Fox News topped the basic cable landscape in both prime time and total day viewership during the week of December 5th, per Nielsen. Additionally, The O’Reilly Factor scored 4 of the 10 most-watched basic basic cable telecasts last week while the network claimed 18 of the top 30 programs in total viewers, including various episodes of The Five, Special Report with Bret Baier, Tucker Carlson Tonight and The Kelly File.
ESPN was the No. 2 cable network for the week in prime time, thanks to NFL and NBA action, followed by the holiday movie-focused lineup of Hallmark Channel, Discovery and AMC. Nickelodeon was the No. 2 cable network for the week in total day, followed by Hallmark Channel, ESPN and Adult Swim.
Cable News
FNC also topped its cable news competition, beating CNN and MSNBC combined in all dayparts in both total viewers and A25-54. Fox News even beat CNN and MSNBC in adults 18-49. The network grew +26 percent in prime time and +23 percent in total day from the same week in 2015.
CNN ranked No. 19 in prime time, and No. 16 in total day. The network improved +39 percent in total prime time viewers, and +11 percent in total day viewers from the same week last year.
MSNBC ranked No. 15 in prime time, and No. 21 in total day. The network improved by +33 percent in total prime time viewers and +22 percent in total day viewers from the same week last year.
HLN ranked No. 46 in prime time, and No. 36 in total day. The network was -13 percent in total prime time viewers, and -8 percent in total day viewers compared to the same week last year.
CNBC ranked No. 49 in prime time, and No. 57 in total day. The network was -31 percent in total prime time viewers, and -14 percent in total day viewers from the same week in 2015.
Fox Business Network ranked No. 69 in prime time and No. 55 in total day. The network grew +60 percent in total prime time viewers, and +95 percent in total day viewers from the same week in 2015.
In addition to beating CNBC in total day (154,000 vs. 144,000) Fox Business Network topped CNBC in business day (M – F, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) for a 9th consecutive week.
CNBC got the better of Fox Business in prime time by a substantial margin: 268,000 vs. 155,000.