Cable News Ratings: Fox News Still Tops
HLN posts gains in afternoon and primetime
By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/24/2009 6:06:41 PM
The Democratic administration of Barack Obama has not dented tune-in for Fox News Channel. On the contrary, the network finished February up 24% in total day (Monday-Sunday) and 21% in primetime (Monday-Friday) in news' target demographic of 25-54-year olds, compared to Feb. 2008.
FNC has been the top rated cable news network for 86 consecutive months, finishing February as the third most watched basic cable network in primetime.
CNN was 15th and MSNBC was 23rd. In primetime (M-F), FNC averaged 2.8 million viewers (657,000 in the demo). CNN averaged 1.3 million total viewers (407,000 in the demo) and MSNBC averaged 1.1 million viewers (377,000 in the demo).
HLN, which gets a fraction of the viewers that FNC does and still trails CNN and MSNBC, nevertheless posted some significant gains in February. The network was up 28% in total day and 62% in primetime. And HLN's Nancy Grace has now beaten MSNBC's Keith Olbermann for three consecutive months in the all-important sales demo. Buoyed by tragic cases of Caylee Anthony and Haleigh Cummings, Grace has posted gains of 74% and 83% in total viewers and the demo, respectively. The network's replacement for Glenn Beck, who jumped ship for FNC, has also improved the network's time period average. Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell has given HLN its highest 7 p.m. numbers in network history, up 74% in total viewers and 54% in the demo.
Clearly Velez-Mitchell is a better fit for HLN - and Beck is a better fit for FNC. He has improved the 5 p.m. time period at Fox News by 101% in total viewers and 121% in the demo.
Meanwhile, HLN's bigger sister network CNN experienced a primetime ratings slide in February. Lou Dobbs is down 15% in total viewers and 23% in the demo compared to Feb. 2008. Campbell Brown is down 6% in total viewers and 21% in the demo. And Anderson Cooper 360 is down 12% in total viewers and 25% in the demo. Only Larry King Live has posted year-to-year gains - up 19% in total viewers and 8% in the demo.
On MSNBC, Countdown and Rachel Maddow are up year-to-year in total viewers and the demo. Countdown posted gains of 32% in total viewers and 15% in the demo while Maddow improved the 9 p.m. time slot by 134% in total viewers and100% in the demo. But both programs experienced ratings erosion versus last month. Countdown was down 4% in total viewers and 8% in the demo while Maddow was down 8% in total viewers and 16% in the demo.
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Fox news has the highest ratings for a few reasons:
1) honesty: everyone knows that MSNBC doesn't hire reporters - they hire extensions of the DNC.
2) the US is realizing that all of the misleading garbage that we believed about Obama was a direct reflection of MSNBC (as well as NBC, ABC and CBS but MSNBC leads the pack in liberal viewers and reporters)
3) CNN is extremely boring to watch - no offense - their greatest assest is Nancy Grace who should probably have her own show on OWN(oprah's network) and not CNN.
4) Aside from what liberals believe, FOX doesn't come across to the majority of the nation as anything less than open ahd honest - watching Bill Oreilly go after liberal-pandering focus groups is phenominal.
5) If not for Obama - MSNBC's rating would suck worse than they already do -they took a gamble on Obama - and Obama turned out to be a let down - way to go that one, MSNBC.
Wes Gosnell - 1/25/2012 1:00:09 PM EST -
Are you kidding me fox news is the most ridiculous biased news program in the world I would wager one million of there viewers are watching to see what ridiculousness is next
Ian Thatcher - 3/24/2011 2:57:17 PM EDT -
MSNBC and CNN have no credibility. Live interviews are "tilted" to either make the interviewed person look bad or the network look like they have discovered some bid scoop.
Sylvia Diane Meyers - 10/7/2010 12:20:50 AM EDT -
Please remember that NPR averages 20million listeners !
All Things Considered averages 12 million listeners.
When the Richmond Times Dispatch ran a story comparing the share of listeners here in Richmond, Va, ATC earned about a 10 share, SAME AS RUSH LIMBAUGH.
So Cable News is still WAY BEHIND NPR news.
I think the problem is that the media almost never report the ratings placing NonCom next to commercial ratings and so people get this biased view that Glenn Beck actually popular!
Christopher Maxwell - 8/1/2010 10:26:55 AM EDT -
AFTER WATCHING FOX AND MSNBC FOR A YEAR AND A HALF TO LOOK AT BOTH SIDE I FOUND THAT MSNBC COMMENTATOR LIKE THE ED SHOW KEITH OBERMAN ETC. THEY USE A LOT OF TRASHING OTHER PEOPLE OR COMMENTATOR THAT DOES NOT AGREED WITH THEIR VIEW WHICH IS A REAL TURN OFF.THAT WOULD EXPLAIN THE LOW RATING
LUC FORTIN - 7/21/2010 6:38:08 PM EDT
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