Another year, another Fox News Channel viewer victory (on cable). Fox News was the most-watched basic-cable channel (of 124) in 2021, averaging 2.361 million primetime viewers each evening, according to Nielsen’s Live + Same Day data set. That number was down a whopping 35% from the 2020 average, but that’s what happens when you turn the calendar page over from an election year. Just ask the other guys: MSNBC, this year’s No. 3 channel, declined 28% and No. 4 CNN sank 39%.
ESPN (1.658 million, up 14%) welcomed live sports back in 2021, jumping from last year’s fourth-place cable channel in primetime to No. 2 this time around. The Top 4 channels are again cable’s main news and sports channels, the genres that live viewing favors.
TNT (No. 6) and TBS (No. 7) also benefited from the return of live sports — (basketball and baseball, respectively), and along with fourth-quarter giant Hallmark Channel (No. 8), leapfrogged TLC (No. 6 last year, now No. 9). This year’s Top 10 was comprised of the same channels as last year’s — just in a slightly different order.
No. 11 USA Network improved its standing, while Food Network declined. A&E, now without hit series “Live PD,” tumbled from 14th place to 19th place.
NBCU’s Bravo fell from 17th to 20th, while INSP, the religious-programming-turned-Western-programming cable channel recently profiled in this weekly ratings column, jumped from 16th to 12th. Lower down the list, the AMC Networks-owned weTV rose from 28th to 23rd.
But we know what you’re really here for: Did Comedy.TV finish in last place again? The answer: No! It toppled beIN Sports, the year’s new biggest loser.
Find last year’s rankings, which ranked 119 Nielsen-rated basic-cable channels, here.
The 2021 list is below, with viewer tallies in thousands (000). Nielsen counts anyone age 2 and older in its “total viewers” (P2+) data set. The numbers in this story are Calendar 2021 through Dec. 13, 2021.
| 1 | FOX NEWS CHANNEL | 2,361 |
| 2 | ESPN | 1,658 |
| 3 | MSNBC | 1,547 |
| 4 | CNN | 1,097 |
| 5 | HOME AND GARDEN TV | 1,089 |
| 6 | TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION | 1,020 |
| 7 | TBS NETWORK | 998 |
| 8 | HALLMARK CHANNEL | 973 |
| 9 | TLC | 824 |
| 10 | HISTORY | 780 |
| 11 | USA NETWORK | 764 |
| 12 | DISCOVERY CHANNEL | 754 |
| 12 | INSP | 754 |
| 14 | FOOD NETWORK | 710 |
| 15 | INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY | 587 |
| 16 | LIFETIME TELEVISION | 560 |
| 17 | HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES | 513 |
| 18 | TV LAND | 512 |
| 19 | A&E NETWORK | 496 |
| 20 | BRAVO | 487 |
| 21 | FX | 452 |
| 22 | AMC | 450 |
| 23 | WETV | 402 |
| 24 | GSN | 393 |
| 25 | FREEFORM | 391 |
| 26 | SYFY | 390 |
| 27 | PARAMOUNT | 389 |
| 28 | ADULT SWIM | 379 |
| 29 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC | 375 |
| 30 | NICK-AT-NITE | 350 |
| 31 | ANIMAL PLANET | 329 |
| 32 | BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV | 328 |
| 33 | TRAVEL CHANNEL | 322 |
| 34 | ESPN2 | 303 |
| 35 | MTV | 292 |
| 36 | COMEDY CENTRAL | 291 |
| 37 | FOX SPORTS 1 | 284 |
| 38 | NFL NETWORK | 280 |
| 39 | NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 274 |
| 39 | OXYGEN MEDIA | 274 |
| 41 | E! | 264 |
| 42 | DISNEY JUNIOR | 253 |
| 43 | CMT | 232 |
| 44 | HLN | 231 |
| 45 | LIFETIME MOVIE NETWORK | 227 |
| 46 | DISNEY CHANNEL | 226 |
| 47 | NICK JR | 225 |
| 48 | VH1 | 220 |
| 49 | SCIENCE | 212 |
| 50 | SUNDANCE TV | 209 |
| 51 | CNBC | 206 |
| 52 | NAT GEO WILD | 204 |
| 53 | OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK | 202 |
| 54 | FETV | 199 |
| 55 | BBC-AMERICA | 197 |
| 56 | HBO PRIME | 196 |
| 57 | IFC TV | 195 |
| 58 | MOTOR TREND | 194 |
| 59 | FXX | 191 |
| 60 | NEWSMAX TV | 186 |
| 61 | TRUTV | 185 |
| 62 | THE WEATHER CHANNEL | 176 |
| 63 | TUDN | 174 |
| 64 | THE CARTOON NETWORK | 173 |
| 65 | DIY NETWORK | 168 |
| 66 | POP | 154 |
| 67 | COOKING CHANNEL | 116 |
| 68 | REELZCHANNEL | 111 |
| 68 | UP | 111 |
| 70 | MLB NETWORK | 107 |
| 71 | GOLF CHANNEL | 106 |
| 72 | GALAVISION | 105 |
| 73 | HALLMARK DRAMA | 101 |
| 73 | TV ONE | 101 |
| 75 | SMITHSONIAN | 100 |
| 76 | SHOWTIME PRIME | 95 |
| 77 | FX MOVIE CHANNEL | 88 |
| 78 | FYI | 84 |
| 79 | NBA-TV | 83 |
| 80 | DISNEY XD | 80 |
| 81 | BOOMERANG | 76 |
| 82 | VICE | 74 |
| 83 | AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL | 71 |
| 84 | UNIVERSO | 67 |
| 85 | NICKTOONS | 66 |
| 86 | DESTINATION AMERICA | 63 |
| 87 | GAC FAMILY | 61 |
| 88 | OVATION | 60 |
| 89 | BIG TEN NETWORK | 59 |
| 90 | STARZ PRIMARY | 58 |
| 91 | DISCOVERY EN ESPANOL | 56 |
| 92 | RFD-TV | 55 |
| 92 | STARZ ENCORE PRIMARY | 55 |
| 94 | ESPNU | 54 |
| 95 | FOX BUSINESS NETWORK | 51 |
| 95 | MTV2 | 51 |
| 97 | TENNIS CHANNEL | 50 |
| 98 | FOX DEPORTES | 44 |
| 99 | AXS TV | 43 |
| 100 | DISCOVERY FAMILY CHANNEL | 41 |
| 101 | LOGO | 40 |
| 102 | NEWSNATION | 39 |
| 103 | TEENNICK | 35 |
| 104 | BET HER | 34 |
| 104 | UNIVERSAL KIDS | 34 |
| 106 | DISCOVERY FAMILIA | 33 |
| 106 | DISCOVERY LIFE CHANNEL | 33 |
| 108 | MAXPRIME | 27 |
| 109 | ESPN DEPORTES | 26 |
| 110 | OLYMPIC CHANNEL | 23 |
| 110 | THE COWBOY CHANNEL | 23 |
| 112 | BABY FIRST TV | 21 |
| 112 | FOX SPORTS 2 | 21 |
| 114 | CNN EN ESPANOL | 15 |
| 115 | FUSE | 13 |
| 115 | JUSTICE CENTRAL | 13 |
| 117 | CLEO TV | 8 |
| 117 | PURSUIT CHANNEL | 8 |
| 119 | ACCUWEATHER | 7 |
| 120 | BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 6 |
| 120 | NEWSY | 6 |
| 122 | BLACK NEWS CHANNEL | 4 |
| 122 | COMEDY.TV | 4 |
| 124 | BEIN SPORT | 3 |
Fox News Channel was also No. 1 in terms of total-day (6 a.m. to 6 a.m.) viewers, marking the sixth straight year the conservative-leaning news channel topped all of cable in both primetime and the 24-hour day. The rest of the Top 10 in all-day programming were, in order: MSNBC, CNN, ESPN, HGTV, Hallmark Channel, ID, Food Network, TNT and INSP.
In terms of adults 18-49, here’s how the Top 10 stacks up in primetime:
- ESPN
- TNT
- TBS
- USA Network
- Fox News Channel
- Food Network
- Adult Swim
- TLC
- HGTV
- CNN/Discovery Channel (tie)
