The three most-watched basic cable networks last week were of the cable news variety.
No. 1 was Fox News Channel, garnering 1.4 million total viewers in total day, and 2.4 million total viewers in prime time. FNC was also the top cable news network among adults 25-54.
MSNBC was the second-most-watched basic cable network in those aforementioned dayparts, and home to the No. 1 cable news program of the week in both total viewers and in the key A25-54 demo: The Rachel Maddow Show. TRMS averaged 3.2 million total viewers, and 594,000 A25-54 viewers during the week of Jan. 21.
Tucker Carlson Tonight was No. 2 last week in total viewers, followed by Hannity, The Five and The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell rounding out the top 5.
Carlson was also No. 2 across cable news in the key A25-54 demo, followed by Hannity, Anderson Cooper 360 and The Ingraham Angle.
Cable News Rankings (Total Viewers)
- Fox News – Prime Time (2,423,000) / Total Day (1,422,000)
- MSNBC – Prime Time (2,063,000) / Total Day (1,209,000)
- CNN – Prime Time (1,368,000) / Total Day (883,000)
Cable News Ratings (A25-54)
- Fox News – Prime Time (413,000) / Total Day (256,000)
- CNN – Prime time (384,000) / Total Day (247,000)
- MSNBC – Prime Time (368,000) / Total Day (214,000)
Next, a break down of the top 10 basic cable networks for the week, sorted by total audience:
Basic Cable Top 10 (Prime Time)
- Fox News (2,423,000)
- MSNBC (2,063,000)
- CNN (1,368,000)
- TNT (1,352,000)
- HGTV (1,339,000)
- Hallmark (1,248,000)
- History (1,219,000)
- USA (1,198,000)
- ID (1,168,000)
- ESPN (1,117,000)
Basic Cable Top 10 (Total Day)
- Fox News (1,422,000)
- MSNBC (1,209,000)
- Nickelodeon (887,000)
- CNN (883,000)
- ID (786,000)
- HGTV (780,000)
- Hallmark (716,000)
- Food Network (621,000)
- TNT (619,000)
- USA (605,000)