For First Time Ever, Fox News is Most-Watched Cable Network in Primetime For Full Quarter

By Chris Ariens 

Fox News Channel reached a historic milestone in the just-finished third quarter. Not only is the network once again the most-watched news channel, but for the first time ever FNC was No. 1 in extended primetime total viewers (7-11pmET/Mon-Fri) in all of basic cable – topping ESPN, USA and TNT. It’s also the first time since the first quarter of 2003 that Fox News was No. 1 in primetime (8-11pmET).

In extended prime (7-11pmET) FNC is up +11% in total viewers and up +10% in A25-54 viewers for the hours which include “On the Record,” “O’Reilly Factor,” “Kelly File,” and “Hannity,” a lineup which went into affect a year ago next week.

FNC’s gains came as the entertainment and sports networks saw loses: ESPN was down -3% in Total Viewers and down -11% in the demo vs. Q3 2013. TNT was down -13%/-18% and USA was down -23%/-15% from 7-11pmET.

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FNC was third for total day viewing, behind Nickelodeon and Adult Swim.

We’ll break down the full news channel quarterly ratings later today. First, here’s a look at how the top cable channels stacked up in Q3 2014 (Mon-Fri).

Cable Network Ranker (Q3 2014)

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