Fox News earned the No. 2 spot in total prime time viewers for the week of May 30 among all basic cable networks. TNT was far and away No. 1, primarily thanks to its telecast of Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference Finals, which aired on the first night of the week (Monday, 5/30). HGTV, USA and History rounded out the week’s top 5 most-watched basic cable networks in prime time.
Fox News was up 5 percent in total prime time viewers from the comparable week in 2015. Additionally, it notched the No. 2 ranking in total day, up 10 percent in total viewers year-over-year. Nickelodeon held steady at No. 1, with Adult Swim, TNT and Cartoon Network finishing No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 in average total day viewers, respectively.
Looking at the other cable news networks, MSNBC topped CNN in total prime time viewers for the fourth week in a row. MSNBC ranked No. 18 in primetime while CNN ranked No. 21. Despite finishing behind MSNBC, CNN was up 57 percent in the total prime time viewers year-over-year. MSNBC was up 41 percent.
CNN bested MSNBC in total day viewers, ranking No.14 while MSNBC finished No. 18. CNN was up 59 percent in total day viewers year-over-year, and MSNBC was up 47 percent.
HLN finished No. 47 in total prime time viewers, down 4 percent year-over-year. The network finished No. 35 in total day viewers, up 4 percent year-over-year.