Fox News was able to regain its status as the most-watched basic cable in prime time in addition to total day during the week of May 28.
Per Nielsen data, FNC averaged 1.3 million total day viewers (No. 1 in basic cable for the 21st consecutive week) and 2.2 million total prime time viewers for the week. The 2.2 million is actually -2 percent from the comparable week last year, and the 1.3 million is -5 percent from the comparable week last year.
Fox News shows made up 13 of the 25-most-watched basic cable telecasts for the week. These include various presentations of Hannity, The Ingraham Angle, Tucker Carlson Tonight and The Five. Additionally, Thursday’s edition of Hannity managed to post more total viewers than Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals on NBCSN. (Game 3 outperformed Hannity among the under 55 set).
Fox News beat both CNN and MSNBC in the relevant measurements in prime time and total day last week.
Speaking of MSNBC – NBC’s cable news network maintained its spot among basic cable’s elite, once again delivering a top 5 finish among total viewers in multiple dayparts. It posted total viewer growth in prime time (+9 percent) and total day (+3 percent). It also beat CNN in the prime time demo.
CNN finished third in prime time (total viewers and A25-54), and third in total day viewers, and was down double digits from the comparable week last year. That said, CNN managed to beat MSNBC in the demo across the 24-hour day (6 a.m. – 6 a.m.)
Below is a look at Fox Business’s performance last week. Lou Dobbs and Stuart Varney led the way, per usual.
Business Day
FBN: 169,000 total viewers / 20,000 A25-54
CNBC: 144,000 total viewers / 30,000 A25-54
Market Hours
FBN: 172,000 total viewers / 21,000 A25-54
CNBC: 144,000 total viewers / 30,000 A25-54
Basic Cable Top 5 – Prime Time (Total Viewers)
- Fox News (2,203,000)
- TNT (2,114,000)
- HGTV (1,548,000)
- MSNBC (1,484,000)
- USA (1,260,000)
Basic Cable Top 5 – Total Day (Total Viewers)
- Fox News (1,320,000)
- Nickelodeon (907,000)
- TNT (866,000)
- HGTV (843,000)
- MSNBC (832,000)
Basic Cable Top 5 – Prime Time (A25-54)
- TNT (1,021,000)
- TBS (567,000)
- NBCSN (539,000)
- USA (531,000)
- A&E (528,000)
Basic Cable Top 5 – Total Day (A25-54)
- TNT (404,000)
- Investigation Discovery (308,000)
- HGTV (286,000)
- ESPN (263,000)
- Fox News (259,000)