ESPN once again topped the weekly ratings list, led by its powerhouse Monday Night Football franchise.

The sports network’s 2.8 million viewers – bolstered by its MNF Dallas-Washington telecast that drew a cable best 14.1 million viewers -- bested ABC Family’s holiday programming-infused 2.2 million viewer average and Fox News’ 2.0 million viewers to top all cable networks during the week of Dec. 7 to Dec. 13, according to Nielsen.

Discovery Channel and Hallmark Channel finished fourth for the week tied with 1.9 million viewers, while USA Network (1.7 million), NFL Network (1.2 million); TBS (1.4 million) HGTV (1.3 million) and Disney Channel rounded out the top 10 most watched networks for the week.

Fox News was the most watched cable network on a 24-hour basis during the week, while among the 19-49 demo ESPN and Adult Swim were the top choice in primetime and on a total day basis respectively.

Most Watched Cable Shows During The Week Of Dec. 7 to Dec. 13

DateShowNetworkTotal Viewers

12/7   Monday Night Football – Dallas-Wash.        ESPN                        14.1 million

12/10 Thurs. Night Football – Minn-Ariz.              NFL Network                 8.7 million

12/7   SportsCenter                                               ESPN                           4.2 million

12/9   Alaskan Bush People                                  Discovery                     3.7 million

12/11 Gold Rush                                                   Discovery                     3.7 million

12/9   The O’Reilly Factor                                     Fox News                     3.7 million

12/12 On The 12th Day Of Christmas (movie)      Hallmark                       3.5 million

12/7   The O’Reilly Factor                                     Fox News                     3.4 million

12/13 Family For Christmas (movie)                     Hallmark                      3.3 million

12/8   The O’Reilly Factor                                     Fox News                     3.2 million

Source: Nielsen