Bolstered by the launch of the college and pro football season, ESPN topped all basic cable networks in last week’s primetime ratings race.
ESPN averaged 3.7 million viewers during the week of Sept. 7 to Sept. 13 to break Fox News’ five week run atop the primetime cable ratings charts, according to Nielsen. Fox News finished second with 1.7 million viewers.
USA and Disney finished tied for third with 1.5 million viewers, while HGTV held the fifth place spot with 1.4 million viewers. HGTV (1.3 million viewers), History (1.3 million), TBS (1.2 million), Lifetime (1.1 million) and FX (1.1 million) rounded out the top 10 most watched networks for the week.
ESPN also topped the charts on a total day basis, and among the advertiser-coveted adult 18-49 year old demo, according to Nielsen.
ESPN’s college football and U.S. Open tennis tournament coverage represented half of the top 10 most watched shows during the week, Nielsen reported.
Most Watched Cable TV Shows During the Week of Sept. 7 to Sept. 13
DateShowNetworkTotal Viewers
9/7 College Football-Ohio State-Virginia Tech ESPN 10.5 million
9/13 Fear The Walking Dead AMC 7.1 million
9/12 College Football-Oklahoma-Tennessee ESPN 4.1 million
9/7 WWE Monday Night Raw (8-9 p.m.) USA 3.5 million
9/7 WWE Monday Night Raw (9-10p.m.) USA 3.5 million
9/8 U.S. Open Tennis Tournament ESPN 3.3 million
9/8 The Have and The Have Nots OWN 3.2 million
9/13 U.S. Open Men’s Finals ESPN 3.1 million
9/12 College Football – LSU/Miss. State ESPN 3.1 million
9/9 The O’Reilly Factor Fox News 3.0 million
Source: Nielsen
