The Nielsen live-plus-same-day ratings for the week of Oct. 7 are now in, and Fox News Channel remains the most-watched basic cable network in the 6 a.m.- 6 a.m. time period. That’s now a whopping 40 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the daypart.
The network finished second among all basic cable networks in prime time, behind only a Monday Night football-driven ESPN.
Hannity was the most-watched non-sports program on cable last week. The Thursday, Oct. 10 editions of Hannity (9 p.m.) and The Ingraham Angle (10 p.m.) topped Game 1 of the NLCS in total viewers (but not in the demos).
The Thursday, Oct. 10th editions of The Ingraham Angle and Fox News @ Night with Shannon Bream both delivered their most-watched original telecasts of the year. The week of Oct. 7 was the second-most-watched week of the year for both shows.
It’s worth noting that Pres. Trump’s Minneapolis rally took place during from approximately 8:50 – 10:30 p.m. ET that Thursday, and Fox News aired the rally live. Rally coverage equals big ratings.
MSNBC was the second-most-watched basic cable network last week across the 6 a.m. – 6 a.m. time period.
However, the network dropped to five in prime time, despite averaging more than two million viewers in the daypart. FS1’s coverage of the American League Division Series (which includes the Yankees), lifted Fox Corp.’s cable sports network to third place. TBS, which is airing the National League Playoffs in prime time, came in fourth place, and MSNBC rounded out the top five in total prime time viewers this past week.
CNN nabbed top 10 rankings in total viewers across multiple dayparts. It was the fifth-most-watched basic cable network in total day, and No. 8 across basic cable in prime time.
When compared with the same week in 2018, Fox News was +3% in total prime time viewers. MSNBC was also +3% in total prime time viewers, while CNN was -15% in the same daypart. In total day, Fox was -4%, MSNBC was -1% and CNN was -8%.
Cable News Week of Sept. 16 (Total Viewers)
Fox News: Prime Time (2,805,000) and Total Day (1,483,000)
MSNBC: Prime Time (2,057,000) and Total Day (1,170,000)
CNN: Prime Time (963,000) and Total Day (731,000)
Cable News Week of Sept. 16 (Adults 25-54)
Fox News: Prime Time (435,000) and Total Day (254,000)
MSNBC: Prime Time (363,000) and Total Day (194,000)
CNN: Prime Time (251,000) and Total Day (177,000)
You’ll notice an abundance of news and sports outlets in the rankings below:
Basic Cable Top Five (Prime Time)
- ESPN (3,094,000)
- Fox News (2,805,000)
- FS1 (2,359,000)
- TBS (2,078,000)
- MSNBC (2,057,000)
Basic Cable Top Five (Total Day)
- Fox News (1,483,000)
- MSNBC (1,170,000)
- ESPN (960,000)
- TBS (845,000)
- CNN (731,000)