The Hidden Gems: Why Fox News Is A Key 18-49 Ad Buy

TV’s continued audience shrinkage does not mean it is a useless buy (the Upfronts confirm this) but does mean a more nuanced approach is needed to reach key demos across TV and streaming. Perhaps nothing makes that clearer than the fact that cumulative primetime viewership of the top 50 TV networks has plummetted by over 75% since 2014.

Yet an ever-fracturing landscape is still capable of delivering sizeable chunks of 18-49 audiences that can sit alongside streaming media buys and Roblox activations. The Big 4 broadcast networks and ESPN are the obvious buys here, accounting for 49% of 18-49 audiences across the top 50.

The Spanish-language broadcast duo of Telemundo and Univision also offer strong 18-49 reach, but as I calculated in a 2024 report on the potential of Spanish-speaking FAST, Spanish-only/Spanish-dominant speakers in the US represent 22% of total US Hispanic GDP, with this dovetailing neatly with analysis from the Latino Mosaic that just 15% of US Hispanic Gen-Zs, 22% of Millennials, and 19% of Gen X were most comfortable speaking Spanish. In other words, In other words, the affluent, younger Hispanic consumer is likely being reached more effectively via English-language media, limiting the premium efficiency of a pure Spanish-language linear buy.

Strip out the Big 4 from the data, so we can zoom in, and interesting stories emerge. Comedy/pop culture remains a core draw for younger audiences happening to be on cable: these networks may have small total audiences (120k-190k) but massive demo power (40%-53%). Thus Adult Swim, FXX, Comedy Central and, believe it or not, MTV—which is undergoing an internal transformation as a core part of new Paramount—remain key tools in the marketer’s toolkit.

Then we have scale plays, that can deliver volume and demo. The two that stand out to me here are Bravo (hardly a surprise as NBCU didn’t throw them out with the other cable networks to Versant), which saw 374k total audience and a 32% share of 18-49s - over 100k a night - and Nick at Nite. That one may catch you by surprise but consider it pulls in a solid 81k 18-49s with reruns, or 36% of its total 224k audience.

Someone not on this list despite ranking 7th on the list for 18-49s is TNT (287k 18-49s last year). The loss of the NBA will really hurt them with this demo, although having AEW content on the network (typically one of the top-rated shows 18-49 when it airs) will provide some cover.

The key story here is the power of Fox News. Due to its audience being dominated by the 50+ market, the fact that it is the number 3 network on cable among 18-49s is absent from conversation. It pulls in double CNN’s 18-49 share and nearly quadruple that of MS Now. It has the 18-49 scale of Bravo and FX combined. If you are blocking news for brand safety, you’re missing out on a considerable chunk of the active young cable demo.

I’d also like to spend a little time looking into how TV remains a solid way to reach Black audiences. The core thing here is the who has changed. Ten years ago, BET could reliably call upon close to 300k 18-49 primetime viewers. This has fallen to 50k in 2025, with Bounce TV now the number one linear destination for Black audiences.

Table: The Battle for Black Audiences (Brand vs. Scale)

(Not charting in the top 50 18-49s: WE tv, OWN, VH1, LMN, TV One. LMN is an interesting case, as its model has been superseded by Tubi, which shows young audiences still want made-for-TV movies within the culture. My solution would be to do a deal with an SVOD for a Pay-1 Window 30 days post-premiere to publicize and reach the audience, not sticking them on the FAST channel Crime ThrillHer.)

TV remains a solid way to reach younger audiences. It is greatly hollowed out, but should sit there alongside buys on Tubi, Netflix, Disney+/Hulu, Peacock, Prime Video and Paramount+.