Weekly Cable Ratings: ESPN Tackles Primetime Crown

By R. Thomas Umstead
last updated

Fox News slays network competition in total day

Benny Snell Jr. #24 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs the ball against Bobby Okereke #58 of the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 28, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
ESPN continued its strong fall ratings performance with Nov. 28’s ‘Monday Night Football’ game between the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers. (Image credit: Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

ESPN continued its strong fall season ratings run, topping the primetime ratings chart for the third consecutive week.

The sports network averaged 2.3 million viewers during the week of November 28 to December 4 to beat out second-place Fox News Channel, which averaged 1.9 million viewers for the week, according to Nielsen.

Hallmark Channel continued to ride its "Countdown to Christmas" slate of holiday films to a strong ratings performance, finishing third with 1.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC's 1.2 million viewers and HGTV's 799,000 watchers.

Also: Cable Nets, Streamers Ramp Up Holiday Films Lineup Leading Into Christmas

Rounding out the top 10 most-watched networks in primetime were Paramount Network (793,000 viewers), TLC (773,000), History (761,000), USA Network (680,000) and Food Network (673,000).

Fox News topped the total day charts with an average of 1.3 million viewers — its 48th consecutive win in the category — followed by ESPN (770,000 viewers), MSNBC (751,000), Hallmark Channel (731,000) and CNN (495,000), reported Nielsen. ■ 

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.