Fox News Channel’s coverage of the September 10 presidential debate helped push the network to the top of the primetime ratings chart for the third consecutive week.
Fox News averaged 3.1 million viewers in primetime for the week of September 9-15, besting second-place MSNBC’s 2 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News.
The network’s simulcast of ABC News’s Kamala Harris-Donald Trump debate drew 9.1 million viewers, topping all cable news outlets as well as broadcast network CBS, said Fox News officials. Overall, the debate was watched by more than 67 million viewers across 15 television networks.
ESPN finished third with 1.8 million viewers, followed by CNN’s 1.1 million viewers and Hallmark Channel’s 645,000 watchers.
HGTV pulled into sixth place with 593,000 viewers, followed by USA Network (567,000 viewers), Discovery Channel (482,000), INSP (464,000) and TBS (424,000).
Fox News was the most-watched cable network on a total-day basis for the 36th consecutive week, averaging 1.5 million viewers. MSNBC was second with 2 million viewers, followed by CNN (651.000), ESPN (648,000), and Hallmark Channel (349,000), Nielsen said.
