Network TV news bids a fond farewell to another 739,000 disgruntled viewers

The final ratings are in for the 2008-2009 TV season and it’s ugly. Viewers are abandoning network TV news even faster than millionaires are moving out of Manhattan.

The final ratings are in for the 2008-2009 TV season and it’s ugly. Viewers are abandoning network TV news even faster than millionaires are moving out of Manhattan.

MediaBistro.com has the happy news:

katie couric finger
And American TV viewers said, "Right back at you, Katie."

The ratings are in the for just-completed 2009-2010 network evening news season. And when compared to 2008-2009 season, “NBC Nightly News” ABC’s “World News” and the “CBS Evening News” have lost a combined 739,000 Total Viewers and a combined 338,000 A25-54 viewers.

“Nightly News with Brian Williams,” which finishes at #1 for the 14th season in a row, lost the least: -138K Total Viewers (8.698M in 08-09 v. 8.560M in 09-10), while Katie Couric’s CBS program, lost the most: -343K (6.053M in 08-09 v 5.710M in 09-10). “World News” which saw Charles Gibson anchor the first few months of the season, and Diane Sawyer picking up in December, lost the most younger viewers: -221K (2.351M in 08-09 v. 2.130 in 09-10).

Remarkably, the 2008-2009 TV season included coverage of the 2008 presidential election and inauguration, which should have given viewership a boost.

So on broadcast TV, ABC News lost viewers. CBN News lost viewers. And NBC News lost viewers. On cable TV, MSNBC lost viewers. CNN lost viewers. And HLN lost viewers. Only Fox News gained viewers.

So here’s a serious question: Would all those left wing networks prefer losing every last viewer to providing balanced news coverage? Or will one of them finally see the light?

What do you think?

Source: MediaBistro.com

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