Fox News Beat Even ESPN In Ratings Last Week

For the first time since the week of the Boston Marathon bombings last April, the network finished No. 1 in all of cable among primetime viewers, according to Nielsen data released Tuesday. That includes powerhouse networks like USA Network and ESPN, which typically grab the top two spots.

In the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2, Fox News averaged 2.265 million viewers in primetime. According to Deadline, except for certain election-week top-spot finishes, it's only the second time since 2005 that Fox News has sat atop all of cable news.

Cable-news competitors MSNBC and CNN ranked 21st and 29th in primetime, respectively.

The network also scored a ratings victory with "The O'Reilly Factor" on Monday, on the strength of the airing of a pre-taped, pre-Super Bowl interview with President Barack Obama. Monday night's airing was also the highest-rated "O'Reilly Factor" since the week of the Boston Marathon bombings, and its 4.2 million viewers more than tripled the combined audience of MSNBC and CNN in the 8 p.m. hour.