the gap between the rivals is closer on digital than on “regular” TV; Fox News had 21% more YouTube views than MSNBC by June 22, compared to on linear, where its ratings nearly tripled MSNBC’s in May.
“We continue to invest in YouTube with original content, and we’re seeing a community that’s building — allowing us to grow our audience and meet them on the platforms native to them,” Brad Gold, MSNBC’s executive producer of content strategy and development, told TheWrap.
Gold added there is a “real excitement” at MSNBC after it launched a new video podcast from Nicolle Wallace earlier this month, which follows the one Chris Hayes started last year.
CNN did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment and Fox News was unable to make an executive available for comment.
Something else that is evident in the viewership data shared by Emplifi: The much-discussed “Trump Bump” has helped the three major cable news networks on YouTube. But for the broadcast networks, not so much.
CNN, which ranks third with 1.1 billion views year-to-date, has seen its YouTube viewership surge 42% in the past year. CBS News, on the other hand, is the only legacy broadcaster to see its YouTube viewership increase this year, with a modest 9% growth pushing its account to about 300 million views so far this year.
ABC News and NBC News, as the chart shows above, have both taken double-digit percentage hits to their YouTube viewership this year. The two channels are close in terms of total YouTube views this year, with ABC pulling in 604 million and NBC getting 639 million views, per Emplifi.
A person with knowledge of NBC’s YouTube performance did not refute its viewership on the Google-owned platform has taken a hit in 2025, but pointed out it has been the top mainstream news outlet on TikTok, where it had 2.5 billion views during the first quarter of the year. A spokesperson at ABC News pushed back on Emplifi’s tracking, saying its internal metrics show the channel’s YouTube account had surpassed 745 million views year-to-date.
It’s worth noting that posting more clips does not necessarily translate to more views. Here is how many videos, not including YouTube shorts, were uploaded to the following YouTube channels last week on June 18 and 19, as President Trump said he would decide on striking Iran “within the next two weeks”:
Fox News: 60 uploads
MSNBC: 80 uploads
CNN: 42 uploads
ABC News: 60 uploads
NBC News: 58 uploads
CBS News: 109 uploads
Taking a macro look at it: YouTube views are worth examining for a few reasons. First, it provides another avenue to ad revenue, though a minor one. A video that hits 1 million views on YouTube can generate between $2,000 to $6,000 from ads; on the high end, that would result in Fox News making $12 million off of its two billion views so far this year. It is unlikely that will be highlighted on Fox Corp.’s next earnings call.
But more importantly, YouTube clips offer linear news shows and reports a second place to reach viewers — something that can help drive YouTube viewers back to their linear programs.
And the biggest reason to keep an eye on YouTube views is that the line between YouTube and TV is increasingly blurred. YouTube — more than channels owned by Paramount, Fox, NBCUniversal and Disney, as well as Netflix, the biggest streaming service — is the most popular destination for viewers when they watch TV.
The platform, as TheWrap reported at the end of May, dominates TV, accounting for 12.4% of all TV viewership. The next closest competitor, Disney, which has ABC, ESPN and the Disney Channel under its umbrella, trails YouTube by about 16%.
And YouTube’s grip on TV only seems to be growing tighter. A research note from Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris and his media team earlier this month reported that YouTube viewership on TVs has jumped 120% since May 2021; Netflix, by comparison, has seen its viewership on TV increase 27% during that same time.
The days of pointing to news ratings may be giving way to looking at how many YouTube views the outlets are pulling in sooner than later.
