In prime time and total day ratings for the week of April 15 to 21 , 2013 , Fox News , propelled by its coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing , was the highest-ranked network on U.S. cable television , for the first time since August 2005 , when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the United States . January 2014 marked Fox News 's 145th consecutive month as the number one rated cable news channel . During that month , Fox News beat CNN and MSNBC combined in overall viewers in both prime time hours and the total day . In the third quarter of 2014 , the network was the most-watched cable channel during prime time hours . During the final week of the campaign for the United States elections , 2014 , Fox News had the highest ratings of any cable channel , news or otherwise . On election night itself , Fox News ' coverage had higher ratings than that of any of the other five cable or network news sources among viewers between 25 and 54 years of age . The network hosted the first prime-time GOP candidates ' forum of the 2016 campaign on August 6 . The debate reached a record-breaking 24 million viewers , by far the largest audience ever for any cable news event
Boston Marathon bombing
Boston Marathon bombing
Fox News