Somehow, mercifully, 2018 is almost over. Before we bid it goodbye and dive into a (hopefully) much better 2019, let’s look back at how the year treated our favorite cable channels.
For the third year in a row, Fox News Channel was the most-watched network on cable, according to Nielsen ratings. That claim holds true for both primetime (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.) and total day (6 a.m. to 6 a.m.). ESPN was again runner-up.
Thanks to midterm elections, Fox News rose about 2.5 percent year over year. ESPN declined.
MSNBC, HGTV and USA Network rounded out the Top 5 primetime cable channels, according to Nielsen’s Live + Same Day data through Dec. 4. TBS, TNT, History, Hallmark and ID make it an even top 10. Something called Comedy.TV ranked dead last in the study, which encompassed 109 networks.
The below Nielsen rankers are in thousands, which means Fox News averaged 2.482 million primetime viewers. Comedy.TV averaged 1,000 total viewers for the same hours.
For this story we ignored delayed viewing, which skews hard against news and sports programming. The rankings would change if we included catch-up tuning — and not just among cable news and the ESPNs of the world. Using three days of delayed viewing, USA would leapfrog HGTV, extending the NBCUniversal cable channel’s entertainment-only win-streak to 13 years.
| M-Sunday 8P-11P | ||
| P2+ | ||
| Rank | Network | AA (000) |
| 1 | FOX NEWS CHANNEL | 2,482 |
| 2 | ESPN | 1,827 |
| 3 | MSNBC | 1,804 |
| 4 | HOME AND GARDEN TV | 1,331 |
| 5 | USA NETWORK | 1,297 |
| 6 | TBS NETWORK | 1,277 |
| 7 | TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION | 1,189 |
| 8 | HISTORY | 1,042 |
| 9 | HALLMARK CHANNEL | 1,028 |
| 10 | INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY | 1,007 |
| 11 | CNN | 989 |
| 12 | DISCOVERY CHANNEL | 952 |
| 13 | A&E NETWORK | 890 |
| 14 | FOOD NETWORK | 861 |
| 15 | TLC | 848 |
| 16 | FX | 749 |
| 17 | AMC | 745 |
| 18 | ADULT SWIM | 645 |
| 19 | TV LAND | 629 |
| 20 | BRAVO | 600 |
| 21 | NICK-AT-NITE | 586 |
| 22 | LIFETIME TELEVISION | 566 |
| 23 | HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES | 540 |
| 24 | VH1 | 533 |
| 25 | INSP | 532 |
| 26 | FREEFORM | 517 |
| 27 | SYFY | 495 |
| 28 | ANIMAL PLANET | 466 |
| 29 | MTV | 455 |
| 30 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC | 446 |
| 31 | TRAVEL CHANNEL | 442 |
| 32 | NICK JR | 426 |
| 33 | GSN | 418 |
| 33 | NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 418 |
| 35 | PARAMOUNT | 416 |
| 36 | OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK | 403 |
| 37 | BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV | 396 |
| 38 | WETV | 389 |
| 39 | COMEDY CENTRAL | 371 |
| 40 | FOX SPORTS 1 | 345 |
| 40 | LIFETIME MOVIE NETWORK | 345 |
| 42 | E! | 341 |
| 43 | WGN AMERICA | 334 |
| 44 | OXYGEN MEDIA | 326 |
| 45 | ESPN2 | 321 |
| 46 | FXX | 306 |
| 47 | TRUTV | 288 |
| 48 | SCIENCE | 287 |
| 49 | NFL NETWORK | 284 |
| 50 | HLN | 279 |
| 51 | CNBC | 278 |
| 51 | NAT GEO WILD | 278 |
| 53 | CMT | 262 |
| 54 | MOTOR TREND | 244 |
| 55 | DIY NETWORK | 239 |
| 56 | BBC-AMERICA | 237 |
| 57 | SUNDANCE TV | 228 |
| 58 | IFC TV | 200 |
| 59 | THE WEATHER CHANNEL | 193 |
| 60 | UNIVISION DEPORTES | 170 |
| 61 | NICKTOONS | 163 |
| 62 | DISNEY XD | 155 |
| 63 | REELZCHANNEL | 153 |
| 64 | POP | 148 |
| 65 | MLB NETWORK | 147 |
| 66 | GALAVISION | 140 |
| 67 | TV ONE | 137 |
| 68 | COOKING CHANNEL | 132 |
| 69 | FX MOVIE CHANNEL | 130 |
| 70 | AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL | 129 |
| 71 | FYI | 118 |
| 71 | GOLF CHANNEL | 118 |
| 73 | TEENNICK | 115 |
| 74 | RFD-TV | 109 |
| 75 | DESTINATION AMERICA | 105 |
| 76 | BOOMERANG | 103 |
| 77 | SMITHSONIAN | 102 |
| 78 | FOX BUSINESS NETWORK | 101 |
| 79 | GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY | 98 |
| 79 | NBA-TV | 98 |
| 79 | UP | 98 |
| 82 | MTV2 | 92 |
| 83 | VICELAND | 88 |
| 84 | DISCOVERY EN ESPANOL | 85 |
| 85 | ESPNU | 79 |
| 86 | OVATION | 74 |
| 87 | UNIVERSO | 64 |
| 88 | DISCOVERY FAMILY CHANNEL | 62 |
| 89 | LOGO | 60 |
| 90 | DISCOVERY LIFE CHANNEL | 59 |
| 91 | FOX DEPORTES | 55 |
| 92 | BABY FIRST TV | 49 |
| 92 | BET HER | 49 |
| 92 | TENNIS CHANNEL | 49 |
| 95 | EL REY | 47 |
| 95 | ESPN DEPORTES | 47 |
| 97 | FUSE | 42 |
| 98 | ESPNEWS | 39 |
| 99 | CINE LATINO | 37 |
| 100 | FOX SPORTS 2 | 35 |
| 101 | DISCOVERY FAMILIA | 28 |
| 101 | UNIVERSAL KIDS | 28 |
| 103 | CNN EN ESPANOL | 23 |
| 104 | BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 17 |
| 105 | JUSTICE CENTRAL | 13 |
| 106 | MTV CLASSIC | 10 |
| 107 | BEIN SPORT | 6 |
| 108 | ESN LIFESTYLES | 4 |
| 109 | COMEDY.TV | 1 |
Below is how the cable channels stack up on a 24-hour basis. Readers can see Nickelodeon jump up on the list, which makes sense considering kids are usually in bed for primetime. All-day news channel CNN also moves up in the rankings, as does ID, which has a strong daytime appeal to stay-at-home moms.
History channel, whose audience skews old and male, falls out of the top 10 here. Comedy channel TBS also doesn’t do so hot when factoring in the full day.
And yes, in case you were wondering, Comedy.TV stays exactly the same.
| M-Sunday 6A-6A | ||
| P2+ | ||
| Rank | Network | AA (000) |
| 1 | FOX NEWS CHANNEL | 1,442 |
| 2 | MSNBC | 990 |
| 3 | NICKELODEON | 875 |
| 4 | HOME AND GARDEN TV | 743 |
| 5 | ESPN | 725 |
| 6 | INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY | 717 |
| 7 | CNN | 702 |
| 8 | HALLMARK CHANNEL | 618 |
| 9 | USA NETWORK | 616 |
| 10 | TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION | 598 |
| 11 | HISTORY | 539 |
| 12 | FOOD NETWORK | 526 |
| 13 | TV LAND | 493 |
| 14 | TBS NETWORK | 491 |
| 15 | THE CARTOON NETWORK | 478 |
| 16 | A&E NETWORK | 460 |
| 17 | DISCOVERY CHANNEL | 420 |
| 17 | TV LAND CLASSIC | 420 |
| 19 | TLC | 382 |
| 20 | HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES | 369 |
| 21 | AMC | 366 |
| 22 | FX | 365 |
| 23 | INSP | 346 |
| 24 | LIFETIME TELEVISION | 316 |
| 25 | ANIMAL PLANET | 285 |
| 25 | FREEFORM | 285 |
| 25 | NICK JR | 285 |
| 28 | PARAMOUNT | 283 |
| 29 | GSN | 280 |
| 30 | BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV | 279 |
| 31 | SYFY | 273 |
| 32 | MTV | 265 |
| 33 | TRAVEL CHANNEL | 263 |
| 34 | WETV | 260 |
| 35 | VH1 | 256 |
| 36 | COMEDY CENTRAL | 250 |
| 37 | HLN | 247 |
| 38 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC | 242 |
| 39 | OXYGEN MEDIA | 238 |
| 40 | LIFETIME MOVIE NETWORK | 235 |
| 41 | WGN AMERICA | 226 |
| 42 | BRAVO | 224 |
| 43 | OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK | 208 |
| 44 | E! | 200 |
| 45 | NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 192 |
| 46 | THE WEATHER CHANNEL | 182 |
| 47 | SCIENCE | 180 |
| 48 | FXX | 179 |
| 49 | FOX SPORTS 1 | 176 |
| 50 | ESPN2 | 173 |
| 51 | TRUTV | 172 |
| 52 | NAT GEO WILD | 162 |
| 53 | CMT | 159 |
| 54 | MOTOR TREND | 147 |
| 55 | BBC-AMERICA | 142 |
| 56 | DIY NETWORK | 139 |
| 57 | NICKTOONS | 138 |
| 58 | CNBC | 136 |
| 58 | SUNDANCE TV | 136 |
| 60 | NFL NETWORK | 135 |
| 61 | DISNEY XD | 131 |
| 62 | FOX BUSINESS NETWORK | 127 |
| 63 | GOLF CHANNEL | 113 |
| 64 | TEENNICK | 111 |
| 65 | IFC TV | 110 |
| 66 | BOOMERANG | 100 |
| 67 | AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL | 91 |
| 68 | FX MOVIE CHANNEL | 90 |
| 68 | MTV2 | 90 |
| 70 | REELZCHANNEL | 88 |
| 70 | TV ONE | 88 |
| 72 | POP | 84 |
| 73 | COOKING CHANNEL | 80 |
| 74 | MLB NETWORK | 79 |
| 75 | UP | 75 |
| 76 | FYI | 73 |
| 77 | DESTINATION AMERICA | 67 |
| 78 | SMITHSONIAN | 60 |
| 79 | GALAVISION | 57 |
| 80 | GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY | 54 |
| 81 | UNIVISION DEPORTES | 53 |
| 82 | LOGO | 51 |
| 83 | NBA-TV | 46 |
| 84 | OVATION | 42 |
| 84 | VICELAND | 42 |
| 86 | BABY FIRST TV | 41 |
| 87 | ESPNU | 40 |
| 88 | DISCOVERY EN ESPANOL | 38 |
| 88 | EL REY | 38 |
| 90 | DISCOVERY LIFE CHANNEL | 37 |
| 91 | DISCOVERY FAMILY CHANNEL | 35 |
| 91 | TENNIS CHANNEL | 35 |
| 91 | UNIVERSAL KIDS | 35 |
| 94 | BET HER | 34 |
| 95 | RFD-TV | 33 |
| 96 | ESPNEWS | 31 |
| 96 | UNIVERSO | 31 |
| 98 | FUSE | 27 |
| 99 | CINE LATINO | 26 |
| 100 | ESPN DEPORTES | 23 |
| 101 | FOX DEPORTES | 23 |
| 102 | FOX SPORTS 2 | 21 |
| 103 | BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 19 |
| 104 | DISCOVERY FAMILIA | 14 |
| 105 | CNN EN ESPANOL | 12 |
| 106 | JUSTICE CENTRAL | 9 |
| 107 | BEIN SPORT | 7 |
| 107 | MTV CLASSIC | 7 |
| 108 | ESN LIFESTYLES | 2 |
| 109 | COMEDY.TV | 1 |
Need to IMMEDIATELY known more about Comedy.TV? So did we.
Here is the channel’s description, per its website:
Some say laughter is the best medicine. It’s true. Standup comedy has been known to cure everything from bad moods and frowns to fits of pouting. So for those who need a heavy dose of hilarity, try a spoonful of “Comedy.TV.” With no traffic jams, parking debacles, or two-drink minimums of the local comedy clubs, the most clever comedians jump onstage for a full-fledged funny fest.
Find out if the channel is available in your market here. Let’s get those stats up in 2019!