 |
| |||||||||
 |
| |||||||||
 |
|
1 4 night average used. FOX and MSNBC did not air regular programming on Friday night.
^ Courtesy Nielsen Media Research; Demographics where noted; Live + Same Day (LS) Fast Track Nationals.
A few ratings related articles appeared over the past week...
CNN sent 11 crews to cover Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, including headliners Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta. Anchors Wolf Blitzer and Piers Morgan were elsewhere last week: Mr. Blitzer hosting his evening newscast from France, Egypt and Tunisia and Mr. Morgan heading to Israel to interview Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The deployment was the most visible example yet of new domestic chief Ken Jautz’s vision of CNN as a substantive news network that takes full advantage of its company’s newsgathering heft to concentrate more on journalism and a wide range of stories and less on political debate.
The abundance of news from Japan, Egypt and Libya makes this a particularly well-timed strategy. CNN is leading MSNBC in prime-time viewership in March. If that holds up, it will be the network’s first time in second place, behind Fox News Channel, in the cable-news ratings since January 2010, the Nielsen Co. said. CNN’s weekday prime-time audience is up 28 percent this year compared with the last three months of 2010. MSNBC is up 5 percent and Fox down 8 percent in the same period.
During the past few difficult years, CNN seemed more defined by what it took pains to say it wasn’t — a partisan talk network — than what it was.
“It’s important to stand out by being different,” says Mr. Jautz, a longtime CNN executive who replaced Jon Klein in the fall at the helm of the domestic network. “If much of the cable space is politically oriented and partisan politically oriented, the way to be different is … to talk about different subject matters and approach it differently.”
...
To continue reading... Washington Times, CNN steers to straightaway
For CNN, another international crisis means another opportunity -- until, of course, it doesn't.
Turmoil in the Middle East and a devastating earthquake in Japan have once again ratcheted up U.S. interest in what's happening overseas, triggering a related flurry of stories about how CNN has been the beneficiary. Once again, CNN is talking about how to parlay its temporary ratings surge into renewed vigor and an improved competitive standing.
If that sounds familiar, it should. Top CNN execs probably don't want to hear that they sound like Jonathan Klein, but in early 2005 their predecessor at the channel was saying a lot of the same things after ratings spiked in response to the Indonesian tsunami. "CNN Demonstrates Global Strength With Tsunami Coverage," read one press release at the time.
Yet CNN's strength has also consistently turned out to be its glass jaw -- a function not merely of missteps by the channel (though there have certainly been plenty of those), but a short U.S. attention span when it comes to sustaining focus on crises abroad.
In November, CNN put out another press release touting how over the course of a month, the third-place cable news network -- behind Fox News Channel and MSNBC -- actually reached far more people overall than either of its competitors: 95 million tuned to CNN, per Nielsen data, compared with 83 million and 79 million for Fox and MSNBC, respectively.
Those numbers have long demonstrated the radio-like dilemma CNN faces: Its cumulative audience, or "cume," is generally higher, in much the way more motorists listen to news radio -- for traffic, weather, scores -- a few minutes at a time. But its average audience at any given moment is significantly lower, due to lengthier tune-in for Fox and MSNBC's opinion hosts, where the format approximates talkradio.
...
To continue reading... Variety, Feast or famine for CNN: Thriving in times of crisis isn't a good business model
... and from CNN:
CNN TOPS MSNBC IN PRIMETIME IN THE KEY DEMO FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SIX QUARTERS
ALSO BESTS MSNBC IN TOTAL DAY AND DAYSIDE AMONG TOTAL VIEWERS AND THE DEMO 25-54 DURING FIRST QUARTER 2011
‘Piers Morgan Tonight’ Has Most Growth of Any Cable News Program this Quarter; Increasing 52% in the Demo 25-54 vs. a year Ago Programming; Also Tops Rachel Maddow in the Demo
PRIMETIME:
For the first quarter 2011, CNN outperformed MSNBC in the key demo among adults 25-54 in M-F primetime for the first time in six quarters (Q3 2009), averaging 276k vs. 269k. In M-F primetime, CNN grew +28% compared to Q1 2010, while MSNBC’s growth was much less substantial (+9%) and Fox News actually lost -21% of its primetime audience during the quarter.
TOTAL DAY AND DAYSIDE:
CNN topped MSNBC in total day (6a-6a) in both the key demo and among total viewers with CNN averaging 190k adults 25-54, a 24% advantage over MSNBC’s 153k, and had 548k total viewers, 20% more than MSNBC’s 456k. CNN grew +28% in the key demo compared to first quarter a year ago, while MSNBC was up only +12% Fox News was down -18%.
During dayside programming (9a– 5p) CNN Newsroom easily outperformed MSNBC each hour, with MSNBC placing either 3rd or 4th throughout the day during the first quarter. For the quarter among adults 25-54, CNN averaged 181k vs. MSNBC’s 83k and in total viewers, CNN posted 601k vs. MSNBC’s 347k. In addition, CNN increased +30% in the demo during the daytime, while MSNBC increased +12% and FNC was down -20%.
FIRST QUARTER 2011 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:
CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight grew the most of any cable news program this quarter, increasing 52% in the key demo compared to CNN programming a year ago (308k vs. 202k). In total viewers, Morgan is also up +23%, Maddow increased +15% and Hannity is down -20% vs. Q1 2010. In addition, Morgan topped MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow in the key demo (308k vs. 297k) for the quarter.
CNN’s AC 360 outperformed MSNBC at 10p in both the demo (318k vs. 241k) and total viewers (859k vs. 789k) – with AC 360 growing +40% in the demo while MSNBC increased +22% and FNC was down -28% compared to a year ago.
CNN’s 8 pm program was the only show to grow in the key demo compared to last quarter, increasing +14% (202k vs. 177k), while MSNBC declined -6% (248k vs. 263k) and The O’Reilly Factor lost -18% of its 25-54 audience (770k vs. 937k).
John King, USA at 7 pm bested MSNBC’s Hardball for the quarter in the key demo (201k vs. 193k) and grew +16% compared to a year ago.
The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer also topped MSNBC at 6 pm, increasing its demo audience by +38% (215k vs. 156k) and growing its total viewer audience by +10% (677k vs. 618k) vs. first quarter 2010. And at 5 pm, the Sit Room also topped MSNBC and increased +38% in the demo/+10% in total viewers, while FNC’s Glenn Beck lost -38% of its demo 25-54 audience (481k vs. 776k) this quarter vs. a year ago and is down -31% in total viewers (1.980m vs. 2.851m).
CUMULATIVE AUDIENCE:
CNN reached a cumulative Q1 2011 average monthly audience of 103.9 million, Fox News followed with 86.6 million and MSNBC trailed with 83.2 million.
CNN’S ANDERSON COOPER 360 IS #1 CABLE NEWS PROGRAM AT 10 PM IN MARCH; FNC’S ON THE RECORD SLIPS TO SECOND IN KEY DEMO 25-54 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER TWO YEARS;
CNN Overtakes MSNBC in Primetime for the First Time in 14 Months;
CNN Records Triple-Digit Growth in Primetime and Total Day; while MSNBC Loses Viewers at 8 pm and FNC Loses Viewers in Primetime in vs. a Year Ago
In March, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 was the #1 cable news program at 10 pm in the key demo adults 25-54, overtaking FNC’s On the Record with Greta Van Susteren for the first time in 26 months (January, 2009). For the month, AC 360 averaged 496k among adults 25-54, while FNC slipped into second place with 480k and MSNBC’s The Ed Show was a distant third with 266k. Compared to a year ago, the CNN 10 pm program had significant growth, increasing +153% in the key demo (496k vs. 196k) and +66% in total viewers (1.165m vs. 702k). During the heightened news cycle, FNC actually lost viewers at 10 pm, decreasing -13% in the demo (480k vs. 552k) and losing -16% in total viewers (1.802m vs. 2.154m) vs. a year ago.
PRIMETIME:
CNN surpassed MSNBC in M-F primetime for the first time in 14 months (January 2010), averaging 393k in the demo, a 40% advantage over MSNBC’s 280k. CNN also topped MSNBC in total viewers in M-F primetime with 1.013m vs. 992k total viewers. Compared to last year, CNN grew by triple digits in M-F prime, increasing +126% (393k vs. 174k) in the demo and +56% in total viewers (1.013k vs. 648k), while Fox News lost -11% of their demo primetime audience (629k vs. 705k) and was down -13% in total viewers (2.398m vs. 2.751m). MSNBC grew only slightly in primetime during the news-fueled month, increasing +12% in the key demo (280k vs. 250k) and just +8% in total viewers (992k vs. 921k) vs. a year ago.
CNN’s 9 pm program Piers Morgan Tonight outperformed MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show in the demo (380k vs. 338k) in March, growing an impressive +118% vs. CNN programming a year ago and significantly more than Maddow’s increase of +24%, while FNC’s Hannity lost -4% of his demo 25-54 audience. This represents the first time in 14 months that CNN topped Maddow. At 8 pm, In the Arena topped MSNBC’s Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (308k vs. 246k) for the month in the demo – this is the first time that CNN has topped MSNBC at 8 pm in over three years (February, 2008). In addition, In the Arena was the only cable news network to grow vs. a year ago at 8 pm – in both the demo and total viewers, increasing +103% in the demo/+51% in total viewers, while Lawrence O’Donnell was down -7%/-9% and The O’Reilly Factor decreased -13%/-11%.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAMMING:
At 7 pm, John King, USA easily topped MSNBC’s Hardball in both total viewers (850k vs. 722k) and in the demo 25-54 (315k vs. 207k), growing +132% in adults 25-54 and +64% in total viewers vs. a year ago. This represents JK, USA’s best month since launching a year ago among both total viewers and the demo.
CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer at 5 pm also topped MSNBC, increasing +162% in the demo (306k vs. 117k) and +80% in total viewers (972k vs. 539k) compared to last year. FNC’s Glenn Beck continues to experience declines at 5 pm – decreasing 33% in the key demo (514k vs. 763k) and losing one quarter (-25%) of his total viewer audience (2.061m vs. 2.748m) compared to March, 2010. In addition, the Situation Room at 6 pm grew +157% in the demo (332k vs. 129k) and +82% in total viewers (932k vs. 513k).
On Sundays, State of the Union with Candy Crowley at 9 am grew +105% in the key demo (287k vs. 140k) and by +48% in total viewers (711k vs. 479k), and Fareed Zakaria: GPS at 10 am increased +103% in the demo (240k vs. 118k) and +60% in total viewers (597k vs. 372k) vs. last March.
TOTAL DAY:
In total day (6 am-6 am), CNN also had the most growth of all the cable news networks vs. a year ago, increasing +125% in the key demo 25-54 (295k vs. 131k), while MSNBC grew only +20% (159k vs. 133k) and Fox News was down by -2% (345k vs. 353k). In total viewers, CNN was up +67% (766k vs. 459k), MSNBC grew +16% (463k vs. 400k) and FNC decreased -4% (1.234m vs. 1.289m).
MORNING AND DAYSIDE:
CNN’s American Morning placed second for the month of March in both total viewers (473k) and the demo 25-54 (224k), with MSNBC’s Morning Joe slipping to 3rd in total viewers (445k) and dropping to 4th place in the demo (136k).
During dayside programming, CNN Newsroom topped MSNBC each hour (9am-5pm) in both the key demo 25-54 and among total viewers. At 12 noon, CNN Newsroom was #1, topping both Fox News and MSNBC in the demo with 254k vs. 238k/105k respectively. At 3 pm, CNN Newsroom also easily topped MSNBC’s Martin Bashir -- 262k vs. 89k in the key demo 25-54. In head-to-head comparisons with MSNBC’s daytime non-opinion programming CNN almost tripled MSNBC in the key demo (261k vs. 92k) and held a 123% advantage among total viewers (793k vs. 356k).
CUMULATIVE AUDIENCE:
CNN reached a cumulative audience of 114.6 million viewers in March, FNC lagged behind with 89.4 million and MSNBC averaged 84.8 million.
CNN DIGITAL:
CNN.com Sets Global traffic, video and mobile usage records in March.
Traffic:
CNN.com served 67 million global page views on Sat., March 12th, making it the highest weekend day (Sat. or Sun.) in CNN.com’s history.
CNN.com averaged 75 million page views per day, an increase of 66% over last March from Friday, March 11-Sun., March 20.
In March to date, CNN.com has averaged 60 million page views per day, a double-digit increase over Feb. by 25% and over March 2010 by 34%.
Video:
CNN.com served 60 million global video starts on Friday, March 11, the highest level of video usage for a single day in CNN.com’s history (prior high: Obama inauguration).
During the first week of Japan coverage, CNN.com served more than 134 million global video starts, more than the previous 43 days combined.
Mobile:
CNN’s mobile site achieved 13.9 million page views globally on Fri., March 11, the highest single day to date since tracking began in May 2010.
26 comments:
While AC360's ratings are well deserved and I'm glad that Wolf and John King are also benefiting from the "international chaos" that seems to spike CNN's ratings periodically, Piers Moron continues to be an idiot. He doesn't deserve the praise or the paper its printed on.
Hannity have no fear, Piers Morgan is here.
Great news for 360. It seems as though the
numbers are low for the Libya speech. it
appears viewers went to the networks. over
cable news. You have to admit the act is
getting old. It is the same old thing, you know
what people are going to say. Also, maybe
there is not all of this confusion that cable news
claims. According to TV by the Numbers 25
million watched but the cable numbers seem
down. People certainly didn't care to watch
the post analysis. It will be an interesting
April coming up. If there is a meltdown in
Japan will CNN go with the royal wedding.
Let's see how things play out for April 2011.
Keep in mind that 360 doesn't have 2 shows
with a 1st place finish before it airs. That is
what makes what is happening at 10 PM
amazing. Those viewers that AC are picking
up are coming from somewhere. Is it new
viewers or viewers changing from FNC &
MSNBC ? For 360 to even be competitive
for the hour is remarkable.
Dr. Drew starts on Monday and I think he will
take viewers away from Piers Morgan. TV is
definitely not his thing nor is conducting a
decent interview. I thought Larry King was
boring but Piers is a turn off. CNN can't be
competitive with just 360.
CNN should hire George Stroumboulopoulos.
Go for those Daily Show & Colbert Report
viewers at 9 PM. They just like their news
in a different style.He does the show before
a live studio audience and has a great tv
delivery style. George's Debrief is the best.
CNN please bring this show to America. In
some U.S. border towns you can see the
show. Cable news needs something new.
360's numbers went down a bit on Monday night, but they did manage to maintain over one million viewers and the demo was pretty good. To be honest, I thought the ratings would dip below one million by now and they probably will during the rest of the week, but they may have finally been able to pick up and hold new viewers for a change.
Maybe I missed it I didn't hear Anderson acknowledge that Erica Hill interviewed President Obama when they showed her clip, but he did mention Brian Williams' interview of the President, it might not mean anything, but I thought it was strange.
There is some talk about 360's reliance on right leaning pundits during the segments on Libya and someone suggested that Anderson may favor them. I have to agree, in fact, I've said many times that Anderson has always seemed to me to be somewhat conservative and thus his strong admiration for people like Fouad Ajami/Billy Nungesser/David Gergen. He likes to say he doesn't lean one way or the other politically, but I find that difficult to believe given what I've seen on 360 over the years.
@1:42PM: Here's the thing. "People vote their POCKETBOOKS. And AC has a LARGE POCKETBOOK....or wallet.
My feeling is, he is not an Obama supporter and never was.
His mother was best friends with Nancy Regan. Need I say more?
And it is not amazing that 360 is picking up viewers. The news has been interesting and AC always does well in the field.
CNN's ratings have been strong across the board, but they will wane.
Viewers lose interest quickly.
Japan was a unique story because people related and relate even now, but the Middle East has become tedious.
It seems like the ratings are down a little
for all of the networks this week. Nearly
50 % of 360 viewers are in the demo and
Greta gets nearly twice the viewers. It has
to be something else going on. Could this
be a month win all of the networks lose
many viewers.360 has momentum. Now
the big thing is can they keep it going.
@9:36 pm, no I don't believe AC was ever an Obama supporter in spite of what some conservatives seem to believe about him. I still remember the very lukewarm response he gave when asked about Obama's DNC speech back in 2008, of course he's supposed to remain neutral and I'm sure that was part of the reason, but I've always felt there was something more to it than mere impartiality and he's done things on the show that have convinced me that he is probably conservative and no fan of the President.
Well the ratings on 360 dropped significantly on Tuesday night like I suppose we all expected. 360 did win the demo against MSNBC but lost in total viewers. This isn't exactly the most important thing, but AC and Isha have dropped all banter between them and they just come off as cool towards each other unlike how things were when Isha initially started with smiles and humor. I know many people hate the banter and think the show can do without it altogether, but everything's been so grim and serious (understandable of course) and I miss having a teeny bit of levity at the end of the show. But more important than that though is how 360 could stand LOTS more variety in the program's content now. Keep talking about Libya and Japan, but bring in other reports. There's enough time to do that.
Keep in mind ratings fall into several categories.
Advertisers do care about the breakdown. It is
obvious that younger viewers are coming to
360 at 10 and not Ed or Greta. What 360 is
doing with the demo is impressive. On Tuesday,
those FNC numbers were down. That is unusual.
360 has to overcome a huge ratings deficit. Ed
& Greta don't. I have always thought if 360 can
get a million plus viewers it will easily be a very
strong contender beyond Greta in the demo. FNC
& MSNBC seemed to have hit a wall with growth
but it seems to be different for 360. I think
for some 4 months now people have been
keeping and eye on the demo at 10. It is the
most interesting hour as well as the most
competitive in cable news.
IMHO last night's edition of 360 was great.
Lots of news and information about Libya,
Syria & Japan. 360 has to pack a lot into 1
hour so it is more focused and uses time
wisely. Isha comes up right before the 1st
commercial break. Last night she gave a
mini story( my description) of the nuclear
situation in Japan before the 1st commercial
break. Anderson came back much later in
the show with Sanjay & a guy with nuclear
energy expertise. Isha did the news update
at the end of the show. 360 is doing a much
better job at making you hang around for
the hour.
I have now added World One to my dvr list.
It is good to see CNN is now on live at 5 AM.
I do hope we see more of the people from
CNN International on CNN and more of the
shows from CNN International. CNN also
has Time & Sports Illustrated in the TW family.
They need to use the content form these
sources more.
There are 3 people I would like to see more
of on CNN domestic : Isha Sesay, Hala Gorani
& Raphel Romo. Also, a tech and science
show. Why do we need a repeat of a financial
show on the weekends. But don't dare touch
GPS.
Business Insider has an article on cable news.
They say Fox is down 21 % in prime time and
CNN is up 28 % . It's theory : Greta is losing
viewers to Anderson. Anderson's ratings are
up 18 % while Greta is down 22 % . That likely
explains those demos. Not sure if they even
draw the same viewers. CNN needs to get a
women's show on at 8. All of the female
journalists from the CNN networks. There
is even a female sports anchor on CNN I.
Just rotate all of the talent from CNN, HLN
CNN I & CNN Espanol. Advertisers would
line up for this show. Counterprogramming
is what CNN needs to use more. Nothing
like this exists. It is time. No View, no
talking and yelling over each other.
I was just watching Randi Kaye and she had
Frederik Pleitgen on live from a boat off the
Libyan coast and he managed to get into
Misrata. That's journalism. Hope he is on
360 tonight with how they pulled this off
along with Ben Wedeman, Nic Robertson
and the others. I would like to see more of
the story behind the Pleitgen journey into
Misrata. There has to be an amazing back
story to all of this. I don't care if it takes
10 minutes or longer for a story from
Pleitgen on all of this.
@8:58AM: It seems to me, looking at the ratings today, that it is 360 that has hit the wall and not Greta and ED. Totals matter. And Maddow and O'Donell both got over a million and didn't need to show graphic images of oppression in order to do it.
Time for Mr. Cooper to do some field work.
Oh, and a little variety, as one commenter said, might help. Stuck on Libya isn't a show.
Looks like AC360 beat Ed in total viewers and demo and Maddow in the demo on Tuesday night. Sure AC360's ratings aren't sky high like they were during the Japan coverage, but the increase in demo and total viewer numbers show that they are doing a lot better than they were prior to Japan.
I should have said AC beat Ed/Rachel on Wednesday night, not Tuesday.
AC360 did it again topping Greta in the demo
on Wednesday : 329,000 : 321,000 according
to TVN. We will see later today how Thursday
played out. If Greta gets lower than 1.4 million,
she is in big trouble. Shifting in viewing habits
don't happen overnight. They move that way
over time. There is proof that Greta is no longer
dominating the hour. Anderson gets the demo,
Greta more viewers. Split decision. The closer
Greta gets to 1 million that is not in her favor.
AC is winning the demo with 600,00 fewer
viewers than Greta.
Good for CNN. All of that news o the tea party
is not news. Do some real stories and break your
ties to the tea party. Viewers don't care. Once
Matthews is back on Hardball next week CNN
will fall behind. It seems it is getting back to
normal. CNN was down across the board in
prime time, maybe with Oprah ending her show
CNN does need to do a women's news show
and hire George. They need to do something.
This lineup can't continue.
The ratings seem lower this week for all
except BOR and that could mean all 3 cable
news channels will be down this month. Not
sure the royal wedding will be that big of a
draw and the NCAA championship game is
on Monday. Let's see how things are a couple
of weeks from now but they all seem to be
a little down in the ratings.
@9:43AM: If Greta's numbers start to fall below l million, and they haven't, they're up, as of Thursday, Megan Kelly will most likely take her place.
Game over.
She's Fox's new superstar and they will use her. Trust me, she's waiting in the wings and she has a large following whether you like her or not.
Whether Megyn Kelly is a star or not, I don't like her. She's also not as smart as she or her viewers like to think she is. One only has to see Jon Stewart shoot down her arguments in a hot second. I'd rather watch someone with credibility and viewers of Fox just want a combative "pretty" face who can spew out right wing talking points at top volume. Let them have their big ratings. Regardless of who they bring in over on Fox, I don't expect 360 to be yanked off the air and I'm certainly not hoping for it.
If Campbell Brown was weak, that makes
Elliot Spitzer weaker.
No one ever implied that 360 should be "yanked" off the air, but it is unrealistic to think that AC/360 will continue to be first unless there is breaking news.
People's viewing habits don't change that quickly and that gives Fox News the edge.
Roger Ailes is a lot smarter than Ken Jautz and Jon Stewart would agree.
While interviewing Bret Baier, he even acknowledged that Roger Ailes is very smart and difficult to outwit.
I've been saying all along that the ratings would settle into their normal levels, anyone who has watched 360 over the years knows its never remained in first place once the big story died down, but the main issue for me is that it stays on the air in spite of Roger Ailes' smarts, Greta, Megyn Kelly or whoever. 360 has managed to survive over the years after having been declared dead MANY times.
360 has never, to my knowledge, been "declared dead MANY times."
Perhaps that was just your perception.
People have criticized the show and its segments, but no one ever said it would be gone.
As long as AC is the anchor it will be on the air.
However, a lot depends on AC himself and how his daytime show works out.
Why he would want it is anyone's guess, but we'll just have to wait and see how things play out.
Congratulations to Erica Hill for rising so quickly on CBS.
She not only did a broadcast from London, but also was chosen as one of three reporters to interview President Obama for CBS.
CNN's loss is CBS'gain.
Post a Comment