ESPN scored cable's first monthly primetime ratings win in January on the strength of its college football playoffs coverage.
The sports network averaged 2.5 million viewers for the period of Dec. 31, 2018 to Jan. 27, 2019 to top all cable networks, according to Nielsen. The network was paced by its Jan. 7 Alabama-Clemson College Football Playoff National Championship telecast, which drew more than 25 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
Fox News finished second with 2.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 1.9 million viewers, and Hallmark Channel and HGTV’s 1.3 million watchers each, said Nielsen.
CNN (1.2 million viewers), USA Network, History, Investigation Discovery (all tied with 1.1 million) and Discovery Channel, TNT, A&E Network and TLC (all tied with 1.0 million) rounded out the top 10 most watched cable networks in primetime for the month.
Fox News continued to dominate the total day race, notching its 31 consecutive monthly ratings win by avering 1.3 million total viewers, according to Nielsen. MSNBC, ESPN, CNN and Nickelodeon finished among the top five in the category, according to Nielsen.
