Edge(d) out…
Sunday’s numbers are out and despite a stronger than usual primetime offering, with a re-airing of Rita Cosby’s interview with Michael Jackson’s mother, Katie Couric’s Runaway Bride interview (also a re-airing), and Lester Holt hosting “Coming Home” (repeated from the previous weekend), combined with the premiere of Chris Jansing’s “The Ethical Edge”….MSNBC came in as a distant also ran in primetime and scratched in the 25-54 demo. FOX beat MSNBC nearly 8:1 in no small part due to Geraldo Rivera live in Aruba. CNN beat MSNBC nearly 4:1 with canned programming.
Total Day
FNC — 967,000
CNN — 360,000
MSNBC — 161,000
Total Day 25-54
FNC — 307,000
CNN — 131,000
MSNBC — 76,000
Primetime
FNC — 1,305,000
CNN — 589,000
MSNBC — 166,000
Prime Time 25-54
FNC — 352,000
CNN — 158,000
MSNBC — (scratch) 38,000
This is what lack of promotion gets MSNBC. There was no advertising at all for The Ethical Edge until Friday and that was just a voice over done by the anchors before they went to break. There was heavier advertising on Saturday and Sunday with TV spots but look at the total daytime numbers. On Sunday there were only 161,000 viewers who saw those ads. MSNBC managed to add on only another 5,000 viewers for prime time through either word of mouth or overlap with viewers who tuned in Friday or Saturday and saw the ads but not Sunday. If MSNBC really wants to get better numbers for debut programs on Weekends they’re going to have to get serious about promotion. We’re talking TV spots a week in advance and not just on MSNBC but other NBC/Universal networks. Otherwise they might as well resign themselves to expecting more of the same in terms of numbers because people aren’t going to tune in if they aren’t given the option of tuning in because they don’t know it’s on because there’s insufficient promotion.
The thing that bum fuzzles me IS all the folks that would rather sit at home and watch FNC versus going to church. hmmmmmm
Comment by Hairy — June 28, 2005 @ 2:45 pm
At night?
Comment by Spud — June 28, 2005 @ 3:25 pm
Yea, where I live the church doors are open from 6pm til 8:30pm every Sunday night. Or maybe the FNC viewers are just sunday morning pew fillers.
Comment by Hairy — June 28, 2005 @ 8:35 pm
I don’t go to church but watch fox news regularly so I don’t get your point, hairy pit.
Comment by ravi — June 29, 2005 @ 12:12 pm
Well since FNC is the GOP’s “news channel” and repubs are the “good, christian people,” and more repubs watch FNC than any other “news channel” just found it interesting FNC’s audience was so big with the church doors open. U’d think “the good christian people” would be in church instead of sitting in front of FNC.
Comment by Hairy — June 29, 2005 @ 12:45 pm
Haha, shouldn’t you be chraigng for that kind of knowledge?!
Comment by Raynoch — September 20, 2011 @ 2:08 am