Fox News knocked off number one slot as America's most-watched primetime cable network

The Rachel Maddow Show scooped the most viewers in the sought-after slot of 9 to 10pm

Fox News was knocked off the number one slot as the most-watched primetime cable television network in America, after being overtaken by MSNBC.

According to figures from global research company Nielsen, the network was the most-watched station during the weekday prime evening slot from 7pm to midnight between 17 and 21 July.

During this time the more centrist network gained 2.34 million viewers, while Fox News had 2.25 million.

The sought-after evening slots include shows from Fox presenters Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, and the network previously gained the highest number of viewers.

The Rachel Maddow Show, which was the first television show to expose two pages of Donald Trump’s 2005 tax returns, also gained more viewers than Fox News and CNN for the fourth consecutive week in the prime slot between 9 to 10pm.

Fox News was still the most-watched daytime network between 17 to 21 July in terms of daytime viewing, with an average of 1.3 million viewers, while MSNBC came third at 1.1 million. It was also the most-watched network for both daytime and primetime during the full week of 17 to 23 July, Nielsen found.

Figures for the entire week - taking in the weekend - showed Fox had the biggest audience share during primetime slots, with 1.93 million compared to MSNBC's 1.84 million.

MSNBC claimed its number one position for the five-day period last week was significant, however, as it was the first time the network went to number one in more than two decades, ousting Fox News.

Fox News has suffered multiple allegations against its late CEO Roger Ailes and key anchors, and an outflow of women hosts to other networks, including Greta van Susteren to MSNBC and Megyn Kelly to NBC.

One of its most-watched presenters, Bill O’Reilly, was forced out of the network following the news that Fox had shelled out around $13 million to settle multiple allegations of sexual harassment over 20 years.

A spokesperson for Fox News could not be immediately reached for comment.

Nielsen also found that MSNBC’s Morning Joe was the most-watched show between 6 and 9am, winning the top spot for the 29th week out of 30 weeks and beating CNN’s New Day. As the show's relationship with the President shifted from presenting Donald Trump as a credible candidate to a "danger" for the Republic - and the hosts revealed they were in a relationship - the audience has grown by 50 per cent over the last year.

Mr Trump recently responded to criticism from Morning Joe hosts, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, by falsely accusing Ms Brzezinski of bleeding all over his country club while recovering from a face-lift.

Mr Trump's favourite network remains Fox News, and he has frequently highlighted their reporting on social media. It is one of the only networks to whom he, his family and top advisers grant interviews, with the President tweeting out information and conspiracy theories that can often be traced back to Fox News and other right-wing outlets.