2016 was a wild year for cable news networks, so where did viewers go when they wanted coverage of everything from celebrity deaths to the presidential election? Find out here with the Top 23 shows ranked by rating.
23. “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon”
Lemon’s primetime show averaged 924,000 viewers and is a unique combination of straight newscast and opinion programming. CNN essentially allows Lemon to do what he thinks will benefit viewers on a nightly basis, which was evident when he recently choked up remembering news legend Gwen Ifill.
22. “Erin Burnett Outfront”
Burnett continues to be one of the most-watched programs on CNN, averaging 948,000 viewers on a nightly basis.
21. “The Kelly File” – repeat
It’s been quite a year for Megyn Kelly and the late-night repeat of “The Kelly File” averages one million viewers per night, topping the live edition of most cable news competitors.
20. “Hardball with Chris Matthews”
Matthews averaged 1.05 million viewers to help MSNBC defeat CNN in the 7 p.m. hour during the wild political year of 2016.
19. “All In With Chris Hayes”
Hayes averaged 1.07 million viewers with his unique take on political issues while managing to squeeze in time to grab a drink with TheWrap.
18. “11th Hour with Brian Williams”
Brian Williams returned to primetime after a stint as an afternoon breaking news anchor to average 1.14 million viewers, giving MSNBC a hit show while resurrecting Williams’ career at the same time.
17. “Anderson Cooper 360”
Cooper had CNN’s most-watched program of 2016, with 1.14 million viewers. While Cooper is a household name and widely recognized, many will find it odd that he finished behind so many cable news competitors.
16. “Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell”
O’Donnell, who was a writer on “The West Wing” before landing his MSNBC gig, averaged 1.24 million viewers in 2016.
15. “Fox & Friends”
The Fox News morning show hosted Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade and Ainsley Earhardt averaged 1.27 million viewers. By comparison, cable news rivals “New Day” averaged 508,000 and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” averaged 677,000.
14. Fox News’ 2 p.m. ET Hour
This one is complicated, as “Real Story with Gretchen Carlson” occupied this spot until she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, who eventually stepped down in disgrace. Carlson’s old show combined with a variety of replacements averaged 1.35 million viewers.
13. “The O’Reilly Factor” – repeat
Bill O’Reilly is so popular that the late-night repeat of his primetime show averaged more viewers than most competitors pick up on a good night, with 1.39 million viewers tuning into the second run of “Factor.”
12. “The Rachel Maddow Show”
Maddow is the most-watched show that isn’t on Fox News Channel, averaging 1.43 million viewers. 2016 was Maddow’s most-watched year in the show’s history.
11. “Happening Now”
Jon Scott and Jenna Lee anchor the midday newscast that averaged 1.44 million viewers.
10. “Shepard Smith Reporting”
Fox News’ Smith cracks the Top 10 by averaging 1.47 million viewers during his afternoon newscast.
9. “Outnumbered”
The afternoon show that features four females and “One Lucky Guy” averaged 1.59 million viewers.
8. “Your World with Neil Cavuto”
Cavuto emerged as a huge fan favorite when viewers realized how much they missed him during an extended absence to recover from heart surgery. He finished the year averaging 1.6 million viewers.
7. “America’s Newsroom”
Martha MacCallum and Bill Hemmer’s program beat all primetime shows on CNN and MSNBC despite airing from 9-11 a.m. ET.
6. “Tucker Carlson Tonight”
The 7 p.m. ET hour averaged 2.15 million viewers, with “On the Record” and Carlson’s new show combining for the sixth most-watched timeslot of 2016.
5. “Hannity”
Sean Hannity’s right-leaning opinion program emerged as must-see TV for Donald Trump supporters and averaged 2.25 million viewers per night.
4. “The Five”
The ensemble cast featuring Eric Bolling, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Greg Gutfeld, Juan Williams and Dana Perino averaged 2.33 million viewers.
3. “Special Report”
Bret Baier’s nightly newscast is the most-watched straight news program among cable television with an average viewership of 2.39 million.
2. “The Kelly File”
Megyn Kelly’s star continued to grow in 2016 and the soon-to-be free agent averaged 2.73 million viewers.
1. “The O’Reilly Factor”
Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” dominated total viewers in 2016, averaging 3.29 million viewers.
If you enjoyed this, check out TheWrap’s 16 Media Winners of 2016.
