Presidential Debate Leads Fox News To Weekly Ratings Win

Fox News’ coverage of the Sept. 26 Presidential Debate helped the network finish last week as the most watched cable network in primetime, according to Nielsen.

Fox News, bolstered by the 11.4 million viewers who tuned into its live coverage of the first of three Presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, averaged 3.2 million viewers during the week of Sept. 26 to Oct. 2 to beat out ESPN’s football-aided 2.2 million viewers for first place among all cable networks.

Cable news networks CNN (1.9 million viewers) and MSNBC (1.6 million) also rode its respective Presidential Debate coverage to finish third and fourth, respectively.

USA Network, TBS and HGTV (all tied with 1.3 million viewers); NFL Network (1.2 million) and Disney Channel and History (tied with 1.0 million) rounded out the top 10 most watched networks for the week.

Fox News was also the most watched network on a 24-hour basis, while ESPN and Adult Swim took top honors in primetime and total day respectively among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen.

Most Watched Cable Shows During Week of Sept. 26 to Oct. 2

ShowNetworkTotal Viewers

Presidential Debate (9:03-10:40 pm)                                    Fox News                            11.4 million

Pres. Debate/Analysis (10:40 to 11 pm)                                Fox News                              9.9 million

1st Presidential Debate (9:03-10:38 pm)                               CNN                                       9.9 million

NFL Monday Night Football (Atl-NO)                                    ESPN                                     8.0 million

Thursday Night Football  (Hou vs. N.E.)                               NFL Network                          7.8 million

Debate Night In America (10:30-12 am)                               CNN                                        6.9 million

The Kelly File (11 -12 am)                                                     Fox News                                5.3 million

Debate (9:03-10:40 pm)                                                        MSNBC                                   4.9 million

The O’Reilly Factor (8-9 pm)                                                 Fox News                                4.3 million

MSNBC Debate Analysis (10:40-12 am)                                MSNBC                                  4.0 million

Source: Nielsen

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.