ESPN rode its live sports programming lineup to the top of the cable primetime ratings last week.
The sports network averaged 2.6 million viewers in primetime during the week of October 24-30, barely eclipsing second place Fox News Channel’s 2.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
The launch of Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas” lineup of holiday-themed movies pushed the network into third place for the week with 1.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 1 million viewers and HGTV with 766,000 watchers.
Rounding out the top 10 most-watched networks in primetime were TNT (693,000 viewers), TLC (651,000), Food Network (584,000), History (581,000) and TBS (574,000).
On the total day front, Fox News extended its winning streak to 43 weeks with an average of 1.6 million viewers, besting ESPN (856,000), MSNBC (705,000), Hallmark Channel (659,000) and CNN (468,000), according to Nielsen. ■
