Numbers game…
There’s been a running numbers dispute going on between FNC and CNN today over the 10pm hour and the battle between On The Record and Anderson Cooper 360. FNC has been trumpeting the raw Total Viewer and Demo numbers and the CNN has been trumpeting the Demo numbers trend since he took over at 10 pm which makes Cooper’s show look like it’s on the way up and Greta’s look like it’s on the way down….
If you want to read more about this he said/she said, go to TVNewser…
It’s amazing that FNC could put out anything positive here about Greta. Both CNN and FNC know the only viewership gains that matter here are in the demo. Advertisers do not care if Greta has managed to increase her P55+ people, and besides from the looks of it her overall viewership has decreased, the P55+ wasn’t enough to make up for the massive loss in the demo. Of course that just shows again she depends on finding a good looking blonde to bring in all the presumably young males, she actually had one of those stories last year.
It will be interesting to see if all the young viewers stay around at CNN, 55% really is a massive gain. It shows that CNN is building an audience, one that will be around for years to come.
Comment by AnonymousHere — December 29, 2005 @ 9:09 pm
A “massive gain of viewers that will be around for years to come” based on a period a little over a month?
And a comparison based on what Aaron “Who Needs Sleeping Pills When You’ve Got Me?” Brown did last year?
Maybe he will or maybe he won’t hold an audience over time, but you can’t tell based on this bogus chart (or any of those stupid charts for that matter).
Put down the crack pipe, AnonymousHere…
Comment by anon — December 29, 2005 @ 9:41 pm
Hmm..the only reason Greta’s numbers were up in 2005 was because of her on going obsession of Natalie Hallaway. Compare the content of CNN and FNC and they are two different animals. FNC does not deserve to be in the category of Cable news. Put it up there in the category of newstainment.
Comment by Hairy — December 29, 2005 @ 10:28 pm
CNN used the worse possible photo of Greta in the graphic, didn’t they? I guess they’re still upset that she left.
Comment by Missy — December 29, 2005 @ 10:38 pm
Ummmm anon first off I never said he was going to hold all 55% of that, you misquoted me. I said that was a massive gain. And by CNN gaining an audience, it’s not just that data that points to this trend. Take the entire year of 2005, the demo for primetime is up 8% and the demo for total day is up 10%. So it isn’t just a month.
As regard to specifically the 10:00 PM slot, I don’t think it’s fair to say Aaron Brown wouldn’t have made the same gains. I think he would have done better, he actually did very well with young viewers during his time and was starting to pick up a lot before Klein made that decision. However, this being the case Cooper is still gaining in the demo and FNC is losing in it, not just that month but year-around (down 13% in primetime, down 7% in total day; Greta was actually up with 9% for the year but nothing compared to CNN’s 26% gain at the same slot).
ratings from tvnewser
Comment by AnonymousHere — December 29, 2005 @ 11:39 pm
Oh yes, how can we forget Greta’s coverage of Natalee Holloway. It’s true, advertisers don’t give a crap about total viewers, all they care about are the demos.
Comment by anonymous — December 30, 2005 @ 1:13 am
Again, look at the numbers. Greta’s increases in viewership doubled CNN’s, and she was up 9% in the demo. Her audience was more than double of CNN’s, and her 25-54 demographic beat CNN’s and MSNBC’s, combined. Yes, combined. There’s only one winner at 10PM, and that’s Greta.
And, Missy, you’re right. CNN is still mad that she left.
Comment by Staycee — December 30, 2005 @ 11:16 am
Advertisers love the 25-54 demo and they look for the MOST eyeballs in that category. Greta had 504,000 viewers in the 25-54 category for 2005 and Cooper had 290,000 and Scarborough had 142,000.
Advertisers don’t give a flip about who is up by what %, their cares are very basic, eyeballs, and reaching the highest amount of 25-54 viewers at one time.
Hands down, Greta is the winner. CNN fans, face the facts and leave your spin elsewhere.
Comment by Craig — December 30, 2005 @ 12:18 pm
Greta may have the highest demo numbers in that timeslot but losing 36% in the last month and a half is nothing for FOX fans to brag about. What if she loses another 36%?
Comment by anonymous — December 30, 2005 @ 1:22 pm
Greta was ranked #3 for all of cable news in the 25-54 demo. After all the media publicity, all of the CNN ads in the newspapers and magazines, and all of the cross air promotion on television, Cooper landed in 17th place in the 25-54 demo. I don’ thtink there’s anything Greta has to worry about.
Comment by Audrey — December 30, 2005 @ 1:34 pm
As long as the American viewing public is interested in tabloidy stories ,Greta will continue to dominate that time slot.
Comment by anon — December 30, 2005 @ 2:41 pm
As long as the American viewing public is interested in tabloidy stories, Nancy Grace will remain CNN’s brighest star.
Comment by Ted — December 30, 2005 @ 8:34 pm
Note to #11 & 12 - if America wasn’t interested in these types of stories, 24 hour cable channels wouldn’t exist. It’s all about ratings (hence the endless bickering on this site), therefore cable channels will now and forever cover seedy and exploitative stories because that’s want people tune in to watch. I personally don’t care about Natalie or Michael Jackson, but clearly a lot of people do and they keep tuning in.
Even holier than thou Anderson Cooper does stories on Scientology and who would even care about Scientology if it werent’ for Tom Cruise. Do you even know any Scientologists? I don’t.
I don’t think you can criticize anyone for doing what it takes to win in a tough business
Comment by anon — December 30, 2005 @ 8:52 pm
Well I guess we can count Anderson Cooper,Paula Zahn, Larry King, and Rita Cosby in can’t we? No #12, Cooper will ALWAYS be CNN’s golden boy with his dieting specials and all. Paula has her celebrity interviews, Larry King had on Hugh Hefner and his sluts for an hour. Speaking of whores, Rita went to the whorehouse and interviewed some for her show. Greta and Nancy look like Disney compared to Rita and Cooper.
Comment by anonymous — December 30, 2005 @ 8:56 pm
#13-I wasn’t criticizing anyone really. I do not watch Greta because I’m not interested in the subject matters of her show.My point was simply that many American viewers are so unless CNN puts a program on like Greta’s during that timeslot, they will always lose in that time slot. Unless for what ever reason the viewers decide they want more than fluff.
Comment by anon — December 30, 2005 @ 9:14 pm
Mention of Larry King brings back memories of my favorite LK question of the year. On his groundbreaking hour, “Addicted to Plastic Surgery”, he asked one of his guests: Are you ugly when you are naked?
Comment by johnny dollar — December 31, 2005 @ 1:08 am
…or when Lary King slobbered all over Pamela Anderson and her chest and asked her question after questoin about her chest.
Comment by Ted — December 31, 2005 @ 7:43 pm
What can you expect from LK, with his underaged wife and overexposed kids and all.. Larry’s 20 years at CNN are over as far as I’m concerned. What’s he doing, getting tabloid filler guests ’till his contract runs out in ‘09?
Comment by anonymous — December 31, 2005 @ 9:33 pm
Between the two, CNN is way better. FOX is not a real news show! The one of many reasons why people watch is because the viewers want to know what the ‘’anchor/reporter'’ thinks. If they were real journalists they should know the first rule of reporting, don’t interfer your report with your own opinion!! CNN may not have the ratings as Fox but they are truly a better network to be on.
Comment by kristin — August 2, 2007 @ 11:39 pm