Primaries Deliver Big Numbers for Cable News Networks
Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont Votes Boost CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/6/2008 9:09:00 AM
Tuesday’s primetime coverage of the presidential primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont generated big numbers for the three cable news networks.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) clinched the Republican nomination with his wins Tuesday, but the real focus of the news coverage was on Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who have been engaged in a closely contested race for the Democratic nomination.
The focus on the two Democratic candidates helped CNN and MSNBC, which saw boosts in the key 25-54 demo.
From 8 p.m.-11 p.m., CNN lead with 1.59 million demo viewers, MSNBC finished second with 876,000 and Fox News Channel finished third with 830,000.
In total viewers, CNN averaged 3.7 million, Fox News averaged 3 million and MSNBC had 2 million.
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