TV Ratings: Sports Claims Top 7 Prime-Time Shows

In October, Fox’s “The Five” eclipsed every show on cable news in popularity for the first time ever, the Nielsen company said. That’s highly unusual for a program that airs at 5 p.m. Eastern and in the midafternoon on the West Coast; the number of people watching television typically increases in prime time after the workday is done.

Yet during October, “The Five” averaged 3.11 million viewers, narrowly beating Fox’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which had 3.08 million, reports The Associated Press citing Nielsen data.

The colorful, often sarcastic panel show features four people offering a conservative point of view on issues of the day, with one Democrat trying to get a few words in. Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters and Dana Perino are regular cast members, with one other conservative rotating in.

The show recently lost Juan Williams as a Democratic regular. Recent shows have cycled in Harold Ford, Jr., Geraldo Rivera or Jessica Tarlov as contrarian voices.

“The Five” started as a temporary fill-in a decade ago after Fox cut ties with Glenn Beck in the time slot but has proven durable. Fox tested the show in prime time a couple of years ago, but its audience didn’t move with it.

All five episodes of “The Five” last week reached at least 3 million viewers, Nielsen said.

Behind a Thursday night NFL game and the Atlanta Braves’ World Series-clinching win, the Fox broadcast network won the week in prime time. Fox averaged 6.9 million viewers, with NBC at 5.2 million, CBS at 4.9 million, ABC at 2.8 million, Univision at 1.3 million, Ion Television at 890,000 and Telemundo at 820,000.

The first episode had nearly 8.4 million viewers Sunday night, Nielsen said.

📺Top 20 Primetime Shows:

1. NFL Football: Tennessee at L.A. Rams, NBC, 14.21 million.

2. World Series: Atlanta at Houston, Game 6, Fox, 13.97 million.

3. NFL Football: N.Y. Giants at Kansas City, ESPN, 11.96 million

4. NFL Football: N.Y. Jets at Indianapolis, Fox, 11.65 million.

5. “NFL Pregame,” NBC, 11.37 million.

6. “The OT,” Fox, 10.97 million.

7. “Football Night in America, Part 3,” NBC, 8.69 million.

8. “Yellowstone” (Sunday, 8 p.m.), Paramount, 8.38 million.

9. “Yellowstone” (Sunday, 9:13 p.m.), Paramount, 7.84 million.

10. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 7.53 million.

11. “NFL Pregame,” Fox, 7.31 million.

12. “NCIS,” CBS, 7.28 million.

13. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 7.12 million.

14. “Chicago Fire,” NBC, 7 million.

15. “FBI,” CBS, 6.99 million.

16. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 6.67 million.

17. “The Equalizer,” CBS, 6.64 million.

18. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 6.55 million.

19. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 6.2 million.

20. “Ghosts,” CBS, 5.94 million.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” won the evening news ratings race, averaging 8 million viewers last week. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 6.9 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5 million.

ESPN was the most popular cable network in prime time, averaging 2.76 million viewers. Fox News had 2.74 million, Paramount had 1.64 million, Hallmark had 1.41 million and MSNBC had 1.1 million

Graphics courtesy of RoadMN

TV Newser reports Primetime Fox News averaged 2.81 million total viewers (No. 2 on basic cable, behind ESPN) and 453,000 adults 25-54 (No. 3 on basic cable, behind ESPN and Paramount Network) last week. That’s +25% in average total viewers and +45% among adults 25-54 from what the network averaged in those two measurements the prior week.

Graphics Courtesy of  Road MN

Additionally, Fox News averaged more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined for the 12th straight week.

On the programming front, Tucker Carlson Tonight moved past The Five as the most-watched show on cable news for the week of Nov. 1, averaging 3.68 million viewers and 650,000 adults 25-54. Hannity moved past The Five, and into second place by averaging 3.49 million viewers and 572,000 adults 25-54. The Five (3.4 million), The Ingraham Angle (3.07 million) and Special Report with Bret Baier (2.82 million) round out the top 5 in average total viewers. 

Fox News had 14 of the 15-most-watched shows on cable news of the week, including the top nine. MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show fell to No. 10 in average total viewers (1.92 million), and was once again the top non-Fox News show on cable news for the week.