• by Wayne Friedman , January 23, 2017

Fox News Channel pulled in the best viewing numbers for the presidential Inauguration on Friday. Between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., Fox pulled in a Nielsen 8.76 million viewers.

Over roughly the same time period -- 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- NBC was at 5.8 million viewers, with ABC at 4.9 million for the 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. time period. CBS came in at 4.2 million for the period between 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. 

Other cable networks followed: CNN at a 2.6 million; MSNBC saw 1.4 million; and HLN earned 136,000.

Fox also was tops among key adult 25-54 viewers: 2.2 million. NBC was at 1.9 million, with ABC at 1.4 million; and CBS at 1.1 million. Other cable networks trailed: CNN, 919,000; MSNBC, 317,000; and 64,000.

Among all cable networks in prime time, Fox led with 6.96 million viewers, followed by CNN with 4.5 million; MSNBC at 1.6 million; and HLN with 359,000.

Overall, 12 TV networks aired the presidential event between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Others include Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, Fox Business Network, and Galavision.