Fox News, MSNBC finish No. 1 and No. 2 again in all of basic cable

Fox News and MSNBC continue to dominate as the most-watched networks on basic cable, according to Nielsen Media Research for the week of June 12 to June 18.

For Fox, the No. 1 ranking in total viewers marks the 24th consecutive week it has finished in the top spot, even beating traditional cable network powerhouses such as ESPN, HGTV, TBS and USA Network.

Overall, the 21st Century-owned network averaged 2.35 million viewers in primetime and averaged 1.508 million in total day (6 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST).

In the key 25-54 demographic that advertisers covet most for the full week — including on the weekend — the network averaged 460,000 viewers in primetime to MSNBC’s 435,000 and CNN’s 348,000. 

MSNBC is also enjoying its best year in its 21-year history, finishing second with an 1.942 million total viewers in primetime and third in total day behind Fox and Nickelodeon with 1.009 million total viewers.

{mosads}The Comcast-owned network also won a close race with Fox in the key 25-54 demographic June 12 to June 16 on weekday nights, delivering an average of 540,000 in the category against Fox’s 537,000 and CNN’s 392,000.

CNN, which is also up nearly 50 percent year-over-year, ranked seventh in primetime in total viewers with 1,028,000 and fifth in total day with an average of 831,000.

The week of June 12 to June 18 featured a relatively active news cycle, with the shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and three others at a GOP congressional baseball practice and the testimony of Attorney General Jeff Sessions to the Senate Intelligence Committee dominating the cable news landscape for days.

The Trump era continues to be a ratings boon for all three of the major cable news networks, with combined viewing of Fox News, MSNBC and CNN up 33 percent through the first week of June compared with the same time in 2016, according to data from Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser.