The centerpiece of Monday night’s cable ratings was the Clemson Tigers winning the NCAA championship when they defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide. This led to ESPN taking home not only the top slot on the chart, but the entire top 6, leading off with the championship game itself scoring a powerful 7.6 rating among adults 18-49. For perspective, even if the comparison isn’t completely fair, last Monday’s Wolfpack vs. Aggies game, the top performer that night, scored a 1.4. That’s an increase of 6.2, which is certainly not a feat often seen replicated on cable.
Outside ESPN, the WWE managed to pull itself out of the post-holiday slump it had fallen into, with the USA broadcast’s 8 p.m. showing pulling up 0.3 to score a 0.9. After a short Christmas break, “Love & Hip Hop” on VH1 also saw a rise in viewership, climbing from 0.4 to 0.7. The sixth season of “Kid’s Baking Championship” premiered on Food Network at 0.4, while “Cartel Crew” debuted on VH1 at 0.5.
Top 25 original cable shows among adults 18-49 for Monday, January 7, 2019
| Show | Net | Time | Total viewers (000s) | 18-49 rating |
| CFP CHAMPIONSHIP -ALABAMA/CLEMSON | ESPN | 8:15 PM | 24,322 | 7.6 |
| CFP CHAMPIONSHIP SUST | ESPN | 11:41 PM | 17,347 | 5.5 |
| COLL FTBL BOWL STUDIO | ESPN | 8:00 PM | 15,785 | 4.4 |
| COLL FTBL BOWL STUDIO | ESPN | 11:52 PM | 9,721 | 3.3 |
| COLL FTBL BOWL STUDIO | ESPN | 7:30 PM | 5,912 | 1.9 |
| SPORTSCENTER 12AM | ESPN | 12:11 AM | 3,882 | 1.4 |
| WWE ENTERTAINMENT | USA | 8:00 PM | 2,609 | 0.9 |
| WWE ENTERTAINMENT | USA | 9:00 PM | 2,294 | 0.8 |
| SPORTSCENTER 1AM | ESPN | 1:20 AM | 1,830 | 0.7 |
| WWE ENTERTAINMENT | USA | 10:00 PM | 2,070 | 0.7 |
| LOVE AND HIP HOP | VH1 | 8:00 PM | 1,328 | 0.7 |
| CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVE | ESPN | 6:00 PM | 1,719 | 0.6 |
| VANDERPUMP RULES | BRAVO | 9:00 PM | 1,304 | 0.5 |
| CARTEL CREW | VH1 | 9:00 PM | 953 | 0.5 |
| KIDS BAKING CHAMP | FOOD | 9:00 PM | 1,456 | 0.4 |
| LOVE IT OR LIST IT | HOME | 9:00 PM | 1,255 | 0.3 |
| PARDON THE INTERRUPTION | ESPN | 5:00 PM | 944 | 0.3 |
| RACHEL MADDOW SHOW | MSNBC | 9:00 PM | 3,008 | 0.3 |
| TEEN MOM OG | MTV | 9:01 PM | 506 | 0.3 |
| WINNER CAKE ALL | FOOD | 10:00 PM | 995 | 0.3 |
| PEOPLE MAG INVESTIGATES | INVESTIGATION | 10:00 PM | 1,017 | 0.3 |
| FIRST TAKE | ESPN | 10:00 AM | 536 | 0.2 |
| PEPPA PIG | NICKELODEON | 9:30 AM | 925 | 0.2 |
| STEVEN UNIVERSE | CARTOON | 7:30 PM | 668 | 0.2 |
| ABBY HATCHER | NICKELODEON | 10:00 AM | 815 | 0.2 |
Source: The Nielsen Company
