The election week cable network ranker is in, and it shows huge ratings gains for the cable news channels, as one would expect for such a newsworthy week.
Fox News Channel was the number one ad-supported cable network for the fourth consecutive week, the first time that has ever happened in the network’s history. FNC averaged 3.55 million viewers in primetime, and 1.78 million viewers in total day. In the adults 25-54 demo, FNC was second only to ESPN.
CNN cracked the top five in primetime and the top 10 in total day, thanks to Tuesday’s election coverage and coverage in the days that followed. CNN placed fourth overall in primetime with 1.96 million total viewers, and eighth overall in total day with 1.04 million. MSNBC was also in the top 10, placing fifth overall in primetime with 1.83 million viewers, and seventh in total day with 1.04 million.
As we noted, MSNBC made gains in the demo toward the end of the week, but still finished behind FNC for the week as a whole. Yesterday, with the regular hosts back on duty, FNC was again number one in total and demo viewers.
HLN was 45th in primetime and 44th in total day, averaging 297,000 and 232,000 viewers, respectively. Current TV was 90th in both primetime and total day, averaging 40,000 and 38,000 viewers, respectively.
As for the business networks: CNBC placed 52nd in primetime and 50th in total day, averaging 208,000 and 184,000 viewers, respectively. Fox Business network placed 79th in primetime and 75th in total day, averaging 95,000 and 72,000 viewers, respectively. Bloomberg TV hasn’t been rated by Nielsen since it launched in 1994.
The full ranker is below: