Rebecca Takes On the Cable News, Week of August 20: MSNBC & CNN Owe Manafort and Cohen a Big Thank You

Rebecca Takes on the Cable News is back for season three, and just in time! It was a crazy rich week for cable news, with President Donald Trump's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week helping many shows across cable news score big ratings bumps, except for one network. We also have some new shows being covered this season, as well as a new feature on our chart. Stay tuned for all the new features plus this week's Winner & Loser!

Winner of the Week:

While the majority of cable news shows ticked up for the week, The Rachel Maddow Show saw a huge surge. It's typically the highest-rated program on cable news, but it wasn't even close this time around. Topping distant rival Cuomo Prime Time by 0.08 and it typical runner-up, Hannity, by 0.12, this is one of TRMS's best results to date, despite its network losing out to CNN in primetime for the week. There's really no competition for the title of Winner of the Week. But I do need to give a special shout-out to Velshi & Ruhle for finally finding its way out of last place!

Loser of the Week:

CNN and MSNBC had pretty great weeks. Fox News... didn't. The network fell to third place in primetime, and it saw no help from the huge news stories of the week. The struggle showed the most in The Ingraham Angle, the lowest-rated program in primetime for the week. While it's typically an OK performer that always lags in the middle of the primetime pack, taking dead last for the week is a very disappointing result for it. Other shows rated lower, but that doesn't make the Ingraham Angle's rough week any better.

And now introducing the newly improved Rebecca Takes on the Cable News chart, featuring the introduction of Hardball, New Day and Cuomo Prime Time, as well as displays of the weekly highs and lows for all twenty covered shows.

What do you think of the weekly cable news developments? WHo are your winners and losers? Let me know in the comments below!

Wednesday Cable Ratings 8/29/18: Alone Together Ends Down, Greenleaf Slips in Night Two

Below are the Top 25 programs on cable on Wednesday, 8/29/18. Items of note include the finale of Alone Together on Freeform, the timeslot premiere of Greenleaf on OWN, and The Sinner on USA.
(Click the names of the shows written in teal or blue to be taken to their pages in the TV Ratings Guide Cable Database.)

Show	Network	18-49 Viewers	Viewers (mil.)
Black Ink Crew Chicago	VH1	0.54	1.10
Real Housewives of New York	Bravo	0.46	1.39
Catfish	MTV	0.35	0.64
Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda	Invest. Discovery	0.34	1.54
Property Brothers	HGTV	0.33	1.86
Greenleaf	OWN	0.32	1.39
House Hunters	HGTV	0.32	1.71
The Rachel Maddow Show	MSNBC	0.31	3.07
House Hunters International	HGTV	0.31	1.60
Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party	VH1	0.3	0.65
Born This Way	A&E	0.3	0.69
Are You the One?	MTV	0.28	0.48
The Sinner	USA	0.28	1.14
Hannity	Fox News	0.28	3.40
Cuomo Prime Time	CNN	0.27	1.38
Real Housewives of Dallas	Bravo	0.27	0.75
Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party	VH1	0.26	0.57
Guy's Grocery Games	Food	0.26	0.82
Tucker Carlson Tonight	Fox News	0.23	2.62
US Open Tennis	ESPN	0.23	1.01
Suits	USA	0.23	1.13
Best of American Pickers	History	0.23	1.28
CNN Tonight with Don Lemon	CNN	0.21	1.20
The Ingraham Angle	Fox News	0.21	2.61
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell	MSNBC	0.2	2.46
Highlights Below the Chart:
Anderson Cooper 360	CNN	0.2	1.12
Erin Burnett OutFront	CNN	0.18	0.95
The Lead with Jake Tapper	CNN	0.15	0.93
Morning Joe	MSNBC	0.14	1.18
Deadline: White House	MSNBC	0.13	1.53
Conan	TBS	0.13	0.34
Wolf	CNN	0.13	1.05
Velshi & Ruhle	MSNBC	0.11	1.15
At This Hour	CNN	0.09	0.71
Alone Together	Freeform	0.05	0.09
Alone Together	Freeform	0.04	0.06

Tuesday Cable Ratings 8/28/18: Greenleaf Returns Solid, Younger Ends Steady

Below are the Top 25 programs on cable on Tuesday, 8/28/18. Items of note include the season premiere Greenleaf on OWN and the season finales of Younger on TV Land and Hit the Floor on BET.
(Note: Click any show with its name in green or blue to be taken to its page in the TV Ratings Guide Cable Ratings Database.)

Show	Network	18-49 Viewers	Viewers (mil.)
WWE Smackdown	USA	0.75	2.35
Below Deck Mediterranean	Bravo	0.5	1.39
The Challenge	MTV	0.47	0.75
Deadliest Catch	Discovery	0.44	1.62
The Haves and the Have Nots	OWN	0.42	2.06
Miz & Mrs	USA	0.42	1.16
Greenleaf	OWN	0.38	1.74
Outdaughtered	TLC	0.36	1.72
Forged In Fire	History	0.34	1.05
Hard Knocks	HBO	0.32	0.65
Chrisley Knows Best	USA	0.31	0.99
Ink Master	Paramount	0.31	0.75
The Rachel Maddow Show	MSNBC	0.3	2.88
Wrecked	TBS	0.29	0.86
Married At First Sight	Lifetime	0.28	0.82
Chopped Grill Masters	Food	0.27	0.84
Hannity	Fox News	0.27	3.41
The Devil Speaks	Invest. Discovery	0.27	1.11
Murder By Numbers	Invest. Discovery	0.26	1.04
Desert Flippers	HGTV	0.26	1.29
Counting Cars	History	0.26	0.94
Counting Cars	History	0.26	0.99
CNN Tonight with Don Lemon	CNN	0.25	1.14
Deadliest Catch: The Bait	Discovery	0.25	0.99
Tucker Carlson Tonight	Fox News	0.24	2.68
Highlights Below the Chart:
Anderson Cooper 360	CNN	0.24	1.14
House Hunters	HGTV	0.24	1.55
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell	MSNBC	0.23	2.34
Cuomo Prime Time	CNN	0.23	1.15
Younger	TV Land	0.22	0.73
Erin Burnett OutFront	CNN	0.21	1.03
House Hunters International	HGTV	0.21	1.43
The Ingraham Angle	Fox News	0.21	2.67
The Lead with Jake Tapper	CNN	0.17	0.99
Deadline: White House	MSNBC	0.15	1.54
Morning Joe	MSNBC	0.14	1.23
Hit the Floor	BET	0.12	0.32
Velshi & Ruhle	MSNBC	0.1	1.11
Conan	TBS	0.1	0.27
At This Hour	CNN	0.1	0.78
Wolf	CNN	0.1	0.79

Monday Cable Ratings 8/27/18: Deadline: White House Ticks Up, Better Call Saul Slips

Below are the Top 25 programs on cable on Monday, 8/27/18. Items of note include Deadline: White House on MSNBC, Better Call Saul on AMC, and Floribama Shore on MTV.
(Note: Click any show with its name in yellow or blue to be taken to its page in the TV Ratings Guide Cable Ratings Database.)

Show	Network	18-49 Viewers	Viewers (mil.)
WWE Entertainment	USA	1.04	3.08
WWE Entertainment	USA	0.97	2.93
Love & Hip Hop Hollywood	VH1	0.92	1.87
WWE Entertainment	USA	0.89	2.63
Street Outlaws	Discovery	0.67	1.82
Teen Mom 2	MTV	0.59	1.04
Real Housewives of Orange Co.	Bravo	0.53	1.50
Diesel Brothers	Discovery	0.52	1.22
Floribama Shore	MTV	0.41	0.72
Better Call Saul	AMC	0.39	1.53
American Pickers	History	0.36	2.00
The Rachel Maddow Show	MSNBC	0.33	3.28
Counting On	TLC	0.31	1.30
Evil Lives Here	Invest. Discovery	0.3	1.15
American Pickers	History	0.28	1.47
Kids Baking Championship	Food	0.28	1.11
Cuomo Prime Time	CNN	0.28	1.43
Tucker Carlson Tonight	Fox News	0.27	2.74
House Hunters	HGTV	0.26	1.59
Anderson Cooper 360	CNN	0.25	1.39
House Hunters International	HGTV	0.24	1.54
Hannity	Fox News	0.23	3.28
CNN Tonight	CNN	0.23	1.27
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell	MSNBC	0.22	2.44
The Five	Fox News	0.21	2.07
Highlights Below the Chart:
Erin Burnett OutFront	CNN	0.21	1.17
Conan	TBS	0.19	0.37
The Ingraham Angle	Fox News	0.18	2.52
Deadline: White House	MSNBC	0.14	1.70
At This Hour	CNN	0.14	0.87
Wolf	CNN	0.14	0.90
The Lead with Jake Tapper	CNN	0.13	0.906
Morning Joe	MSNBC	0.1	1.09
Lodge 49	AMC	0.1	0.45
Velshi & Ruhle	MSNBC	0.08	0.97