With the GOP primary race still moving along without a clear winner, and the unexpected death of pop legend Whitney Houston, February was a big month for cable news.

As usual, Fox News Channel was the top cable news channel in February, tied with TBS for third overall among ad-supported cable networks with 1.914 million total viewers in primetime. In total day FNC placed fifth with 1.093 million viewers.

MSNBC placed 26th in primetime and 29th in total day with 825,000 and455,000 viewers, respectively. CNN was 28th among ad-supported nets in both primetime and total day with 805,000 and 475,000 viewers, respectively.

CNBC placed 50th in total day and 52nd in primetime, while Fox Business Network–which canceled its entire primetime lineup this month–placed 90th in primetime and 86th in total day.

Current TV placed 88th in primetime and 95th in total day.

The cable network ranker:

Cable Time Period Rank – Feb ’12 (Live+SD)