The week of June 5th was quite a good one for cable news, with the James Comey hearing on Thursday June 8th serving as the centerpiece. Fox News, MSNBC and CNN all finished in the top 5 in total day viewers across all of cable, while Fox News and MSNBC were No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in total prime time viewers.
Fox News was the most-watched basic cable network in total day for the 23rd consecutive week, and the most-watched basic cable network in prime time for the 3rd consecutive week, per Nielsen.
FNC was +12 percent in total prime time viewers, and +25 percent in total day viewers compared to the week of June 6, 2016.
Additionally, FNC programs made up 15 of the top 30 telecasts in total viewers including episodes of America’s Newsroom, Special Report with Bret Baier, Tucker Carlson Tonight, The Five and Hannity.
MSNBC had a very strong week as well. In addition to finishing No. 2 across all of cable in total prime time viewers, MS improved +56 percent in the daypart from the same week last year. The network grew +57 percent year-over-year in total day viewers, and also happened to finish the week as the No. 1 cable news network in the key A25-54 demographic, primarily thanks to the return of Rachel Maddow.
CNN had a strong week in total day, finishing No.4 across basic cable in the daypart and posting +13 percent year-over-year growth. CNN saw a -1 percent decline in total prime time viewers versus last year, and finished No. 7 overall.
Basic Cable Top 5 – Prime time (Total Viewers)
- Fox News (2,384,000)
- MSNBC (1,862,000)
- USA (1,409,000)
- HGTV (1,387,000)
- TBS (1,316,000)
Basic Cable Top 5 – Total Day (Total Viewers)
- Fox News (1,526,000)
- Nickelodeon (1,150,000)
- MSNBC (1,059,000)
- CNN (909,000)
- HGTV (800,000)