The Top Cable News Programs in Q2 2016 Were…

By A.J. Katz 

Fox News is home to 9 of the 10 most-watched cable news shows and 7 of the top 10 in the key news demo for Q2 2016. The network’s stranglehold on the top of the cable news charts slips just a bit when compared with Q2 of 2015, when FNC was home to the top 14 shows in total viewers and 8 of the top 10 in the demo. The O’Reilly Factor was the top cable news show in all key categories, something it has been able to claim every quarter since the year 2000. The Kelly File finished No. 2 in total viewers and A25-54, while Special Report with Bret Baier, The Five and Hannity round out the top 5 in total viewers. Hannity finished No. 3 in the demo, followed by the 11 p.m. repeats of The O’Reilly Factor and Special Report with Bret Baier. On the Record with Greta Van Susteren was up single digits both in total viewers and A25-54.

MSNBC’s the Rachel Maddow Show is the most-watched and highest-rated cable news show not to air on Fox News, finishing the quarter No. 10 in total viewers and No. 6 in the demo. Maddow is up 73 percent in total viewers and a whopping +111 percent in the news demo from the same quarter a year ago. Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell is MSNBC’s No. 2 program in total viewers (+96 percent year-over-year) and A25-54 (+102 percent year-over-year).

Anderson Cooper 360 is CNN’s No. 1 program.  Cooper is up 42 percent in total viewers and up 29 percent in the news demo from the same quarter last year.  The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer is CNN’s No. 2 program in total viewers (+47 percent year-over-year), while the Don Lemon-hosted CNN Tonight is the network’s No. 2 program in the demo (+4.5 percent year-over-year). 360 and CNN Tonight finished No. 8 and N0. 10, respectively, in cable news top 10 among A25-54.

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Shark Tank is CNBC’s top program both in total viewers and in the demo. That said, it fell 15 percent in total viewers and fell 24 percent in the news demo from the same quarter in 2015.

Nancy Grace is HLN’s No. 1 program in total viewers, up 6 percent year-over-year. Morning Express with Robin Meade is the network’s top program in the demo, up 19 percent.

Lou Dobbs Tonight is FBN’s most-watched and highest-rated program this past quarter, up 200 percent from the same quarter in 2015.

The cable program and network rankers are below:

Q2 2016 Cable News Ranker (Total Viewers)

Q2 2016 Cable News Ranker (A25-54)

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