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MSNBC had another good week with the Adults 25 - 54 demographic. They came in second place in the average for the week at both 8PM and 9PM. During the 8PM, they had the second highest demographic ratings on two nights and third highest on the remaining three nights, but the average of all five nights put them just ahead of HLN. At 9PM, they came out ahead of CNN three out of five nights.
CNN continued their fourth place finish in the 8PM time slot. At 9PM and 10PM, they took third place for the week. During the 10PM hour, they came in third four times and fourth once (Wednesday).
As mentioned before, HLN did well during the 8PM hour coming in second three nights out of five, but still ended up in third when the five days were averaged. At 9Pm, they continue to be in fourth place. They swept the 10PM hour with second place finishes all five nights.
^ Courtesy Nielsen Media Research; Demographics where noted; Live + Same Day (LS) Fast Track Nationals.
This first article isn't directly ratings related, but it goes along with the on going discussion about CNN's primetime line up. Rodney Ho interviewed Larry King for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article 8 wives: Yes, it’s hard job. Here's a brief excerpt:
Q: It’s been 24 years. How long do you want to keep doing “Larry King Live”?
A: I’m 75. I’m signed through 2011. I don’t feel 75. I feel young. Yesterday, I was talking with [CNN U.S. President] Jon Klein. We were at a Yankee game together. I asked him what happens after 2011. He said, “Look —- if you still feel as good as you do, keep it as long as you want.” I have no designs on leaving. I’ll never retire as long as it goes well.
On Sunday's Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz took on the issue of cable news ratings and the political polarization of news coverage with David Zurawik, Lauren Ashburn, and Matt Frei. He started the panel discussion by referencing a recent New York Times article by Bill Carter titled With Rivals Ahead, Doubts for CNN’s Middle Road. Zurawik took particular issue with MSNBC airing documentaries on the weekends instead of providing news. The discussion also touched on anchors showing emotion and injecting opinions into their programs, the use of opposing political commentators versus having only one side of an argument represented, and the entertainment factor of news versus objective journalism. It was an interesting discussion, although as you may imagine, they were not able to solve the problem. Here are a few clips from the segment:
The New York Post's Page Six took aim at CNN's ratings yesterday with an article titled SINKING ANCHORS ANDERSON COOPER AND ROLAND MARTIN HOBBLE CNN.
SINCE President Obama took office in January, CNN has seen its ratings drop. And one reason has to do with Campbell Brown. The host of "No Bias, No Bull" has been on maternity leave for the past month, and in her absence, the show with substitute host Roland Martin has nose-dived. Sources say he has complained the network doesn't promote him enough or book him high-profile guests.
...
A rep for Cooper wouldn't discuss May numbers but said, "Year to date, 'AC360' is having its second-best performance ever with an average of 1.161 million overall viewers and 369,000 in the target demographic. It has an impressive 51 percent advantage over MSNBC in total viewers and a 41 percent lead over MSNBC in the 25-54 demographic."
By my count, for the month of May so far (May 1 - May 22) CNN's Adults 25 - 54 viewers average for 8PM is 133,386 which gives them fouth place after FOX, MSNBC, and HLN. At 10PM, they are averaging 197,325 which puts them in third place behind FOX and HLN.
As to blaming Roland Martin... they won't be able to do that for too much longer. Campbell Brown is scheduled to return next week- Monday, June 1, 2009.
Jon Klein needs to be fired. When every single show is in decline, there's something wrong at the top...and 360 is in real decline. Top Brass relied too heavily on promoting AC and they put "all their eggs in one basket," so to speak. Klein is also responsible for putting out the utter dribble and saying 360 is still doing well.
ReplyDeleteHe kept relying on gimmicks last year, You Tube debates, and such. Everything was based on a gimmick and now the entire network is paying the price. He can no longer afford to be in denial.
@BA: I appreciate your posts, but when you quote an article and leave out a MAJOR portion, it is no longer viable.
ReplyDeleteI have the article and it said quote:
"The biggest disappointment is the silver haired hope, Anderson Cooper, the former host of Celebrity Mole." I know you are a fan, as am I, but please don't be in denial when you quote a source or reference. It does an injustice
to faithful readers of your blog.
@anon 1:10am- I apologize if my excerpting seemed deceptive- it really wasn't meant to be. The two passages that I quoted were the ones that caught my eye and being short on time and late in posting I decided not to go into great detail on the reasons why. The first one was because it is Roland's last week subbing for Campbell and although the rating have gone down while he's been anchoring the program - 8PM has been a sore spot for much longer than Campbell's maternity leave. CNN's prime time ratings have been trending downward for weeks so who can say whether or not if Campbell had been there the ratings at 8PM would have been any better?
ReplyDeleteAlso the comment about Roland not getting enough support sparked my interest. I've wondered about this very thing with other programs that were left to fledge along on their own or were support inconsistently/ sporadically.
The second passage caught my attention because even with the disaster that CNN's ratings have been recently - they're able to find a silver lining! And the stats that they quote are technically correct. Granted- they're comparing the ratings to the wrong network - HLN has been more competitive recently then MSNBC - but I can only imagine that the stat wouldn't have sound nearly as impressive.
CNN needs to re-invent itself. Jon Klein
ReplyDeleteshould be held accountable. The way the
network covers President Obama and the
Sotomayor nomination is appalling.The
gimmicks do need to end. Ever since the
nomination I can not watch 360. The
pundits need to go.
Book Asylum I really think you should take this
ReplyDeletewith a grain of salt. This article comes from the
NY Post. Is is owned by Murdoch.
CNN needs upgrade it's look. The logo needs
ReplyDeleteto be upgraded to reflect the age of the internet.
Why not give all of the packages the media player
look ? Get rid of the crawl and use the bar that
tells how long the story is and how much of it
has aired until it ends. The CNN logo must be
animated it looks stale and old. The logo should
constantly animate from CNN live to CNN.com.
Give the graphics the high tech look and move
to a digital clock at the bottom showing the
hour,minute and seconds. Drop the sound
effects used underneath the graphics and
transitions.I can go into garage band and find
a 3 second or 5 second melody. All of CNN's
shows must be upgraded to show the digital
village we are all a part of.In the age of HD
television and blu-ray I want to see as much
full screen video as possible. There is way too
much clutter on the screen. Also when you
use the CNN logo going to commercials have
the voice of Darth Vader underneath. Each
day I will try and post something that I think
could really turn CNN around in a major way.
Of course with new graphics come new music
as well.I am a big music fan and enjoy songs
related to the topic being used.I am really a
fan of whoever picks the music for American
Morning and I like the way on weekends with
TJ and Betty when they tell you the name of
the songs being used in the upper left.
To say that Roland Martin is the reason for CNN's
ReplyDeleteprime time troubles is a stretch.CNN can't seem
to book any good guest for any of it's shows and
We all know Brown's numbers are not that great.
I say hire Conor Knighton and give him the 8 pm
hour in which he would look at the news in the
media each day.
The Sotomayor nomination got me thinking.
What if CNN did a news show at 9 pm against
Rachel and Hannity featuring women of all
ethnic backgrounds.A group of multi-racial
women that work for CNN,CNN I, HLN and
CNN Espanol. That is the world we live in and
women make up 52 % of the US population
and the racial makeup of America grows more
and more diverse everyday.
In edition to Knighton hire Jael de Pardo
to be a regular on the show and rotate the
hosts. On Current she does some great stuff
and is bilingual and can bring in young Latinos.
She is from New York and understands the
melting pot.
I say this because this could give a boost
to 360.CNN has to fix the 5,6,7,8 and 9
hours.As well as the morning and daytime
shows. MSNBC will be unveiling some new
shows. I am wondering what has CNN got?
Unfortunately I am afraid it is nothing.
Hello, back again with a thesis I have been
ReplyDeleteworking on called Cable News 3.0, I say 3.0
because it is forward thinking and is not out
there yet. Another way for CNN to grow is to
embrace the internet. Please hire a social media
czar and develop a social media news hub from
various sources: CNN and all of its properties and
nationwide affiliates. Freelancers, doc makers,
film makers musicians, etc. CNN is a well known
on the internet and is visited by millions daily.
How about short clips of things on CNN.com,
like say 30 seconds throughout the day on
CNN but say you can see the entire clip on
CNN.com. Also when they do the top videos
on CNN could we get a little nats of the clips
with animated numbers for transitions in
between from 3-1. You can not lose
because it will likely increase traffic to
CNN.com. I like what Josh Levs is doing
and I hope that CNN hires a team of producers
to just scan the internet for stories and cool
stuff.I would like to see the hour before TSR
be just that kind of program.Levs,Lipan and
others from CNN.com host the show.I
constantly log on to watch now in the news.
These people have an audience on the web.
In addition to CNN and all of those TW
properties like AOL,Time,SI,Life,etc. Also how
about the most searched on Google,Digg,
Mixx,Kosmix,Stumbled Upon,Youtube and
Vimeo, Wired and Engadet and other tech
and science sites on the web. This is the
world in which we not live in and tv news
needs to reflect that.
CNN numbers should have been better this
ReplyDeleteweek with Obama named his Supreme Court
pick.If people are not tuning in for breaking
news and making other choices that is not
good news.CNN needs to stop lowering it's
standards and quit following people who
make crazy statements. Their coverage all
week long has been down right silly. It is
pure and simple;conservative talkers do
not decide Supreme Court nominees so
why are they even a part of the story.CNN
is too busy following the noise and not
the news,
CNN needs to wake up fast. Anon 7:55 you
ReplyDeleteare so right. The fastest growing segment in
America is multi-racial.We are now in what is
called the Age Of Obama. The world has now
changed and CNN is just like the Republicans
who are stuck in history and not watching the
present world. The time of left vs right has now
gone. The only pundits they need are David
Gergen and Donna Brazille.CNN has some
tough decisions to make they can capture and
mater the changing world or it will past them
by .
Until CNN gets rid of Lou Dobbs I am not
ReplyDeletewatching on Countdown last night Keith ran
all of the clips of the talk radio guys comments
on Judge Sotomayor and as a female I am upset
with comments made by Dobbs and CNN for
giving in to hate and xenophobia.
The thesis continues :
ReplyDeleteLet CNN be the only cable news network where
journalism thrives.CNN is the home of some of
the world's best journalists and photographers.
Give the network back to the people who work
for your network and let creativity thrive.
Get back in the 24/7 news game again by actually
being a 24/7 cable news network.On any given
day all 24 hours long I should be able to turn on
CNN and find out what is going on in America,
the world and beyond. More than ever Americans
need to know what is happening on every
continent. Can you bring the world into my
home? Also, would CNN consider a news program
you can sit and watch with your family on Sunday
evenings in prime time? Is it possible to have
less repeats and more news and extended inter-
views and reporting? Please consider adding a
culture program, lets hear about art,books,
music, entertainment (not celebrity based).
Recently a poetry slam event was held at
the White House and I never saw anything
on CNN about the event.HBO introduced me
to this phenomenon. Tell me about a band,
artist,writer or innovator that I should know
about or what is new culture wise in America
and the world.
When I say entertainment I mean the new
movie releases and new video games and
music and what is currently making waves.
How about airing trailers for movies and
video games and wallpaper. Add a segment
FAQ, where viewers can talk to the reporters
at CNN about the stories they cover or ask
questions about something they heard about.
Sync up CNN and CNN.com so that I am able
to go on the internet and find out a certain
time for stories and segments to be seen
on tv. Also can we get more raw reporting
and photography on CNN. I know sometimes
things are permitted to air long term due to
time. Well, I would be willing to bet that CNN
stores a lot of data on servers. How about
building a library of stories that can air all
through out the night and into the morning
until fresh programming? Have the schedule on
CNN.com. listing all of the possible categories
in which stories may fall and have the exact
times I can tune into CNN and catch a story
that I might be interested in. Have CNN talent
do short intros and make perhaps a 7 second
graphic so that I will know that the story is
about. For an example, Let's say North Korea.
Begin with the person, transition to the
graphic, then the story,ending with a title
board telling me about the reporter who
covered the story . Sort of like the edge of
discovery franchise that you all have. Please
consider also airing a technology/science
program on Saturdays. Finally could CNN be
the first cable news network to let viewers
pick the news and interesting items they
come across in papers, magazines or surfing
the web, wherever. One hour of viewer news,
put together by the people at CNN and the
viewers. Give a shout out to the viewers who
submit the stories selected by CNN. CNN
is the premier news organization. I would
like to see CNN return to it's roots. After all
you have a reputation to uphold.
I think Jon Kelin's days are numbered at CNN
ReplyDeletePolitico has an interesting item about CNN's ratings
and it is not pretty. I would guess that Jim Walton
wants Klein to fix things rather quickly or be gone.
I can not believe Klein says that CNN is doing
ReplyDeletenews.He must not be watching.CNN is falling
because of it's coverage of President Obama.
I can"t believe CNN would even take seriously
the GOP criticism. The man promised Michelle
this during the campaign.To criticize someone
for taking their wife on a date is a new low. At
least MSNBC calls the GOP for what it is. Silly,
petty dumb and stupid. CNN is viewed as being
on the side of the GOP and anti-Obama and
trying to make fake issues.CNN needs to get
it's journalism backbone and stopped being
used as a pawn by the right wing media.
They are too easily side-tracked by Limbaugh
and others.If you think I am kidding just take
a visit to DIgg. The comments are priceless.
Hire Conor Knighton and the entire
ReplyDeleteVanguard team.CNN needs new blood.
I think June will be crucial. If CNN numbers keep
ReplyDeleteheading south this month, Jon Klein is probably
done if not already. This has been going on for
some months now. Someone is in denial and not
in touch with reality. Drop the twitter hour and
Lou, come up with brand new shows for 6 and 7.
Revamp and fine tune the major shows airing in
prime time. One mistake I think Klein made was
hiring to many pundits and not professional
reporters,producers and writers to strengthen
CNN's news organization.I really do not think
CNN is middle of the road. They read the daily
GOP talking points as news. Also, no more talk
radio guys. I have no idea who these people are
until I google.I do not listen to am radio like
most Americans.I have the ipod or a cd. I
listen to the college radio stations if the radio
is on.
That is what CNN gets for dumbing down the
ReplyDeletenews.CNN and MSNBC have basically switched
places. CNN has no fresh ideas and MSNBC is
adapting to becoming the intelligent cable news
channel.CNN is stuck in the divisive politics of
the 90's. Klein or somebody needs to bring
CNN into the 21st century.I agree politically
with nothing on Morning Joe but at least the
man does not insult my intelligence. He tries
to inform and elevate the conversation and
has great guests who know what they are
talking about. Meanwhile flip to CNN and it
is partisan nonsense. Can someone please
tell me why people from Time and Fortune
are on MSNBC and not on CNN. For goodness
sake these people work in the TW building
in Columbus Square yet they are regulars
on Morning Joe.CNN should have hired
Alison Stewart instead of Campbell Brown.
There is no difference between she and Zahn.
ICN has some great quotes from MSNBC's
ReplyDeletePhil Griffin about CNN.He is right on poiint.
CNN has no vision and no basically no plan.
CNN just does not get it. Jim Walton needs
to bring in a news management team.
The problem is CNN gets it's news from talk
ReplyDeleteradio and the political blogs. They are really
doing themselves in. I tried to watch some of
Campbell Brown.I noticed the No Bias,No Bull
has been dumped. Couple of things someone
needs to tell CNN what a mash up is.Secondly,
she mentioned something called the big debate.
I turned the channel and I am now watching
Countdown.
CNN numbers will continue to go down.
ReplyDeleteIf you thought Brown's show could not
get any worse think again. Later today
I would be willing to bet that she will
be # 4. Too much talk and questions.
How can anyone think this will fly ?
Spud has some interesting items about CNN on
ReplyDeleteICN.I am not buying it. The show still is bad and
still has opinion.If you have a pundit or a partisan
strategist it is opinion not news. The show was so
lacking in news.It will not get any better tonight
with Mitt Romney and if the great debate is not
opinion you could've fooled me.
It is simple MSNBC is growing because they
are going for the Barnes & Noble crowd. Usually
college educated,informed and internet savvy.
TV Newser says that CNN is now losing to a
taped show at 7. Jon Klein has some tough
decisions to make. BUt I think it is pretty clear
that a shakeup is coming.
Does anyone get the impression that CNN
ReplyDeleteis trying to make 360 boring and make it dull
to build up Campbell's show. 360 does not
have the open or cool bump music any more.
360 is the only thing CNN has going for it
right now. That is just plain dumb to mess
up your best show.
@8:33PM May 29th: America may be multi-racial, but tell that to Fox, who happened to out-Fox everyone and keeps on keeping on. No digital gagets or gimmicks, just opinion and news and lots of it.
ReplyDeleteAs for 360 being the only thing CNN has going for it, look again. If AC can't beat KO reruns and Nancy Grace and Maddow and ALWAYS is second to Greta, even in his own demographic, HE TOO, needs revamping.