According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, Fox News ran its “most-watched basic cable network” streak to 26 weeks in total day and 24 weeks at No.1 in the prime-time daypart. FNC averaged 3.4 million total viewers in prime time and 1.7 million viewers in total day for the week of June 29.
MSNBC finished the week as the second-most-watched network on basic cable, averaging 1.98 million viewers in prime time and 1.19 million in total viewers, while CNN finished third in Total Viewers last week, averaging nearly 1.59 million total viewers in prime time and 1.02 million in total day.
Cable news continues to rule the basic cable landscape. No surprise there.
A highlight of Fox News’ week was wall-to-wall coverage of President Trump’s remarks at Mount Rushmore on Friday night, an event which drew 6.4 million total viewers. Hannity had the top show on cable news for the week as well.
While it was a holiday week, Fox still held flat in total prime-time viewers and flat in total day viewers versus the previous week (the week of June 22). However, it being a holiday week would go on to hurt Fox when it came to drawing Adults 25-54. FNC was -4% in the demo during prime time and -6% in the demo in total day.
MSNBC fell from the prior week in all key measurements: -6% in total viewers during prime time, -3% in total day viewers, -9% in the demo during prime time and -5% in the total day demo
CNN also lost viewers from the previous week: -3% in total viewers during prime time and -3% in total day, -9% in the demo during prime time and -7% in the total day demo.
Compared to July 4 week in 2019, all three of the major cable newsers were strong. One would expect a year-over-year uptick as we continue to approach the election. We’ll also start comparing cable news ratings performance versus 2016 as the election approaches.
For the week of June 29, Fox News was +67% in prime-time viewers and +34% in total day viewers from the same week in 2019. The network was also +89% in the demo during prime time and +35% in the demo during total day.
CNN remains in very good shape relative to this point in 2019, driven by what seems like a never-ending barrage of breaking news. The network posted more year-over-year gains than its competitors: +125% in total viewers during prime time and +139% in total day versus the prior week, +94% in the demo during prime time and +153% in the demo during total day.
MSNBC was +66% in total prime-time viewership, +68% in total day viewers, +68% in the demo and +46% in the demo during total day.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of June 29 (Monday-Sunday, live-plus-same-day data):
PRIME TIME (8-11 p.m.)
| FNC | MSNBC | CNN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,444,000 | 1,977,000 | 1,585,000 |
| • A25-54: | 576,000 | 284,000 | 394,000 |
TOTAL DAY (6 a.m.-6 a.m.)
| FNC | MSNBC | CNN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 1,713,000 | 1,190,000 | 1,022,000 |
| • A25-54: | 291,000 | 175,000 | 253,000 |
Below, the cable network rankers for the week. The first one is sorted by average total viewership, while the second is sorted by average number of adults 25-54: