115 Cable Channels Ranked by 2019 Viewership – Yes, Comedy.TV Is Still Dead Last
2019 is finally coming to an end, taking with it a decade that saw major changes in the way people watched television. But before we close the book on 2019 and dive into 2020, let’s look back at how the final year of the 2010s treated our favorite cable channels by employing the most hallowed form of year-end content — the ranked list.
For the fourth year in a row, Fox News Channel finished 2019 as the most-watched network on cable, according to Nielsen’s Live + Same Day 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.). As a matter of fact, Fox News is currently enjoying its most-watched year ever in primetime.
ESPN was again runner-up in primetime, but MSNBC bumped the world’s most expensive cable channel to third in total day rankings.
Also Read: 109 Cable Channels Ranked by 2018 Viewership, From Fox News to Comedy.TV
MSNBC, HGTV and Hallmark Channel complete the Top 5 primetime cable networks, according to Nielsen’s Live + Same Day data through Dec. 9. TBS, TNT, USA Network, CNN and History round out the Top 10.
Once again, Comedy.TV ranked dead last in the study, which encompassed 115 networks. The network averaged a paltry 1,000 total viewers across both primetime and the full day, performing even worse than such little-watched networks as Newsy, MTV Classic, beIN Sports and beIN Sports Español.
Looking ahead, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN should all have a pretty excellent 2020 with the presidential election set for next November.
Also Read: Fox Has Won 6 Weeks of Ratings in a Row for the First Time Ever: Here's How
The below Nielsen rankers are in thousands, which means Fox News averaged 2.481 million primetime viewers, just 1,000 fewer total viewers than in 2018. 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.
See the full rankings for both primetime and total-day viewership, below.
Primetime (Mon-Sun, 8-11 p.m.)
Rank | Network | P2+ AA (000) |
1 | FOX NEWS CHANNEL | 2,481 |
2 | ESPN | 1,784 |
3 | MSNBC | 1,753 |
4 | HOME AND GARDEN TV | 1,199 |
5 | HALLMARK CHANNEL | 1,100 |
6 | TBS NETWORK | 1,055 |
7 | TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION | 1,050 |
8 | USA NETWORK | 1,042 |
9 | CNN | 972 |
10 | HISTORY | 969 |
11 | TLC | 945 |
12 | A&E NETWORK | 935 |
13 | INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY | 910 |
14 | DISCOVERY CHANNEL | 894 |
15 | FOOD NETWORK | 823 |
16 | TV LAND | 609 |
17 | FX | 605 |
18 | AMC | 600 |
19 | BRAVO | 598 |
20 | INSP | 589 |
21 | LIFETIME TELEVISION | 559 |
22 | HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES | 500 |
23 | FREEFORM | 494 |
24 | ADULT SWIM | 493 |
25 | SYFY | 476 |
26 | NICK-AT-NITE | 473 |
27 | VH1 | 438 |
28 | ANIMAL PLANET | 426 |
29 | MTV | 422 |
29 | WETV | 422 |
31 | TRAVEL CHANNEL | 401 |
32 | GSN | 400 |
32 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC | 400 |
34 | PARAMOUNT | 396 |
35 | THE CARTOON NETWORK | 369 |
36 | NICK JR | 366 |
37 | COMEDY CENTRAL | 339 |
38 | OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK | 329 |
39 | BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV | 328 |
40 | NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 327 |
41 | FOX SPORTS 1 | 318 |
42 | LIFETIME MOVIE NETWORK | 311 |
43 | E! | 302 |
44 | ESPN2 | 300 |
45 | WGN AMERICA | 298 |
46 | OXYGEN MEDIA | 275 |
47 | SCIENCE | 271 |
48 | HLN | 267 |
49 | NFL NETWORK | 265 |
50 | FXX | 251 |
51 | MOTOR TREND | 240 |
52 | NAT GEO WILD | 236 |
53 | TRUTV | 229 |
54 | CMT | 222 |
55 | CNBC | 218 |
56 | BBC-AMERICA | 216 |
57 | IFC TV | 214 |
58 | SUNDANCE TV | 212 |
59 | FAMILY ENT TV | 187 |
60 | DIY NETWORK | 186 |
61 | THE WEATHER CHANNEL | 180 |
62 | NICKTOONS | 173 |
63 | TUDN | 172 |
64 | COOKING CHANNEL | 140 |
65 | MLB NETWORK | 137 |
66 | REELZCHANNEL | 135 |
67 | POP | 128 |
68 | FX MOVIE CHANNEL | 127 |
69 | GALAVISION | 126 |
70 | DISNEY XD | 124 |
71 | TV ONE | 121 |
72 | FYI | 104 |
73 | GOLF CHANNEL | 101 |
74 | SMITHSONIAN | 100 |
75 | FOX BUSINESS NETWORK | 97 |
76 | AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL | 94 |
77 | BOOMERANG | 93 |
78 | UP | 92 |
79 | RFD-TV | 87 |
80 | GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY | 86 |
81 | NBA-TV | 85 |
81 | TEENNICK | 85 |
83 | VICELAND | 77 |
84 | HALLMARK DRAMA | 75 |
85 | MTV2 | 74 |
86 | DESTINATION AMERICA | 72 |
87 | DISCOVERY EN ESPANOL | 69 |
87 | ESPNU | 69 |
87 | OVATION | 69 |
90 | UNIVERSO | 68 |
91 | TENNIS CHANNEL | 65 |
92 | AXS TV | 64 |
93 | BIG TEN NETWORK | 61 |
94 | FOX DEPORTES | 57 |
94 | LOGO | 57 |
96 | DISCOVERY FAMILY CHANNEL | 51 |
96 | DISCOVERY LIFE CHANNEL | 51 |
98 | BET HER | 47 |
99 | ESPN DEPORTES | 45 |
100 | DISCOVERY FAMILIA | 36 |
101 | ESPNEWS | 35 |
102 | BABY FIRST TV | 34 |
103 | CINE LATINO | 31 |
104 | UNIVERSAL KIDS | 29 |
105 | FUSE | 28 |
106 | CNN EN ESPANOL | 26 |
107 | EL REY | 25 |
108 | FOX SPORTS 2 | 17 |
109 | BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 11 |
110 | JUSTICE CENTRAL | 11 |
111 | MTV CLASSIC | 9 |
112 | BEIN SPORT | 5 |
113 | NEWSY | 3 |
113 | ESN LIFESTYLES | 3 |
115 | COMEDY.TV | 1 |
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Total Day (Mon-Sun, 6 a.m. – 6 a.m.)
Rank | Network | P2+ AA (000) |
1 | FOX NEWS CHANNEL | 1,394 |
2 | MSNBC | 990 |
3 | ESPN | 719 |
4 | NICKELODEON | 687 |
5 | HOME AND GARDEN TV | 672 |
6 | INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY | 657 |
7 | CNN | 649 |
8 | HALLMARK CHANNEL | 605 |
9 | USA NETWORK | 514 |
10 | FOOD NETWORK | 513 |
10 | TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION | 513 |
12 | HISTORY | 499 |
13 | A&E NETWORK | 478 |
14 | TV LAND | 463 |
15 | TBS NETWORK | 458 |
16 | TLC | 395 |
17 | DISCOVERY CHANNEL | 388 |
18 | INSP | 357 |
19 | HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES | 349 |
20 | THE CARTOON NETWORK | 332 |
21 | LIFETIME TELEVISION | 318 |
22 | AMC | 311 |
23 | FX | 304 |
24 | FREEFORM | 290 |
25 | GSN | 284 |
26 | PARAMOUNT | 271 |
27 | MTV | 266 |
28 | WETV | 263 |
29 | ANIMAL PLANET | 256 |
29 | NICK JR | 256 |
31 | TRAVEL CHANNEL | 249 |
32 | SYFY | 247 |
33 | HLN | 234 |
34 | COMEDY CENTRAL | 228 |
35 | VH1 | 226 |
36 | BRAVO | 225 |
37 | BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV | 223 |
38 | WGN AMERICA | 218 |
39 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC | 217 |
40 | LIFETIME MOVIE NETWORK | 212 |
41 | OXYGEN MEDIA | 210 |
42 | OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK | 185 |
43 | SCIENCE | 174 |
44 | THE WEATHER CHANNEL | 170 |
45 | E! | 166 |
46 | ESPN2 | 162 |
47 | FOX SPORTS 1 | 161 |
48 | NICKTOONS | 154 |
49 | CMT | 151 |
50 | FXX | 148 |
50 | MOTOR TREND | 148 |
52 | NAT GEO WILD | 139 |
53 | NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 137 |
54 | TRUTV | 135 |
55 | SUNDANCE TV | 134 |
56 | BBC-AMERICA | 132 |
57 | CNBC | 126 |
57 | NFL NETWORK | 126 |
59 | IFC TV | 112 |
60 | DIY NETWORK | 111 |
61 | FOX BUSINESS NETWORK | 107 |
62 | BOOMERANG | 103 |
63 | DISNEY XD | 96 |
64 | GOLF CHANNEL | 92 |
65 | FAMILY ENT TV | 90 |
66 | FX MOVIE CHANNEL | 87 |
67 | COOKING CHANNEL | 83 |
68 | TV ONE | 82 |
69 | TEENNICK | 79 |
70 | REELZCHANNEL | 76 |
71 | MLB NETWORK | 72 |
71 | AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL | 72 |
73 | UP | 66 |
74 | FYI | 65 |
75 | POP | 64 |
76 | MTV2 | 62 |
77 | SMITHSONIAN | 59 |
78 | GALAVISION | 54 |
79 | TUDN | 53 |
80 | GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY | 50 |
81 | TENNIS CHANNEL | 49 |
82 | HALLMARK DRAMA | 48 |
83 | LOGO | 47 |
83 | DESTINATION AMERICA | 47 |
85 | OVATION | 41 |
86 | NBA-TV | 40 |
87 | VICELAND | 37 |
88 | ESPNU | 35 |
89 | UNIVERSO | 33 |
89 | BABY FIRST TV | 33 |
91 | ESPNEWS | 32 |
91 | BET HER | 32 |
91 | DISCOVERY LIFE CHANNEL | 32 |
91 | BIG TEN NETWORK | 32 |
95 | DISCOVERY EN ESPANOL | 31 |
96 | UNIVERSAL KIDS | 30 |
97 | DISCOVERY FAMILY CHANNEL | 29 |
98 | RFD-TV | 27 |
99 | AXS TV | 26 |
100 | CINE LATINO | 22 |
100 | EL REY | 22 |
102 | FOX DEPORTES | 21 |
103 | ESPN DEPORTES | 19 |
104 | FUSE | 16 |
105 | DISCOVERY FAMILIA | 15 |
105 | CNN EN ESPANOL | 15 |
107 | FOX SPORTS 2 | 12 |
107 | BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 12 |
109 | BEIN SPORT | 6 |
109 | JUSTICE CENTRAL | 6 |
109 | MTV CLASSIC | 6 |
112 | NEWSY | 3 |
113 | ESN LIFESTYLES | 2 |
114 | COMEDY.TV | 1 |
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