Not only was USA the most-watched cable network again this year, the channel increased its total primetime audience by 15% -- more than any of its top competitors.
USA's drama-series hit factory ("In Plain Sight," "Monk") grew along with "True Blood"-fueled pay network HBO (+41%), and BET (+23%), the latter boosted by its coverage of Michael Jackson's death. Food Network (+26%) cooked up a good year, "Jon & Kate" helped TLC (+18%) and sophomore hit "Sons of Anarchy" aided FX (+10%).
On the downside, CNN (-30%) fell more than any other cable network. Lifetime, despite gaining sampling with "Project Runway," dropped sharply (-20%), as did competitor Hallmark (-18%). Several MTV Networks brands slumped, with SpikeTV (-17%), Comedy Central (-10%) and MTV (-10%) down.
Here's how the cable networks stacked up this year in primetime:
TOTAL VIEWERS
USA - 3.28 million average viewers, +15%
DISNEY - 2.53 million, +6%
TNT - 2.25 million, +2%
ESPN - 2.25 million, +9%
FOX NEWS - 2.21 million, +7%
TBS - 1.84 million, -7%
NICK AT NIGHT - 1.73 million, +2%
A&E - 1.47 million, +8%
FX - 1.37 million, +10%
ABC FAMILY - 1.35 million, +4%
CARTOON - 1.30 million, -3%
SYFY - 1.27 million, -0%
DISCOVERY - 1.25 million, +4%
HISTORY - 1.21 million, +3%
HGTV - 1.20 million, +9%
LIFETIME - 1.19 million, -20%
FOOD - 1.12 million, +26%
HALLMARK - 1.10 million, -18%
TRUTV - 1.09 million, +0%
TLC - 1.07 million, +18%
SPIKE - 1.06 million, -17%
AMC - 1.04 million, -6%
COMEDY CENTRAL - 992,000, -10%
CNN - 908,000, -30%
MSNBC - 817,000, -12%
MTV - 807,000, -10%
BRAVO - 796,000, +6%
BET - 777,000, +23%
VH1 - 744,000, +0%
TVLAND - 720,000, -8%
ESPN2 - 694,000, +8%
HBO - 693,000, +41%
E! - 592,000, +7%
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