According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News was the most-watched basic cable network in prime time this past week, delivering close to 1.8 million total viewers in the daypart. FNC fell 4 percent in total prime time viewers, but was up 6 percent in total day viewers from the same week in 2015.
Fox News has now finished atop the prime time basic cable landscape for 9 of the last 10 weeks, defeating an Olympics-heavy NBC Sports Network, as well as USA, TBS and HGTV in the process. FNC finished runner-up to Nickelodeon in total day viewers, but finished ahead of Adult Swim, Cartoon Network and NBCSN.
For the second week in a row, MSNBC topped CNN in total prime time viewers and in the key A25-54 demo. “The Place For Politics” was the 7th-most-watched prime time cable network for the week, up 75 percent from the same week in 2015. MSNBC also finished No. 10 in total day viewers.
CNN was the 8th-most-watched basic cable network this past week in total day, finishing ahead of MSNBC in 6 a.m. – 6 a.m. CNN was up 59 percent in total day viewers compared to the same week in 2015, but struggled more than usual in A25-54.
Basic Cable Ranker: Week of August 8 (Total Viewers)