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In the end, the State of the Union was the story of the night on television, not rogue LA cop Christopher Dorner. Despite reporting on the story of the Big Bear gun battle standoff between Dorner and police up until the last minute, none of the broadcast nor cable news networks ended up using a split screen to show President Obama’s speech and the Dorner case. The only time the Dorner story appeared on screen during the State of the Union was around 6:56 PM, when local LA station 
KABC put on a crawl announcing a body had been found that was believed to be that of Dorner. Up for barely a minute, the Breaking News crawl told viewers to go to the station’s website for more information or wait for a news special after the State of the Union. CNN‘s sister station HLN remained on the Dorner story throughout the State of the Union with coverage from CNN’s Anderson Cooper and HLN host Nancy Grace. At 6:59 PM, HLN announced that Dorner’s body had been found in a burned-out cabin though LAPD and other police have not confirmed. Obama spoke for just over an hour tonight in the first State of the Union of his second term. READ MORE »
UPDATE: Inauguration Viewership Down Almost 50% From 2009; 20.5M Watch Swearing In
UPDATE, 9:45 AM: President Obama’s second inauguration pulled in almost half the viewership that watched his 2009 swearing-in. Monday’s ceremony and celebrations drew 20.552 million viewers overall between 10 AM and 4:30 PM for a 7.1 rating, accord to Nielsen data released today. The January 20, 2009 inauguration had 37.793 million watching over almost the same time period — good for a 13.2 rating. This year’s inaugural was broadcast, in various forms, by ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, Telemundo, AZTECA, MundoFox, PBS, Fox News Channel, CNN Headline News, Fox Business Network, MSNBC, TV One, CNN, Current TV, CNBC, CENTRIC and BET. Read More »
Fox News Tops 2012 Cable News Network Ratings; MSNBC Up Big
For the 11th consecutive year, Fox News Channel has won the cable news network war. The News Corp-owned channel finished No. 1 in primetime total viewers this election year with an average of 2.071 million, according to Nielsen data released today, an 11% rise over 2011. However, all of the cable news networks were down in primetime viewership from the 2008 election. FNC pulled in an average of 2.1 million four years ago and MSNBC drew 920,000. In second place in 2008 with a primetime viewership of 1.3 million, CNN suffered the biggest drop four years later. In 2012, MSNBC, meanwhile, saw double-digit gains over last year in both viewers and the key adults 25-54 demographic. Behind several nights during the Presidential election in which it took the top spot over FNC, MSNBC was up 18% over last year in primetime viewership for an average of 913,000. CNN finished in third place for a third consecutive year, down 3% in viewership from 689,000 a year ago to 670,000. With almost 11.5 million viewers on October 22, Fox News hit an all-time network viewership high with coverage of the third debate between President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. With The O’Reilly Factor on top in both viewers and the 25-54 demo, Fox News had the top 11 shows on cable news in overall viewership and eight of the top 10 in the demo.
Related: CNN Sinks To 21-Year Primetime Ratings Low In Second Quarter Read More »
Fox News Benches Karl Rove & Dick Morris; President Obama Briefs MSNBC Hosts
Fox News has confirmed New York Magazine‘s claim that Roger Ailes is cutting back air time for Fox News contributors Karl Rove and Dick Morris for the time being. (“The election’s over.”) Ailes told media watchers he … Read More »
Weather Channel Ratings Surge With Sandy Coverage
The Weather Channel’s coverage of Hurricane Sandy beat all the cable news networks in primetime among adults 25-54 and in overall day viewership. TWC’s viewership peaked to 1.44 million in the demographic Monday during the 10 PM hour. … Read More »
Fox News’ Hurricane Sandy Coverage Tops Cable News In Viewers; CNN #1 In Demo
Fox News Channel’s primetime coverage last night of Hurricane Sandy came in first place among the cable news networks, but CNN was tops in the 25-54 demographic. Fox News had 3.54 million viewers and 875,000 … Read More »
Presidential Debate Draws 67.2 Million Viewers, ABC And Fox News Top Coverage
UPDATE 3:50 PM: An estimated 67.2 million people watched last night’s Presidential debate, according to Nielsen, up 28% compared to the first debate in 2008 between then-Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain. It was a close race for the broadcast networks. ABC drew in 11.2 million total viewers from 9-10:30 PM ET. NBC followed a close second with 11 million and CBS was third was 10.5 million. In the Adults 25-54 demographic, NBC was No. 1 with 5.1 million, followed by ABC with 4.6 million and CBS with 4.5 million. ABC also topped the list in total viewers for post-debate analysis form 10:30-11 PM ET with 8.8 million. It was followed by NBC with 8.7 million and CBS with 7 million. In the Adults 25-54, NBC led again with 3.8 million, followed by ABC with 3.5 million and CBS with 2.9 million.
Related: NBC Comedies Up, ABC Comedies Down, ‘Supernatural’ On Par
PREVIOUS: Fox News Channel dominated cable news coverage of the first Presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Fox News drew 10.4 million viewers from 9-10:30 PM ET with nearly 3 million in the 25-54 demographic. That marked FNC’s highest-rated presidential debate ever. CNN was a distant second with 6 million viewers, followed by MSNBC. I’ll update with final numbers for the broadcast networks, most of whom also posted around 10 million viewers each in the fast nationals. Read More »
Fox News Tops Rivals In Q3 Ratings, MSNBC Sees Big Gains
Fox News Channel averaged more viewers in this year’s third quarter than both its cable news competitors put together but the network took some hits in a key demo. FNC averaged 1.14 million in total day viewers over the quarter. That’s a 7% rise from the same quarter last year but FNC was down 4% among Adults 25-54 with 268,000 viewers in the demo. Over the seven-day week MSNBC had 515,000 averaged total day viewers, a 20% rise for the network from the same quarter last year. MSNBC was also up double digits among the demo. It got 175,000 in the 25-54, a 17% rise from the last year’s Q3. In third place, CNN had 388,000 total day viewers. That’s down 18% from last year and, with 188,000 in the demo, down a harsh 25% among the 25-54. This quarter, which ran from June 25 to September 30, saw Olympic coverage on MSNBC during the London Games as well as all three cables news channels devoting considerable air time to the Presidential race, especially the Democratic and GOP conventions.
Related: MSNBC’s Dream Ratings Run With Romney Tape, Lawrence O’Donnell Hits High
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Fox News Reclaims Cable News’ Top Ratings Spot Monday
What a difference a week makes. Last Monday, MSNBC topped the cable news ratings in the key 25-54 demo for the first of two nights owing to its coverage of the secret Mitt Romney tape. This … Read More »
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Tops FNC’s Sean Hannity In Weekly Demo Ratings
Fueled by coverage of the secret Mitt Romney tape, The Rachel Maddow Show at 9 PM ET pulled in the top ratings among adults 25-54 for the week of September 17, besting Fox News Channel’s Hannity for the first time since January 19, 2009. Maddow was No. 1 with 567,000 and Hannity was second with 500,000. CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight placed third with 198,000. The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell (Monday – Thursday) at 10 PM also came in at No. 1 for the week with 508,000. FNC’s On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren was second with 427,000 and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 was third with 224,000. This was the best week ever for The Last Word and the best delivery in the time period since week of November 3, 2008, according to MSNBC. Read More »
Fox News Back On Top Of Cable Heap — Again
For a second night in a row, everything was back to normal in the cable news world. Like Wednesday, Fox News Channel was No. 1 in primetime viewers and adults 25-54 yesterday. MSNBC came in second and CNN was third. FNC drew 2.7 million total viewers last night, with 542,000 in the 25-54 demo, and MSNBC had 1.6 million total viewers with 451,000 in the demo. The MSNBC numbers were down from the surge it saw Monday and Tuesday when, helped by its blanket coverage of the secret Mitt Romney tape, it took the top spot both nights. With Piers Morgan Tonight and Anderson Cooper 360, CNN pulled in 616,000 total viewers in primetime Thursday, 184,000 among adults 25-54. MSNBC was the only network to see a week-over-week gain in total viewers (11,000).
Read More »
MSNBC’s Dream Ratings Run With Romney Tape, Lawrence O’Donnell Hits High
It was two nights to remember for MSNBC, which beat cable news networks’ 800-pound gorilla Fox News Channel among adults 25-54 in primetime on Monday and Tuesday. The surge, fueled by coverage of the secret Mitt Romney … Read More »
MSNBC Beats Fox News & CNN In DNC Day 1 Coverage; Total Cable Viewership Up Over RNC
MSNBC has fashioned itself as pro-Obama and pro-Democrat, and last night at the Democratic National Convention that stance paid off. The cable news network topped rivals CNN and Fox News in total viewers and the adult 25-54 demo on Day 1 of the DNC, which featured a speech from First Lady Michelle Obama. It is quite the contrast to last week, when Fox News beat both its cable rivals and the networks in its coverage of Day 1 of the Republican Convention and Ann Romney spoke. For one thing, more people were watching the DNC last night on cable news than watched the GOP convention on the same night last week; there were 8,816,574 total viewers watching last night compared to the 7,667,716 between 8-11 PM EDT on August 28. Last night, according to Nielsen, MSNBC had 3,298,273 viewers during its 8-11 PM coverage, 1,067,970 in the 25-54 demo. CNN was next with 3,003,298 viewers and 1,002,048 in the 23-54. FNC was third with 2,515,003 viewers and 554,294 in the demo. That’s a 65% rise for MSNBC from 2008, a a 12% fall for CNN and a 24% drop for Fox News. MSNBC and CNN more than doubled viewership from last week’s RNC, while Fox News went down by 2,635,404.
Related: RATINGS RAT RACE: Democratic Convention Coverage Drops Double Digits For Networks Read More »
CNN Worldwide President Jim Walton Leaving At Year’s End
“CNN needs new thinking,” Walton says — and the numbers seem to support that. The news network has dropped to third place, behind Fox News and MSNBC, in primetime. In fact, May was its least-watched month in primetime in 20 years. And in Q2, CNN hit a low among total viewers and the important 25-54 demographic, with all primetime programs posting steep declines. Walton says the network needs “a different perspective, different experiences and a new plan,” led by someone “who will build on our great foundation and will commit to seeing it through. And I’m ready for a change.” All eyes will be on Turner Broadcasting CEO Phil Kent as he leads the search for a replacement — and, probably, a new direction. Although CNN’s primetime ratings have plummeted, the company continued to defend CNN as a solid business, and a reliable source of non-partisan news. That’s helped the operation overseas, where CNN is much stronger than its domestic competitors. Walton has led CNN since 2003.
Related: CNN Sinks To 21-Year Primetime Ratings Low In Second Quarter
Here’s Walton’s memo to the CNN staff, followed by statements from Kent and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes:
HBO Not Proceeding With Fox News’ Roger Ailes TV Movie Produced By MSNBC Rivals: “CNN Affiliation” Cited As The Reason
EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: I scooped yesterday that HBO had done a secret deal for an Untitled Roger Ailes Project being executive produced by Fox News rivals from MSNBC. Today I’ve received … Read More »
HBO Now Targeting Fox News’ Roger Ailes With TV Movie Produced By MSNBC Rivals
EXCLUSIVE: HBO appears obsessed by GOP Conservatives. There have been movies about the 2000 Bush … Read More »
MSNBC To Debut ‘The Cycle’ In Dylan Ratigan’s Timeslot
MSNBC has solidified the network’s replacement for the departing Dylan Ratigan show. The Cycle, which debuts Monday, features a permanent cast of four: Conservative commentator S.E. Cupp, author and pundit Touré, Salon writer Steve … Read More »
Dylan Ratigan Says He’s Leaving MSNBC To “Explore New Ways” To Tell Stories
The commentator’s splitting from MSNBC on June 25 and says on his website that he has “been inspired by meeting countless ‘doers’ ” and decided “to collaborate and join with some of these leaders to experiment and … Read More »
Does Cable News Clarify Or Confuse The Public’s Political Thinking?
That was the provocative question three newscasters debated this morning at the cable industry’s annual convention on the eve of what MSNBC‘s Chris Matthews predicted will be “the most exciting political season we’ve ever had” — in part because of the growing importance of cable news. As you might imagine, the boisterous host of Hardball With Chris Matthews sucked up most of the oxygen in the Cable Show panel that also included CNN‘s John King and Univision‘s Maria Elena Salinas. She lamented that people “now have designer news. They want to listen to people they agree with.” That’s dangerous, she says, because “they don’t know the difference between a news person and a commentator.” King says that while “there’s nothing wrong with advocacy journalism, there’s nothing wrong with objective journalism, too.” But Matthews says viewers understand what they’re watching. For example, when Fox News bills itself as “fair and balanced,” its audience knows that the slogan is “ironic and fun loving and they’re in on the joke.” He contrasted today’s sharp-edged approach to the old days when “people like Andy Rooney were always with the (government’s) embedded thinking…. Without cable it’s just network thinking and embedded thinking which is dangerous for democracy.”
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