Americans can’t stop watching Fox News in 2017.
Not only was Fox News the No. 1 basic cable network in total day, but it was able to dethrone ESPN this past week in prime time.
Additionally, the Wednesday edition of Hannity was the fifth-most-watched cable telecast of the week (3.72 million), only behind ESPN Monday Night Football, AMC’s The Walking Dead, and the Saturday and Sunday night Hallmark original movies.
Tucker Carlson had the most-watched cable news show for the week, averaging 3.22 million total viewers on Monday – Friday
Overall, Fox News programs made up 10 of the 20 most-watched in all of cable, including telecasts of The Story with Martha MacCallum, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Hannity and The Ingraham Angle.
MSNBC continues to thrive in 2017. It was the fourth-most-watched basic cable network in prime time, and the third-most-watched in total day this past week. The network is led by Rachel Maddow, and her program was No. 1 across cable news this past week among adults 25-54 (657,000).
CNN earned a sixth-place tie in total day viewers with Investigation Discovery (762,000).
Basic Cable Top 10 – Prime Time (total viewers)
- Fox News (2,470,000)
- Hallmark Channel (2,261,000)
- ESPN (2,231,000)
- MSNBC (1,967,000)
- Freeform (1,439,000)
- HGTV (1,244,000)
- History (1,232,000)
- TBS (1,204,000)
- Discovery (1,197,000)
- USA (1,191,000)
Basic Cable Top 10 – Total Day (total viewers)
- Fox News (1,530,000)
- Hallmark Channel (1,188,000)
- MSNBC (1,061,000)
- Nickelodeon (1,009,000)
- ESPN (847,000)
- CNN (762,000)
- Investigation Discovery (762,000)
- Adult Swim (741,000)
- HGTV (668,000)
- Freeform (667,000)
On the business news side, Fox Business defeated CNBC in total business day viewers this past week, and was led by Lou Dobbs Tonight, who had the most-watched show on business news for the 67th consecutive week.
FBN defeated CNBC, not just in total business day viewers, but also among adults 25-54 on Thursday and Friday. The Dow passed the 24,000 mark on Thursday, and the markets fluctuated severely on Friday in light of the Michael Flynn news.
Outside of the Thursday and Friday business day, CNBC beat Fox Business across all dayparts among the key A25-54 demo this past week, which is the group that matters most to news advertisers.