Another week, another ratings win for Fox News Channel.
FNC finished No. 1 across all of basic cable for the week of July 30 to mark its 30 consecutive weeks as the No. 1 basic cable network in total day. Fox News averaged 1.3 million in total viewers and 257,000 in the 25-54 demo across the 24-hour-day, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. The network was +1 percent in total viewers vs. the comparable week in 2017, but lost A25-54 viewers (-9 percent).
In prime time, Fox News marked 10 consecutive weeks as the No. 1 basic cable network in total viewers, with nearly 2.4 million in total viewers and 447,000 in the 25-54 demo. The 2.4 million prime time total is a strong number relative to last year (+10 percent). But in the A25-54 demo, the network was flat year-over-year.
Additionally, FNC claimed 7 of the top 10 cable telecasts overall in total viewers, including presentations of Hannity, Tucker Carlson Tonight and The Ingraham Angle. Hannity was also the most-watched basic cable program and occupied the top two spots.
MSNBC finished the week of July 30 as the second-most-watched basic cable network in prime time, and the third-most-watched across the 24-hour total day.
But similar to recent weeks, MSNBC posted prime time audience losses vs. the comparable week in 2017, -8 percent in total prime time viewers, and -22 percent in the prime time demo.
MSNBC was flat in total day viewers vs. last year, but -13 percent among adults 25-54 across the 24-hour day.
CNN fell out of the top 10 in total prime time viewers, ranking No. 12 across basic cable with 909,000 viewers, which is -13 percent vs. last year. The network managed to maintain a top 10 ranking across the 24-hour-day (No. 6), posting 636,000 viewers, which is -12 percent vs. last year.
As was the case with the competition, CNN struggled in the A25-54 demo relative to last year: -20 percent in prime time, and -20 percent in total day.
Basic Cable Top 5 – Prime time (Total Viewers)
- Fox News (2,401,000)
- MSNBC (1,617,000)
- HGTV (1,374,000)
- USA (1,359,000)
- Hallmark Channel (1,063,000)
- TBS (1,057,000)
- History (1,032,000)
- TLC (969,000)
- Investigation Discovery (935,000)
- ESPN (926,000)
Basic Cable Top 5 – Total Day (Total Viewers)
- FNC (1,326,000)
- Nickelodeon (1,065,000)
- MSNBC (970,000)
- HGTV (789,000)
- Investigation Discovery (685,000)
- CNN (636,000)
- USA (614,000)
- Hallmark Channel (574,000)
- History (534,000)
- Food Network (528,000)
Basic cable ranker: Week of July 30 (Total Viewers)
Lastly, here are the FBN ratings for the week, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data:
Business Day (9:30 a.m. -5 p.m. ET)
- FBN: 201,000 total viewers / 26,000 A25-54
- CNBC:172,000 total viewers / 20,000 A25-54
Market Hours (9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. ET)
- FBN: 205,000 total viewers and 28,000 A25-54
- CNBC: 173,000 total viewers and 19,000 A25-54
Per Nielsen data, here are the 5-most-watched business TV programs of the week:
- FBN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight (311,000)
- FBN’s Varney & Co. (253,000)
- FBN’s Countdown to the Closing Bell with Liz Claman (198,000)
- CNBC’s Fast Money Halftime Report (179,000)
- FBN’s After the Bell (177,000)