Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier’s exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proved to be a major television event, 

dominating Friday evening’s ratings and outperforming two major broadcast networks’ nightly news programs.

According to Nielsen Media Research, Baier’s program, Special Report, 

drew an impressive 6.2 million viewers during the first half-hour when his interview with Zelensky aired. Among the key 25-54 demographic, the segment attracted 775,000 viewers. 

The highest peak in viewership came between 6:00 and 6:15 p.m. ET, with an audience of 6.4 million and 855,000 in the key advertising demographic.

The heightened interest in the interview stemmed from its timing, as it aired just hours after a contentious exchange between Zelensky and U.S. 

President Donald Trump in the White House. The tense meeting saw Vice President JD Vance criticize Zelensky as “disrespectful” and demand more gratitude for U.S. support. The situation escalated further when Trump abruptly dismissed Zelensky from the Oval Office without finalizing a mineral rights agreement. Despite the diplomatic clash, Zelensky remained hopeful about future relations, emphasizing the deep-rooted ties between the American and Ukrainian people.

“It’s more than two presidents. The historical relations, strong relations, between our people,” Zelensky told Baier. “This is the most important—and of course [we’re] thankful to the president and to Congress—but first of all to your people. Your people helped to save our people.”

Viewers turned to Fox News in large numbers to hear Zelensky’s reaction to the White House confrontation. As a result, Special Report outperformed other major news broadcasts that typically draw larger audiences. NBC’s Nightly News, which averages 6.8 million total viewers per month, fell to 5.76 million viewers during its Friday 6:30-7:00 p.m. slot. Meanwhile, CBS Evening News, which has seen a ratings decline since shifting to a two-anchor format after Norah O’Donnell’s departure, averaged 3.9 million viewers for the night, significantly lower than its recent 4.6 million average.

Friday evenings often see a dip in viewership across broadcast and cable news, which may explain the lower-than-usual ratings for NBC and CBS. However, Fox News benefitted from having the exclusive Zelensky interview, which significantly boosted its audience. Special Report maintained strong viewership throughout the hour, averaging 5.7 million total viewers and 661,000 in the key demographic. This marked a substantial increase for Baier’s show, which typically averages 3.5 million viewers and 414,000 in the advertising demo in 2025. The interview propelled Special Report to a 63 percent rise in total viewership and a 60 percent surge in the key demo. Notably, it became the second-highest-rated 6 p.m. broadcast in Fox News history, surpassed only by coverage of Trump’s 2017 inauguration.

Fox News has experienced soaring ratings following Trump’s return to office, with the network achieving its most-watched February in history. It averaged 3.09 million viewers during primetime, while other cable news outlets are only beginning to regain viewership after a post-election decline. Baier’s high-profile interviews have contributed to the network’s strong performance. In addition to speaking with Zelensky, Baier has recently conducted sit-downs with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The network’s close ties to the Trump administration have also played a role, with nearly 20 former Fox employees now holding government positions. Consequently, several Trump administration officials and Cabinet members have appeared on Special Report in recent weeks.

The remarkable success of Fox News under Trump’s leadership has led Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch to assert that the network should be seen as more than just a cable news outlet. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference, Murdoch argued that Fox News rivals the top broadcast networks despite its smaller reach.

“It’s important to note that we don’t see Fox News anymore as just a news service. We see it as one of the top five broadcast networks in the United States, even though we don’t have the same distribution that broadcast has,” Murdoch said.

He highlighted Fox News’ dominance in early 2025, saying, “In January and February, we were the number two broadcast network, right? Equivalent to the number two broadcast network at Fox News. Despite having a much smaller universe in cable. In January, we were only beaten by NBC, and in February we were only beaten by CBS. And so that’s how we view it. And that’s how we’re able to drive, frankly, the affiliate revenue growth that we’ve achieved.”

As Fox News continues to dominate the ratings landscape, interviews like Baier’s exclusive with Zelensky further cement the network’s influence in American media and politics.

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