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:
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?
These are the recent nights on which CNN has finished 4th or worse in the cable news ratings. According to TVbyTheNumbers.com, the latest Nielsen TV Ratings are worse than ever for CNN.
The answer can be found at the bottom of the list.
These are the recent nights on which CNN has finished 4th or worse in the cable news ratings. According to TVbyTheNumbers.com, the latest Nielsen TV Ratings are worse than ever for CNN.
Flying the American flag upside down is a distress signal. Does the same thing work for logos?
CNN has finished 4th or worse during 50 nights in weekday primetime among cable news networks in the advertiser target adults 25-54 demo. That’s 61% of the weekday nights so far (the ratings “year” began 12/28/09). On nine of the weekday nights, CNN finished fifth (behind Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC and Headline News).
Nielsen doesn’t like us posting long lists with their ratings, but I don’t see how they can quarrel with a long list of dates. These are the dates on which CNN has finished fourth or fifth in the weekday primetime A25-54 demo.
Damn list is almost as long as the list of Larry King’s wives.
Fox News Channel drew the most viewers during the health care summit, by far.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult for the left to explain Fox News’ dominance every time new ratings come out. The most recent spin seems to boil down to, “Oh, #%$@.”
MediaBistro.com reports the ObamaCare Summit ratings rout:
Fox News Channel drew the most viewers during yesterday’s health care summit, by far. During the summit hours (9:45am-5:30pmET), FNC drew more Total Viewers and A25-54 demo viewers than CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and HLN combined.
FNC, which did not interrupt the feed from the summit’s start until the 1pm lunch break, drew its most viewers in the 11amET hour, as did MSNBC. CNN drew the most in the 4pmET hour.
CNN, which had the second most viewers, was up +98% against its year-to-date average for the 10am-5:30pmET hours. MSNBC was up +75% and FNC was up +45%.
The White House says 3.9 million users streamed the summit at its website.
(Note: MSNBC only carried the summit until 2pm, and HLN and CNBC did not carry it in full).
The left contends that only stupid Republicans watch Fox News. But they’re going to need a new argument since that one now leads to the inescapable conclusion that the country has more Republicans than Democrats.
At one time, CNN owned the world of cable news. Now its primetime line-up has fewer viewers than Fox News’ 3 a.m. Red Eye show.
Greg Gutfeld is funny, but CNN has become laughable
Read it here, because this story is unlikely to be reported at CNN.
At one time, the cable news pioneer owned the world of cable news. Now its primetime line-up has fewer viewers than Fox News’ 3 a.m. Red Eye show.
National Review’s Media Blog reports the details guaranteed to depress the folks at CNN:
The ratings for Fox News’ ribald Red Eye, a nothing-else-quite-like-it mash-up of news, comedy, and pop-culture commentary, celebrated its third anniversary by beating CNN’s Campbell Brown and Larry King, and tying Anderson Cooper, in the prized 25-54 demographic.
Fox News beating CNN wouldn’t be news, except that Brown, King and Cooper comprise CNN’s primetime lineup, and Red Eye airs at 3:00 A.M. All the more remarkable considering that most conservatives have, you know, jobs.
To put it bluntly, the week of February 1 – 5 was an unmitigated disaster at MSNBC.
Sssssh! Don't wake up Keith Olbermann's last viewer.
Just when you start to think MSNBC can’t sink any lower in the ratings, those lunatic liberals surprise you by doing it again.
To put it bluntly, the week of February 1 – 5 was an unmitigated disaster at MSNBC.
Schultz’ total audience for the week was only 2,402,000 viewers. Maddow’s total viewers for a full week fell under 4,000,000 for the first time (3,922,000).
On top of that, Keith Olbermann’s audience, which once neared 1,500,000 viewers per night, fell under 1,000,000 viewers four of the five nights.
In an effort to demonstrate our commitment to a greener world, we hereby request that MSNBC’s last viewer turn out the lights on their way out the door.
Last week it was reported that his cable news network was the highest rated in the country. This week his TV network absolutely crushed the other broadcast networks.
They told Rupert Murdoch he was crazy for starting a new TV network. They told him he was crazy for trying to compete with CNN. Looks like the wily Australian American has the last laugh once again.
Last week it was reported that his cable news network was the highest rated in the country. This week his TV network absolutely crushed the other broadcast networks.
TVByTheNumbers.com reports the remarkable ratings:
Start with the second most highly viewed NFC Championship game in history, add an American Idol show holding steady from last season, and you’ve got the recipe for an epic broadcast primetime ratings beatdown by Fox. The rest of the broadcast competition could only stand by as they got steamrolled. It will be interesting to compare this week’s results to CBS’s for Super Bowl week. Also, note how close Univision finished to NBC in adults 18-49.
Note that the chart includes RATINGS not VIEWERS as was typical in our weekly network ratings posts prior to July, 2009.
Each rating point is a percentage of the US TV population in that demographic group and equals: 2.90 million viewers, 1.32 million adults 18-49, 0.68 million adults 18-34 and 1.24 million adults 25-54.
Fox News was the top cable network in primetime last week, averaging the most total viewers between January 18th-24th. The last time FNC topped USA and came in first was during the week of the 2008 presidential election.
In a week dominated by coverage of the earthquake in Haiti and the U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, FNC drew an average of 3.2 million total viewers in primetime (Mon-Sun).
Fox News' Rupert Murdoch has a lot to smile about
Scott Brown wasn’t the only winner in the Massachusetts senate election. Fox News came out on top, too.
MediaBistro.com reports on the network’s remarkable ratings:
Fox News was the top cable network in primetime last week, averaging the most total viewers between January 18th-24th. The last time FNC topped USA and came in first was during the week of the 2008 presidential election.
In a week dominated by coverage of the earthquake in Haiti and the U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, FNC drew an average of 3.2 million total viewers in primetime (Mon-Sun).
Fox was ranked 3rd in total day. CNN was 22nd in primetime and 19th in total day, and MSNBC was 25th in primetime and 31st in total day.
Fox News probably won’t be able to hang on to the top spot now that the election is over, but the thought of Keith Olbermann grinding his teeth over last week’s ratings is probably enough to keep Rupert Murdoch smiling for years.
The 21st Century has been unkind to all the cable news networks. Except Fox, that is. The conservative news network has bucked the trend and grown a remarkable 570% in the decade.
The 21st Century has been unkind to all the cable news networks. Except Fox, that is. The conservative news network has bucked the trend and grown a remarkable 570% in the decade.
This chart shows each network’s Nielsen average year-by-year ratings for the last 10 years (12-27-99 thru 12-23-09).
There’s only one solution for the other guys. Get Michael Mann to do the next ratings chart.
Fox News will finish 2009 as the number one cable news network thanks to the highest ratings in the network’s history.
That horrible gnashing of teeth you hear is Chris Matthews. The pathetic whimpering is Keith Olbermann. That plaintive wailing is Rachel Maddow. All because Fox News will finish 2009 as the number one cable news network thanks to the highest ratings in the network’s history.
Broadcasting & Cable reports the rosy details:
Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly provided Fox News' one-two punch in 2009
FNC topped the competition in all dayparts: morning (1 million Total Viewers, 340,000 viewers in news’ target demographic of 25-54-year-olds); total day (1.2 million viewers, 323,000 in the demo); primetime (2.2 million viewers, 551,000 in the demo). Those numbers mark year-to-year demo gains of 14% in the morning, 16% in total day and 10% in primetime (Mon-Sun), according to Nielsen.
FNC saw double-digit gains for all of its programs. Year-to-year, Glenn Beck is up 96% among total viewers (2.3 million) and 148% in the demo (612,000). Special Report with Bret Baier posted gains of 25% among total viewers (2 million) and 33% in the demo (454,000). The O’Reilly Factor is up 13% among total viewers (3.3 million) and 27% (801,000) in the demo, marking its tenth consecutive year as the No. 1 cable news program.
As Media Bistro points out, two Fox News success stories stand out:
Glenn Beck is up 96% in total viewers (averaging 2.3 million). He’s also up 148% in the A24-54 demo, averaging 612,000 viewers.
Bill O’Reilly, who now makes it 10 years as the top cable news program, was up 13% in Total Viewers with 3.3 million tuning in and 27% in the demo (801,000). In 2009, O’Reilly often outdrew programs on broadcast networks — just this week, “The Factor” had a larger audience than ABC’s “Better Off Ted” (“Ted” drew 3.183 million viewers, while O’Reilly drew 3.299 million at 8pmET.)
Amusingly, CNN and MSNBC are also touting their 2009 ratings. But that discussion is like the captain of the Titanic arguing with the captain of the Lusitania about which ship is sinking faster.
Oh, how our hearts go out to Rachel Maddow for her recent loss. Loss of audience, that is.
Would Rachel Maddow's last MSNBC viewer please turn the lights out?
Oh, how our hearts go out to Rachel Maddow for her recent loss. Loss of audience, that is.
The premiere of her program was marked by grand hoopla, which was a bit of a mystery to us. We couldn’t figure out how a failed lesbian radio host (clarification: she is a failed radio host, but we have no reason to assume she is not a successful lesbian) could achieve success by teaming up with a failed cable TV network.
Despite our misgivings, it all seemed to work for a while. MSNBC rode the anti-Bush bandwagon and Maddow rode the pro-bush bandwagon to a modicum of success in 2008.
But those days are long gone. Maddow’s viewers have abandoned her like she’s a girl baby in China.
In the early days, her program regularly and handily topped one million total viewers per night. But recent ratings tell a much different story.
Take, for example, her ratings for the week of November 30-December 4. It happens to be Maddow’s lowest rated week ever:
Date
Total Audience
Fri, Dec 4
643,000
Thur, Dec 3
789,000
Wed, Dec 2
952,000
Tue, Dec 1
924,000
Mon, Nov 30
816,000
Total Viewers
3,924,000
Five days under 1,000,000 total viewers. Three days under 900,000 viewers. Two days under 800,000 viewers. One day under 700,000 viewers.
And the total viewers for the week added up to just 3,924,000 which is Maddow’s fewest total weekly viewers since MSBNC premiered her nightly smarmfest.
Keep up the good work, Rachel. See you back on Air America with a live show real soon.
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has seen his numbers slip significantly through the past year. His 10 p.m. show, “Anderson Cooper 360,” has declined 62% in total viewers and 70% in adults 25-54 from November 2008, according to Nielsen figures.
A very pensive Anderson Cooper wonders where his viewers went
Hey, get your mind out of the gutter, pal. We’re talking about the latest cable news ratings here.
Here’s how Business Insider tells the tale of Cooper’s precipitous decline:
The respected CNN anchor has seen his numbers slip significantly through the past year. His 10 p.m. show, “Anderson Cooper 360,” has declined 62% in total viewers and 70% in adults 25-54 from November 2008, according to Nielsen figures.
Last month, in Cooper’s time slot, Fox News’ “On the Record” attracted an average viewership of 1.9 million while “360” averaged 672,000; repeats of MSNBC’s “Countdown” and HLN’s Nancy Grace show averaged 655,000 and 458,000, respectively.
What’s the cause of Cooper’s decline? The Business Insider speculates:
So what happened? Let’s see: There’s no presidential election to ramp up ratings; there’s heavy competition from centrist CNN’s noisier rivals (see: Fox News, the No. 1 cable news channel); there’s people catching up on DVR-ed TV shows in the late evening; then there’s the loss of Lou Dobbs in the 7 p.m. anchor chair, among other possible factors.
Oddly enough, the Business Insider concludes with a decidedly unbusinesslike recommendation:
Work those blue eyes, Coop!
Our recommendation would be slightly different:
Wear a short skirt, Coop. It seems to work over at Fox.
Not only does Fox News continue to dominate the cable news ratings, but now, for the first time in history, Fox Television is expected to win the important November ratings.
Rupert Murdoch has plenty of reasons to smile.
That hideous sound you hear is Keith Olbermann gnashing his teeth over nemesis Rupert Murdoch’s remarkable success.
Not only does Fox News continue to dominate the cable news ratings, but now, for the first time in history, Fox Television is expected to win the important November ratings.
We’ll step aside and let The Live Feed give you the details:
Thanks to a heavily viewed World Series and the network’s most stable fall lineup in years, Fox is averaging a 3.5 adult demo rating as of Wednesday afternoon.
Fox is up 17% from its November sweeps period last year in the advertiser-coveted adult demographic and is the only major broadcast network to post a gain. With viewing levels down 6% from last year, ABC is in second place with 3.2 (-9%). CBS is third with 3.0 (-12%). NBC is fourth with 2.6 (-16%) and the CW has a 1.2 (+9%). ABC would come out on top if sports programming were excluded. Fox previously tied NBC to win November sweeps in 2001, but has never won the outright.
They said Rupert Murdoch was crazy when he started a fourth television network to challenge ABC, CBS and NBC. Then history repeated itself and they said he was crazy again when he started a cable news network to challenge CNN.
The former number one cable news network – the people who invented the business – dropped out of the top 30 prime time cable networks during the last week of October.
Two rabid Wolf Blitzer fans watching his show on CNN
It’s hard to imagine how far and how fast CNN has fallen on hard times.
The former number one cable news network – the people who invented the business – dropped out of the top 30 prime time cable networks during the last week of October.
As Mediaite explains it:
For the first time in more than two years, CNN fell out of the top 30 cable channels last week in prime time (total viewers). Fox News ranked 3rd, behind USA and ESPN, while MSNBC was 26th. It was the 43rd consecutive week Fox News finished in the top 5 cable channels in prime time.
In total day, FNC was #5, CNN #27 and MSNBC #31.
To rub a little salt in the wound, CNN finished fourth among cable news networks on election night.
61% of the viewers of Fox describe themselves as middle-of-the-road or liberal?” Wallace said. “Given how much bigger the Fox audience is than the other Cable audiences, I’ll bet our 61% is bigger than CNN or MSNBC in total.”
Fox attracts more conservatives. More liberals. More independents. More visitors from other planets. More of everyone.
A recent quote from Fox host Chris Wallace caught our attention.
“Did you know 61% of the viewers of Fox describe themselves as middle-of-the-road or liberal?” Wallace said. “Given how much bigger the Fox audience is than the other Cable audiences, I’ll bet our 61% is bigger than CNN or MSNBC in total.”
Let’s look at O’Reilly and Olbermann and do a little math and find out if Wallace is correct.
On Thursday, October 22 (a night chosen at random) Bill O’Reilly drew 3,436,000 viewers and Keith Olbermann drew a meager 1,179,000 viewers.
61% of 3,436,000 = 2,095,960.
Well, look at that. Almost twice as many Democrats and independents watch O’Reilly than watch Olbermann.
We’re not sure which stat surprises us most: the fact that more Democrats and independents watch Fox or that there are still a million people who watch Olbermann.
MSNBC executives must be sweating bullets. Last quarter was a for the also-ran lefty network, and last week was even worse.
Why is this man smiling? He must not have seen last week's ratings.
MSNBC executives must be sweating bullets. Last quarter was a ratings disaster for the also-ran lefty network, and last week was even worse.
For the first time since her premiere last September, Rachel Maddow failed to top 1,000,000 viewers all five nights of the week.
And Ed Schultz. Poor Ed Schultz. After his disappointing premiere back in April, networks executives reassured worried advertisers that his ratings would grow. In reality, they’ve actually become more abysmal. Last week the bombastic buffoon’s total audience fell under 500,000 viewers three of the five nights.
Maddow has a bit of an excuse because Keith Olbermann wasn’t around as a lead-in to her show. But she’s been able to top that magic million mark during previous Olbermann absences.
Meanwhile, O’Reilly, Hannity and Beck have turned Fox News into the 1927 Yankees of cable news.
That sound you hear is the gnashing of teeth emanating from MSNBC’s executive suites.
The third quarter isn’t quite over on the calendar, but it’s over in the world of ratings. Fox may have a lot to celebrate, but everyone else is wondering what the hell hit them.
CNN must be kicking themselves for letting Glenn Beck get away.
The third quarter isn’t quite over on the calendar, but it’s over in the world of ratings. Fox has a lot to celebrate, but everyone else is wondering what the hell hit them. Here are a dozen things that may surprise you about the latest cable news ratings.
1. A perfect ten. All ten of the top ten shows are on Fox News, powered by the O’Reilly-Hannity-Beck troika.
2. Beck kicks butt. Glenn Beck increased the ratings for his time slot a remarkable 136% over the third quarter of 2008.
3. Lucky 13. During September, Fox had the top thirteen programs in cable news.
4. Dominance. The O’Reilly Factor has now been the top-rated cable news show for an unprecedented 106 consecutive months.
5. Better and better. Fox News is the only cable news network to post across the board year-over-year increases.
Fox News left its cable news competitors in the dust long ago. Now the network has its sights set on a prize that even Rupert Murdoch would have once thought impossible – number one ratings among all cable networks.
Glenn Beck's ratings have helped propel Fox beyond Rupert Murdoch
Fox News left its cable news competitors in the dust long ago. Now the network has its sights set on a prize that even Rupert Murdoch would have once thought impossible – number one ratings among all cable networks.
Here’s how MediaBistro.com describes the situation:
Last week we reported on Fox News Channel’s primetime programs putting up huge numbers — three nights in a row beating CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and HLN combined in both Total Viewers and the A25-54 demo.
Well now the cable news rankings are out and Fox News was the second most-watched basic cable channel in primetime last week, only behind USA. FNC was 5th overall in Total Day viewership.
MSNBC was 24th in primetime and 32nd in Total Day. CNN ranked 26th in prime and 23rd in Total Day.
That sound you hear is Keith Olbermann whimpering over in the corner.
All Fox News hosts have higher ratings than all their competitors combined, including CNN and MSNBC. Data for August 10, 2009.
Is Glenn Beck the real king of cable news? His program is number three in the ratings even though it isn't in primetime
If you’re not on Fox, your ratings picture is pretty grim. All Fox hosts have higher ratings than all their competitors combined. Here’s what it looked like on the night of August 10.
We call your attention to the Glenn Beck ratings. Considering his time slot is during work and drive-home hours for the vast majority of America, his numbers are astounding. Perhaps a rearrangement of the Fox News line-up is in order.
How can CNN attract advertisers now that it’s fallen into third place in the cable news ratings? Simple. Just ignore reality and announce that you’re still number one.
CNN gives advertisers the finger when it claims to be number one
How can CNN attract advertisers now that it’s fallen into third place in the cable news ratings? Simple. Just ignore reality and announce that you’re still number one
The staggering news network is now airing a TV commercial in which it proudly boasts that it is “No. 1 with more viewers than Fox and MSNBC.”
In reality, Fox has been kicking CNN’s butt since early 2002 and had more viewers than CNN, MSNBC and HLN combined last quarter. Not just in prime time, but all day long. Hell, even sickly MSNBC topped CNN for the first time last quarter.
So how does CNN justify its demonstrably false claim?
Simple. They cherry picked an obscure statistic media buyers generally don’t accept — a cumulative number based on the total number of people who tuned into the network for six minutes or more per month.
Naturally, CNN chose not to reveal their alternate reality in the commercial.
Interesting to see that the news isn’t the only thing distorted on CNN. At least they’re consistent.
That horrible gnashing of teeth you hear is Chris Matthews. The pathetic whimpering is Keith Olbermann. That plaintive wailing is Rachel Maddow. All because Fox News will finish 2009 as the number one cable news network thanks to the highest ratings in the network’s history.
