The extreme weather event that was Hurricane Milton could not match the draw of a vice presidential debate. Unlike the morning and evening news broadcasts, the three major cable networks all experienced week-to-week declines in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during primetime.

The situation was not that much better during total day the trio once again saw drops in total viewers. In a lone bright spot, CNN was the only network to see a viewership uptick in the advertiser-coveted total day demo. 

NETWORKS:

Nielsen live plus same-day data for the week of October 7 saw FNC average 2.487 million total viewers and 302,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was down by -20% in the former category and -31% in the latter relative to the week prior.

In total day, Fox News averaged 1.560 million total viewers and 201,000 A25-54 viewers for drops of -8% and -14%, respectively.

Among all basic cable networks, Fox News fell behind ESPN to land in the No. 2 spot in total primetime viewers, and registered at fourth place in the primetime demo. In total day, it continued to lead in total viewers and placed second in the demo.

MSNBC’s primetime lineup averaged 1.241 million total viewers and 130,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo. That translates to week-to-week drops of -29% and -42%, respectively.

During total day, MSNBC averaged 874,000 total viewers and 94,000 A25-54 viewers. It was down a respective -12% and -14% compared to the week before.

Among all basic cable networks, MSNBC slipped one spot to land in fourth place in total primetime viewers and dropped from eighth to 10th in the demo. During total day, it was the No. 3 network in total viewers and slid from the No. 5 to the No. 7 position in the demo. 

CNN averaged 766,000 total primetime viewers and 162,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime for drops of -21% and -28% compared to the previous week.

In total day, the network had 558,000 total viewers and 108,000 viewers in the demo. That split the difference, as CNN dipped -2% in the former category, but ticked up by +4% in the latter.

CNN landed in sixth place in primetime with total viewers and moved down two spots to No. 9 in the primetime demo. It held onto fourth and sixth place in total day viewers and the total day demo, respectively. 

When looking at these networks’ performance during the same period a year ago (the week of Oct. 9):

• During primetime, Fox News was up by +11% in total viewers and +6% in the A25-54 demo. During total day, the network saw losses of -2% in total viewers and -9% in the demo.
• MSNBC’s primetime lineup was up +13% in total viewers and +7% in the demo. During total day, the network was up +13% in total viewers and stayed flat in the demo.
• CNN’s primetime fortunes declined by -5% in total viewers and -17% in the demo. During total day, CNN was down by -19% in total viewers and -28% in the demo.

PROGRAMMING:

Fox News occupied 12 of the 15 spots of the most-watched cable news shows of the week, with The Five (3.573 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET) leaping over Jesse Watters Primetime to take the top spot. MSNBC occupied the remaining spots, with Deadline: White House with Nicole Wallace (1.666 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET) landing at No. 13.

Jesse Watters Primetime (389,000 viewers at 8 p.m. ET) remained the top show in the Adults 25-54 demo. Fox News had 13 out of the 15 top shows in the demo, with CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 (211,000 viewers at 8 p.m. ET) landing in the No. 14 spot.

Week of October 7 cable news ratings, Monday-Sunday (Nielsen Live+SD data):