List all the mainstream (legacy) media US tv and cable outlets in order of ratings (highest to lowest).
Executive summary
A contemporary snapshot compiled from industry trackers shows traditional broadcast networks — led by NBC, ABC and CBS — still occupying the top slots by total audience, while Fox (as a broadcast brand) and top cable news channels like Fox News lead within their categories; these conclusions rely primarily on the USTVDB aggregated network rankings and Nielsen’s measurement framework [1] [2] [3]. The underlying data are fluid, fragmented across daily/weekly/monthly Nielsen windows and separate broadcast vs. cable tallies, so a single definitive, exhaustively ordered list across every legacy TV and cable outlet is not available in the provided reporting [1] [3].
1. How this ranking question is being answered — sources, scope and limits
The most direct source available is USTVDB’s network rankings, which compile the latest Nielsen P2+ audience averages within a short window and present an ordered list of networks by audience (USTVDB’s snapshot is dated January 4, 2026) [1] [2]; Nielsen’s Top Ten and weekly measurement remain the industry standard for program- and network-level views but are published in slices (prime, total day, demo groups) that complicate single-list synthesis [3]. Independent industry roundups (Adweek/TVNewser, NationalMediaSpots) corroborate the broad patterns — broadcast networks still score highest in total viewers while cable news rankings are led by Fox News — but the sources publish different cuts (total day, primetime, demos), and the reporting provided here does not include a complete, item-by-item export of every legacy outlet in strict descending order [4] [5] [6].
2. Broadcast-news hierarchy reflected in the data (top tier by total audience)
According to USTVDB’s aggregated Nielsen-based network ranking snapshot, the broadcast networks occupy the top ranks for total audience, with NBC appearing at the head of the list followed by other major broadcast brands; USTVDB’s methodology explicitly uses the most recent Nielsen daily/weekly/monthly P2+ averages within a 14‑day window to produce its ranked network list [1] [2]. Nielsen’s national measurement approach underpins that conclusion by ranking viewers across broadcast, cable and streaming when composite lists are created, and industry reporting consistently places ABC, CBS and NBC ahead of most standalone cable networks on total-viewer counts [3].
3. Cable-news and cable-network leaders (category-specific leaders)
In the cable news category, multiple industry trackers and reporting show Fox News as the most-watched cable news network in both primetime and total‑day measures, a pattern noted repeatedly in trade coverage (Adweek/TVNewser) and reflected in historical Statista and industry summaries [5] [6] [7]. Other legacy cable channels and news brands (CNN, MSNBC/MS NOW and a wider set of entertainment/genre cable nets) have seen pronounced year‑to‑year declines in viewership metrics reported across 2024–2025, a trend noted in trade analyses such as Variety and Cord Cutters News reviews of 2025 numbers [8].
4. Why a complete “all outlets, highest-to-lowest” list cannot be delivered from the provided reporting
The sources supplied include aggregated top-rank snapshots and commentary but do not provide a single, complete, validated ordered list enumerating every mainstream legacy broadcast and cable outlet from highest to lowest within this prompt’s constraints; USTVDB provides a ranked network table (which is the closest available ordered list), but the excerpts here don’t contain the full enumerated list for reproduction, and Nielsen’s public Top Ten outputs are delivered in weekly program- and demo-specific slices rather than an all-encompassing legacy-outlet ranking in one file [1] [2] [3]. Industry narratives and trade pieces confirm the broad ordering — broadcast networks at the top by total viewers; Fox News leading cable news — but the exact, exhaustive ordering of “all mainstream legacy TV and cable outlets” cannot be fully reconstructed from the provided snippets alone [5] [6] [8].
5. Bottom line and where to look for the exact ordered list
The defensible conclusion from the available reporting is that NBC, ABC and CBS rank among the highest‑rated legacy broadcast networks by total viewers and that Fox News is the top cable‑news network in primetime and total‑day measures; for an explicit, full descending list of every mainstream broadcast and cable outlet by ratings, consult the USTVDB network rankings page and Nielsen’s national measurement exports directly (USTVDB’s Jan. 4, 2026 snapshot and Nielsen’s Top Ten data are the primary sources cited here) [1] [2] [3]. Readers should also note industry context: rapid audience erosion for many cable nets in 2025 and differing measurement slices (prime vs. total day vs. demos) mean any single ranked list will reflect the specific window and metric chosen [8] [3].