Weekly Cable Ratings: NBA Draft, College World Series Help ESPN Top Primetime

R. Thomas Umstead
·1 min read
Dylan Crews (3) of the University of Florida Gators during game three of the 2023 College World Series championship round.
Dylan Crews (3) of the University of Florida Gators during game three of the 2023 College World Series championship round.

ESPN was the most-watched network during the penultimate week of June, besting last week’s leaders Fox News Channel and MSNBC.

ESPN averaged 1.7 million primetime viewers during the week of June 19 to June 25 to top all cable networks, according to Nielsen numbers provided by Fox News. ESPN was bolstered by its June 22 NBA Draft coverage, which drew 2.7 million viewers, and its June 24 LSU-Florida College World Series telecast, which pulled in 2.5 million watchers.

Fox News was second for the week with 1.5 million viewers, followed by MSNBC's 1.3 million viewers, HGTV’s 802,000 viewers and INSP’s 749,000 watchers.

CNN was sixth with 749,000 viewers, followed by Discovery Channel (665,000), History (606,000), TLC (601,000) and Hallmark Channel (588,000).

On a 24-hour basis, Fox News won for its 25th consecutive week, followed by MSNBC  (849,000 viewers), ESPN (662,000), CNN (579,000) and HGTV (453,000).