Here is the 2006 program ranker. FNC had 14 of the top 15 shows in cable news in 2006. The only CNN show in the top 15 was Larry King. MSNBC’s highest ranking was Countdown, which landed outside the top 20…
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Here is the cable channel primetime ranking for 2006. FNC was the only news net in the top 10 in all of cable. FNC ranked 8th in primetime. CNN was 26th and MSNBC was 35th.

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CNN, FNC, and HLN were all down in Total Viewers and The Demo year to year in 2006. CNBC and MSNBC were both up…

Last night on Glenn Beck’s HLN program, Beck defended Rep. Keith Ellison’s right to be sworn in with The Koran. Transcript follows…

GLENN BECK, HOST: Something that you didn`t think was possible. Yes, a brand-new episode of the Glenn Beck program tonight.
Also, the first Muslim congressman will take his oath of office on a Koran. …

First up, the Democratic Congress gets sworn in this week, and I am convinced — no, I know it — other television shows tonight will be talking about Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic agenda and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and I couldn`t care less. I`m going to actually wait until they do something or don`t do something before I tell you what it was all about.

But there is one story that revolves around politics and the incoming Congress that I think is extremely relevant tonight. It is Keith Ellison. He is the first Muslim congressman, and he wants to take the oath of office with his hand on the Koran — kind of. The Koran, not the Bible.

Now, if you`re a regular watcher of this program, you know I believe that radical Islam, not mainstream Islam, is our biggest enemy and could lead to our destruction. Having said that, here is the point tonight.

Keith Ellison, being sworn in on the Koran, is not only OK, it is quintessentially American. While radical Islam may be in danger, peaceful Islam presents our greatest hope for victory. We must, as citizens, be able to separate our fears from the facts. Here`s how I got there.
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Donald Trump will be interviewed by A.J. Hammer tonight on Showbiz Tonight about this ridiculous feud with Rose O’Donnell and how Barbara Walters has entered the frey. Highlights follow…

HAMMER: You’ve got to clear a couple of things up to me that have come up since we last spoke, before the holidays, Donald — a little `he said, she said’ is going on, once again. You were very clear and emphatic when you told me that Barbara Walters is not thrilled with Rosie. Now, Barbara said, on “The View” — and this is her quote — “nothing could be further from the truth. I have never regretted, nor do I now, the hiring of Rosie O’Donnell.”

Donald, is she calling you a liar?

TRUMP: Barbara knows what she said. Barbara called me — Barbara’s a friend of mine and she called me. Barbara knows what she’s going — what she said, A.J. — what can she say? Is she going to get on and say that I can’t stand Rosie, or that she has to — she has to work with her.

But Barbara knows what she said to me, and if I really tell you what she said, it just creates havoc. I like Barbara, Barbara’s a friend of mine. Barbara knows what she said.
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Here is a Dec 2006 vs Dec 2005 ratings breakdown…
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Here is a breakdown of Q4 2006 vs. Q4 2005…
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CNN is noting its momentum gains in the 2006 ratings…

CNN Gains Momentum in 2006, Surges in December and Q4

FNC Declined Every Month but One and MSNBC Remains Third in 2006

Anderson Cooper 360, Lou Dobbs Tonight and The Situation Room post growth

Headline News’ Glenn Beck is the fastest growing show on cable news

CNN Documentaries, Exclusive Interviews and Political Coverage Soared with Ratings Gains

Q4

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MSNBC was the first to announce special coverage for Thursday with its all day special coverage. Now, CNN announced late this afternoon, that it would be doing a special Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer tomorrow beginning at 11:45 am ET…

As part of CNN’s coverage of the first 100 hours of the Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, Wolf Blitzer will anchor “Power Shift: Democrats Take Control.” This special edition of The Situation Room begins Thursday, Jan. 4, at 11:45 a.m. (ET) and will include live footage of the swearing-in ceremony of new members of Congress and Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.

The program will also provide in-depth discussion about the new congressional leadership, which has committed to achieving specific legislative goals in its first 100 hours. CNN’s special coverage will feature observations and analysis from top guests and the network’s correspondents and contributors who were instrumental in CNN’s leading Election Night coverage on Nov. 7, 2007.

Blitzer will be joined by CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, senior political correspondent Candy Crowley, senior political analyst Jeff Greenfield, chief national correspondent John King, senior political analyst Bill Schneider, congressional correspondents Dana Bash and Andrea Koppel, White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, correspondent Tom Foreman, business correspondent Ali Velshi, commentator Jack Cafferty and contributors Paul Begala, former U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts and Donna Brazile. Also on hand to provide unique insights during both the special coverage and regular edition of The Situation Room will be Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R-Md.), Sen.-elect Jim Webb (D-Va.), Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.), and former Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.).
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MSNBC had a great New Year. Its “Crime Doesn’t Take a Holiday” doc block marathon made a killing in prime time, nearly doubling 2nd place CNN in the Demo. And MSNBC won the daytime demo as well. I guess crime does pay after all…

Cable News Ratings for January 1, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 603,000 viewers
CNN – 531,000 viewers
MSNBC – 503,000 viewers
CNBC – a scratch with 113,000 viewers
HLN – 273,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,049,000 viewers
CNN – 896,000 viewers
MSNBC – 938,000 viewers
CNBC – 139,000 viewers
HLN – 339,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 203,000 viewers
CNN – 192,000 viewers
MSNBC –240,000 viewers
CNBC – 66,000 viewers
HLN – 118,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 227,000 viewers
CNN – 246,000 viewers
MSNBC – 456,000 viewers
CNBC –77,000 viewers
HLN –154,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 544,000 viewers (180,000)
American Morning – 398,000 viewers (173,000)
Robin & Co. – 244,000 viewers (113,000)
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FNC put out a release on its new weekend program Hannity’s America, which premieres this Sunday January 7th at 9pm ET…

FOX News Channel will debut a new weekend program, Hannity’s America, on Sunday, January 7th at 9PM/ET. The premiere program (this Sunday) will have Hannity taking on Cindy Sheehan in the “Hot Seat” this weekend and will also interview The View’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck in light of the Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump feud.

Hosted by Sean Hannity, the one-hour regular weekend show will showcase a more personal side of the conservative commentator as he conducts an array of interviews and hits the streets to talk with average Americans.

The program will include regular segments, such as: “Hot Seat,” where Hannity will challenge someone with an opposing viewpoint and “Great American,” where he will feature someone who has done something remarkable for the country.

Hannity will also present a panel, consisting of a wide range of people, to debate the issues presently facing America.

CNN announced this afternoon that Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Lance Armstrong will be part of a Town Hall meeting on Cancer on Saturday January 13th at 8pm ET…

In a powerful hour of informative and inspirational conversation, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong join forces to discuss one disease that touches everyone in some way: cancer. “Saving Your Life” premieres on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. and re-airs on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 2 a.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. All times Eastern.

Also joining the discussion are renowned cancer experts, Dr. Harold Freeman, associate director of the National Cancer Institute and medical director of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention, and Dr. Jim Hotz, a nationally known expert on rural health care and cancer whose story inspired the movie Doc Hollywood. The panel also featured people tackling cancer one community at a time.

“This is an exclusive opportunity to hear from some of the most distinguished members of the medical community about their advice on how to avoid and beat cancer,” Gupta said. “It’s also a testament to those survivors who can offer firsthand advice that can save lives.”
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Following up on this, it appears that the TV Week story I cited yesterday was in error regarding the role of Alexis Glick in the proposed Fox Business Channel. TV Week has subsequently editted its original story by changing Glick’s role at Fox Business Channel from being “in charge of day to day operations” in the original version to “head the channel’s staff” in the corrected version.

Dan Abrams’ memo to MSNBC staff on the 2006 ratings…

From: Abrams, Dan
Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 2:38 PM
To: @MSNBC Everyone
Subject: Congrats. . . again.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season. Now we all have something else to celebrate: the continuing success of MSNBC.

The year end ratings are in and the 2006 story is pretty straightforward: MSNBC was the ONLY cable news channel to grow this year. Period.

When discussing ratings, we all throw out a lot of statistics: prime time, sales prime, key demos, total viewers etc. Well no matter what relevant number you examine, MSNBC was up in 2006, while Fox, CNN, and Headline News were all down.

Furthermore, the story for the 4th quarter of 2006 is even more impressive for MSNBC. We were up 41% among adults 25-54 and up 22% with total viewers. These are achievements that should make us all proud. Even more important, your work continues to make MSNBC the best news on cable.

Congratulations to everyone. Here is to 2007!

FNC Chief White House Correspondent Brett Baier has got a section in Men’s Health Magazine that will chronicle Baier’s experience through a long term exercise and diet plan…

Today, the President had a meeting with his cabinet and then had a statement in the Rose Garden. I walked over (right across Pennsylvania Avenue) and then attended the Rose Garden announcement. As the group of correspondents met on the driveway in front of the White House to be escorted into the Rose Garden, my friend — CBS White House Correspondent Jim Axelrod (seen below next to me and CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux before a news conference during a recent trip to Austria) — said to me “you look like you lost a few more lbs, is that Men’s Health thing working?”

I replied, “I think so, but I’ll tell you in a few months”. My life, while my job is to report on TV, has been a yo-yo of dieting and exercising so hopefully this will put me on the right track for good to get to what I think would be my ideal weight — 185 or so. But — most importantly — with a little one on the way, I want to be a healthy Dad so I’ll be around for the long haul! I am off to write my story for the day… and will try to STAY AWAY FROM THE SNACK MACHINE!

MSNBC put out a release today noting that it was the only network to gain viewers in 2006…

MSNBC was the only cable news network to increase viewership in both total viewers and the key 25-54 demographic in 2006. The network was up 8% in total viewers (263,000) and 12% in the 25-54 demographic (111,000), according to Nielsen Media Research data. In total viewers CNN (-7%), Fox News Channel (-14%) and Headline News (-7%) were all down in 2006. The trend continued in primetime, with MSNBC posting a 6% gain in total viewers (385,000) and an 8% increase in the demo (159,000). CNN lost 12% of its primetime audience, Fox News Channel was down 20% and Headline News dipped 4% for the year in primetime.

Even more impressive was MSNBC’s fourth quarter performance. The network posted gains of 22% in total viewers (303,000) and 41% in the demo (131,000) for the quarter. In primetime, MSNBC was up 28% in total viewers (467,000) and 34% in the demo (191,000).
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CNN’s Anderson Cooper hosted New Year’s Eve Special beat FNC’s Bill Hemmer/Julie Banderas hosted New Year’s Eve Special according to the following spreadsheet ICN received from CNN…

Chris Matthews; Miss America 2007 Judge….

Cable News Ratings for December 30, 2006

P2+ Total Day
FNC –1,165,000 viewers
CNN – 1,081,000 viewers
MSNBC – 547,000 viewers
CNBC – 370,000 viewers
HLN – 361,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,046,000 viewers
CNN – 1,075,000 viewers
MSNBC – 743,000 viewers
CNBC – 520,000 viewers
HLN – 289,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 417,000 viewers
CNN – 459,000 viewers
MSNBC –229,000 viewers
CNBC – 175,000 viewers
HLN – 165,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 281,000 viewers
CNN – 379,000 viewers
MSNBC – 367,000 viewers
CNBC – 261,000 viewers
HLN – 108,000 viewers

Cable News Ratings for December 31, 2006
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The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rosenthal writes about Nancy Grace’s ratings windfall for HLN…

Headline News is a channel that averages 337,000 viewers in prime time, a 59 percent increase from the 212,000 viewers it attracted before changing formats two years ago. Grace and radio talk-show host Glenn Beck are making a lot of noise–not just arguing with people but, alas, in terms of ratings.

Where Headline News averaged around 200,000 viewers before Grace’s arrival, it now does better than a half-million in her time period. The ratings for Beck’s slot since he arrived in May, and bumped “Showbiz Tonight” to another time, are up 65 percent. Among viewers age 18 to 49, he’s up 95 percent.

In the two hours after Hussein’s death, CNN’s viewership swelled to 2.98 million viewers (including 1.4 million in the 25-54 demographic), Fox News Channel drew 2.6 million (976,000 among 25-to 54-year-olds) and MSNBC drew 704,000 (340,000 in the demo).

CNBC announced this morning that starting next Monday, January 8th, Fast Money will be airing M-Fr at 8pm ET…

After six months as a weekly program, CNBC’s “Fast Money” will join the network’s primetime lineup beginning Monday, Jan. 8th, airing Monday-Friday at 8 PM ET and broadcasting from the NASDAQ Stock Market’s street level MarketSite studio in New York’s Times Square.

“Fast Money,” anchored by CNBC’s Dylan Ratigan, is a rapid-paced, highly charged hour where four of Wall Street’s best traders debate and discuss the hot trades of the day. “Fast Money” is the only financial news program that converts news of the day into daily trading opportunities. Each program begins with Ratigan asking, “Where’s the money? What’s the trade? What’s your move?”
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Former 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern appeared on Larry King Live tonight and talked about his then opponent President Gerald Ford. Highlights follow…

MCGOVERN: I have to tell you something I’ve never said before publicly. I voted for him in 1976.

KING: What?

MCGOVERN: When he — yes, I did. And at Thanksgiving dinner that year, I never said anything about this to Eleanor or to her five children. But I told them at Thanksgiving time I had voted for President Ford, even though he lost. And I told them why, because I thought he had come in at a difficult time. I didn’t know President Carter very well then. And I just felt more comfortable somehow with Gerry Ford. Whereupon my wife Eleanor said, so did I vote for him.

We went around that table — this is hard to believe — all five of my kids voted for him. So they get seven votes out of the McGovern family for President Ford and Senator Dole, my long-time Republican friend.
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Tom Shales in the Washington Post wraps up Tuesday’s coverage for the service for President Gerald Ford but manages to leave FNC out of his synopsis…

As the big and more established networks conveyed a kind of official aura, NBC’s quirky cable outfit MSNBC offered more flavorful and colorful, but still respectful, coverage. Chris Matthews, anchoring with Keith Olbermann, at one point told viewers — as cameras scanned the famous faces of those gathered in the cathedral — “These are Washington people. For better or for worse, this is the Establishment you’re looking at right here. This is the A-list of the people who run this city.”

Matthews dares to say what other people are thinking but refrain from saying — for better or for worse.