A Republican debate once again proved to be ratings gold for a cable news network as CNN rode its coverage of the March 10 Florida GOP debate to a first place weekly primetime ratings win.

CNN’s 3 million average primetime viewers for the week of March 7 to March 13 bested Fox News’ 2.4 million viewers to top all cable networks, according to Nielsen. 

HGTV was the third most watched cable network in prime time with 1.7 million viewers, followed by AMC, USA Network and TBS, all tied with 1.6 million viewers.

Disney Channel (1.4 million viewers) finished sixth for the week while ESPN, TNT, History and Discovery Channel (all tied with 1.2 million viewers) rounded out the top 10 most watched networks for the week.

Fox News did push its streak of weekly ratings wins on a 24-hour basis to eight, besting Nickelodeon, Adult swim, CNN and Disney in that order, according to Nielsen.

Fox News was the big primetime ratings winner last week, sweeping both the primetime and total day races, according to Nielsen.

The network, helped by its coverage of the Dec. 2 San Bernardino shootings, averaged 2.7 million viewers to finish as the most watched cable network in primetime during the period of Nov. 30 to Dec. 6, according to Nielsen.

ESPN finished a close second with 2.6 million viewers, followed by the holiday movie-driven Hallmark Channel with 2.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

Hallmark Channel finished fourth with 2 million viewers, with TBS pulling up into fifth place with 1.6 million watchers.

Discovery Channel (1.5 million viewers), HGTV (1.4 million), Disney Channel and USA Network (1.3 million), and CNN, TNT and History (all tied with 1.2 million) rounded out the top 10 most watched networks for the week.

Fox News outlasted Nickelodeon, ABC Family, ESPN and Hallmark in total day ratings for the week. ABC Family was the top choice among adults 18-49 for the week in primetime, according to Nielsen.

Most Watched Shows For The Week Of Nov. 30 to Dec. 6

Date Show  Network     Total Viewers

11/30 Monday Night Football – Balt. Vs. Cleve.       ESPN                           10.1 million

12/2   The O’Reilly Factor                                        Fox News                      5.9 million

12/2   On The Record W/Greta                               Fox News                      5.1 million

12/2   The Kelly File                                                 Fox News                      5.0 million

12/2   Anderson Cooper 360                                   CNN                              4.5 million

12/2   Special Report W/Bret Baier                         Fox News                      4.4 million

12/2   Hannity                                                          Fox News                      4.3 million

12/4   Gold Rush                                                     Discovery                     3.9 million

12/5   College Football                                             ESPN                             3.9 million

12/3   The O’Reilly Factor                                        Fox News                      3.8 million

Source: Nielsen