MSNBC Scores Another Big Ratings Feat

Monday through Friday, the network ranked as the most-watched network across all of primetime cable.

Maintaining a streak of ratings momentum and general good news, MSNBC logged a new first last week: It ranked as the most-watched primetime network in all of cable.

That status, held Monday (July 17) through Friday (July 21) and not for the entire seven-day week, saw the cable news network averaging 2.33 million viewers between 8 and 11 p.m. MSNBC had previous topped the other cable news outlets for the five-day week, once in May and once before in 2012, but this is the first time it also outranked cable's entertainment networks. The network finished the week ahead of Fox News Channel, Disney, USA and HGTV.

Good news for MSNBC was also good news for Rachel Maddow. Her show ranked No. 2 in all of basic cable, trailing only WWE Entertainment.

Through the five nights, MSNBC also ranked as the No. 1 network in cable among adults 25-54. With an average 542,000 viewers in the key demo, it outrated Fox News (430,000) by 26 percent. (Across all of cable, MSNBC trailed only USA and TBS.)

While The Rachel Maddow Show has often been unbeatable for much of this year, and MSNBC has scored key victories over Fox News and CNN on several occasions, FNC has maintained its overall lead. It recently wrapped the second quarter with wins among total viewers and the key demo, as all three cable news networks see continued year-over-year ratings growth.

With the full-week reported by Nielsen on July 25, FNC climbed atop MSNBC — 1.93 million viewers to 1.84 million.