Fox News Beats CNN, MSNBC Combined in Both Total Viewers, Prime

FNC finishes No. 1 in total day viewers for 11 of past 12 weeks

Sean Hannity
Getty Images

Fox News finished No. 1 among all of cable for the fifth straight week, while MSNBC and CNN failed to crack the Top 10 networks among total day viewers for the week of Sept. 12.

Fox News averaged 1.4 million total day viewers, compared to 656,000 for MSNBC and 651,000 for CNN. ESPN, Nickelodeon, Adult Swim and HGVT join Fox News among the top five networks among total day viewers. FNC has now ranked No. 1 in total day ratings for 11 of the past 12 weeks.

During primetime, only ESPN’s NFL-heavy coverage topped Fox News. Rupert Murdoch’s news network averaged 2.4 million viewers between 8-11 p.m.

HGTV, TBS and USA join ESPN and FNC among the top five among primetime viewers.

Fox News beat MSNBC and CNN combined in both categories, as MSNBC averaged 1.2 million primetime viewers and CNN averaged 888,000. Compared to all cable networks, CNN ranked No. 13 in primetime and No. 12 in total day while MSNBC finished No. 6 in primetime and No. 11 in total day.

Fox News hasn’t lost any steam since former CEO and chairman Roger Ailes stepped down earlier this summer amid sexual harassment allegations. New co-presidents Jack Abernethy and Bill Shine have kept the network on a winning path, which recently resulted in each receiving a contract extension.

“Jack and Bill have been instrumental in Fox News’ continued dominance in the ratings,” Murdoch said last week.

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