This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of Dec. 2, 2024.
News of Hunter Biden’s pardon, plus the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the subsequent manhunt for the killer, was enough to lift the cable news networks out of the holiday doldrums.
All three cable news networks had double-digit gains across the board during primetime and total day.
Viewers continued to tune into Fox News—especially for political coverage—as it scored 71% of the primetime cable news share and boasted 99 of the top 100 cable newscasts for the week.
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Nielsen live plus same-day data for the week of Dec 2 saw FNC average 2.493 million total viewers and 280,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 during primetime. The network was up by +24% in the former category and +18% in the latter relative to the week prior.
Across total day, FNC Fox News 1.693 million total viewers and 208,000 A25-54 viewers for gains of +25% and +28%, respectively.
Among all basic cable networks, Fox News finished in first place in total primetime viewers and landed in the No. 2 spot in the primetime demo. In total day, it remained the leader in total viewers and maintained its second place position in the demo.
MSNBC’s primetime lineup averaged 632,000 total viewers and 56,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for week-to-week gains of +36% and +51%, respectively.
During the total day, the network saw 459,000 total viewers and 40,000 A25-54 viewers, which translates to respective gains of +33% and +38% relative to the week prior.
On the basic cable charts, MSNBC moved to fifth place in total primetime viewers and jumped from 43rd to 29th in the demo. During total day, the network climbed to the fourth position in total viewers and went from 38th to 26th in the demo, tied with MTV.
CNN averaged 367,000 total primetime viewers and 67,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime for respective gains of +24% and +31% in those measured categories.
In total day, the network saw 322,000 total viewers and 52,000 viewers in the demo, which translates to week-to-week gains of +20% and +27%, respectively. CNN continued to finish in second place ahead of MSNBC in the demo during primetime and total day.
In relation to all the cable networks, CNN climbed to 17th place among primetime total viewers, and landed at 26th place in the primetime demo. During total day, CNN moved upwards from eighth to fifth place in total viewers and from 24th to 15th in the demo, tied with HGTV.
When looking at these networks’ performance during the same period a year ago (the week of Dec. 4):