Fox News Ranks No. 1 In Total Day for 19 Straight Weeks

By A.J. Katz 

Fox News continues its streak as cable TV’s most-watched channel, marking its 19th consecutive weekly win among total day viewers during the week of May 14.

Per Nielsen, in the 24-hour time period, FNC averaged 1.5 million in total viewers and 287,000 in the 25-54 demographic. In Prime Time, FNC posted nearly 2.4 million total viewers and 460,000 25-54 demo viewers, finishing runner up to TNT, which continues to thrive with its coverage of the 2018 NBA Western Conference Finals (Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets).

Fox News was the sole member of the “big three” to post year-over-year audience growth in prime time viewers (+9 percent) and total day viewers (+1 percent). FNC also beat MSNBC and CNN among adults 25-54, both in prime and across total day.

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FNC also made up 13 of the 30 most-watched cable telecasts with presentations of Hannity, The Ingraham Angle, Special Report with Bret Baier, Tucker Carlson Tonight and Fox News’s special coverage of The Royal Wedding. Additionally, for the week of May 14th, Hannity was the No. 1 cable news program in both total viewers and the A25-54 demo, marking 9 consecutive weeks as the most-watched cable news show, and 5 weeks as No. 1 in the A25-54 demo. The Ingraham Angle also defeated MSNBC’s Last Word for the 6th consecutive week among total viewers.

MSNBC remained a top 5 cable network despite going up against NBA playoffs programming on TNT and ESPN. MSNBC was down from the comparable week last year, -8 percent in prime time viewers, and -3 percent in total day viewers.

CNN held onto a top 10 finish in prime time (No. 10) and in total day (No. 7) this past week, but was down double digits from the comparable week last year.

Below are the top 5 cable networks for the week in total viewers, followed by a longer, more extensive cable network weekly ranker:

Basic Cable Top 5 – Prime Time (Total Viewers)
1. TNT (2,644,000)
2. Fox News (2,398,000)
3. ESPN (2,333,000)
4. MSNBC (1,710,000)
5. USA (1,376,000)

Basic Cable Top 5 – Total Day (Total Viewers)
1. FNC (1,452,000)
2. MSNBC (972,000)
3. TNT (899,000)
4. Nickelodeon (875,000)
5. CNN (791,000)

Basic Cable Ranker: Week of May 14 (Total Viewers)

Basic Cable Ranker: Week of May 14 (P25-54)

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