Fox News Channel had the best week among cable news networks for the week of May 16-22, but the big news is that MSNBC beat CNN in primetime for the second consecutive week.
MSNBC topped CNN in primetime viewers, ranking 17th among all of basic cable just ahead of CNN at No. 18, marking the latter’s lowest weekly ranking since January.
CNN averaged 752,000 viewers in primetime, its lowest weekly primetime average since the week of Jan. 18 while MSNBC averaged 775,000. MSNBC has now topped CNN in viewers in nine out of the last 14 days in primetime, including the day of the EgyptAir plane disappearance.
Fox News dominated its rivals, averaging 1.95 million primetime viewers, which is third overall behind only NBA Playoffs-heavy networks TNT and ESPN. USA and TBS join TNT, ESPN and Fox News among the Top 5 cable networks in primetime.
Perhaps CNN should hurry up and arrange the Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders debate in which both candidates have publicly agreed to participate. The network’s ratings skyrocketed earlier in the election cycle when it hosted a variety of debates, town halls and candidate interviews.