Weekly Cable Ratings: Fox News Holds Off Olympics-Driven USA To Win in Primetime, Total Day

Fox News' 'The Five'
Fox News' 'The Five' (Image credit: Fox News)

USA Network’s coverage of the Paris Summer Olympics last week couldn’t propel the network over Fox News Channel, which finished in first place on the primetime chart for the ninth straight week.

Fox News averaged 2.2 million viewers for the week of July 29-August 4 to top all cable networks, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. USA Network finished second for the week with 1.2 million viewers, bolstered by its coverage of the Olympics' opening week.

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MSNBC finished third for the week with 1.1 million viewers, followed by CNN’s 638,000 viewers and Hallmark Channel’s 624,000 watchers. INSP was sixth with 551,000 viewers, followed by TBS (474,000 viewers), HGTV (473,000), ESPN (460,000) and Syfy (421,000).

Fox News notched its 30th consecutive win on a total-day basis, averaging 1.4 million viewers. USA Network (1 million viewers), MSNBC (783,000), CNN (479,000) and Hallmark Channel (333,000), rounded out the top five most-watched networks on a 24-hour basis, according to 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.