Fox News’ coverage of Winter Storm Jonas this past weekend helped the network finish first in cable's weekly primetime ratings race, according to Nielsen.

Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers to finish as the most watched network during the period of Jan. 18 to Jan. 24 – its second win in three weeks so far in 2016, according to Nielsen.

HGTV bolted to second place in the weekly ratings race, averaging 1.7 million viewers, with USA and TBS pulling into a tie for third with 1.6 million viewers each.

Discovery and Disney Channel tied for fifth place with 1.5 million viewers, followed by TNT (1.4 million viewers), and History and FX (1.2 million each). Last week's ratings winner ESPN, along with Lifetime, Investigative Discovery, and Food Network (all tied with 1.1 million), rounded out the top 10.

Fox News also topped all cable networks on a 24-hour basis, while TBS was the top choice in primetime among adults 18-49, said Nielsen.

The Most Watched Cable Shows During The Week of Jan. 18-24

DateShowNetworkTotal Viewers

1/22   Gold Rush                                                        Discovery                   4.5 million

1/24   Alaska: The Last Frontier                                 Discovery                   3.7 million

1/18   WWE Monday Night Raw (8-9 pm)                  USA Network             3.7 million

1/19   Fixer Upper                                                      HGTV                         3.6 million

1/23   Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart (movie)         Lifetime                      3.6 million

1/18   NBA –Golden State-Cleveland                        TNT                            3.6 million

1/18   WWE Monday Night Raw (9-10 pm)               USA Network              3.5 million

1/19   The O’Reilly Factor                                         Fox News                    3.5 million

1/18   The O’Reilly Factor                                         Fox News                    3.4 million

1/23   The Big Bang Theory                                      TNT                             3.3 million

Source: Nielsen

The massive snowstorm over the weekend that ravaged the northeastern U.S. was expected to produce a flurry of over-the-top video and VOD activity as consumers hunkered down, but VOD usage on Saturday night surged to record levels for Comcast.

Per the MSO, Xfinity on Demand set a record for views with 1.29 million people watching concurrently on Saturday, breaking the number set during last year’s Watchathon.

Comcast also said VOD views were up 23% from the previous Saturday, driven by regions impacted by Jonas – views in Pittsburgh were up 38%, in the Northeast, including Boston and Connecticut (up 40%), Philadelphia and New Jersey (up 50%), and Baltimore and Washington, D.C. (up 56%).

Among titles, NBC’s Shades of Blue topped the cable/broadcast show category, while HBO’s Game of Thrones was the most popular in the premium arena. Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go was the most watched kids show, Hotel Transylvania on FX was the most viewed free VOD title.

The Intern was the most popular movie rental, though The Martian took it down in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. 

DirecTV said it will help viewers stay apprised of this weekend’s winters storm in the Northeastern U.S. using a Severe Weather/News Mix channel.

The six-in-one blend will present a mosaic of feeds from WeatherNation, The Weather Channel, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and a channel dedicated to local and regional coverage from select affiliates. That latter will initially offer WJLA (ABC) in Washington D.C., and alternate with WRLH (FOX) in Richmond, Va.

All six channels will appear on-screen at the same time during Winter Storm Jonas, selectable using the remote for full-screen viewing, DirecTV said.

The Weather/News Mix channel will be available until 7 p.m. ET Friday on channel 361-1, and will switch to local/regional coverage only, on channel 361-2. The six-in-one offering will return at 6 a.m. ET on Saturday on channel 361-1, DirecTV said.