Inside Cable News

February 28, 2007

February Numbers: Program Ranker…

Here is the cable news program ranker for February…

Filed under: Cable News - Spud

26 Comments »

TrackBack: http://insidecable.blogsome.com/2007/02/28/february-numbers-program-ranker/trackback/

  1. 13 of the top 15 shows are from Fox. By definition, only Fox is supplying something that the majority of the market wants. Fox must be laughing all the way to the bank while the others keep pushing products that the market is clearly not buying. Wouldn’t you think that a rational manager concerned with shareholder value at CNN or MSNBC would have figured this out by now and done something about it? Hasn’t this been the case for 4 or 5 years?

    Comment by steve — February 28, 2007 @ 12:09 pm

  2. The only negative for FNC is that Fox and Friends has slipped out of the Top 15 and below all of their other daytime shows that follow.

    Comment by Ira — February 28, 2007 @ 12:49 pm

  3. Steve, while ratings are great for bragging rights…FNC isn’t exactly “leading the pack” when it comes to advertisers.

    Comment by Terance — February 28, 2007 @ 12:49 pm

  4. I agree Steve…It would be like you are selling only green shirts at your store and the other store has a rainbow of colors of shirts. People like the choices they get at the rainbow store but the store just selling green shirts insist they are better then the other colors and refuses to sell the other colors. Most people prefer the other colors and do their shopping there. Finally the green selling shirt store is going to have to either go rainbow/lose money or close shop.

    Comment by Noelle — February 28, 2007 @ 12:58 pm

  5. Terance, how do you figure they’re not leading the pack when it comes to advertisers?

    Comment by bigred — February 28, 2007 @ 1:15 pm

  6. Terance, how do you figure they’re not leading the pack when it comes to advertisers?

    Comment by bigred — February 28, 2007 @ 1:19 pm

  7. Bigred, have you ever sat through FNC’s commercial breaks?

    Comment by Terance — February 28, 2007 @ 1:35 pm

  8. Huh? Why are you dodging Terance?

    Comment by erljr — February 28, 2007 @ 1:47 pm

  9. Of course ratings bring in more profits. Just look at the chart of the rise of FNC.

    http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/2006/narrative_cabletv_economics.asp?cat=4&media=6

    This is an old article that states projected profits for 2005 but look at how FNC is closing the gap on CNN plus CNN’s profits are also from HLN and they also have a high licensing fee. Is it 50 cents or higher compared to FNC’s 25 cents?

    Now FNC negotiated up to 75 cent or higher per subscriber.

    Comment by Lurker — February 28, 2007 @ 2:24 pm

  10. Erljr, I’m currently watching FNC’s commercials and this ANS junk is killing me.

    Lurker, have you ever bought any of the junk FNC advertises like the listenup.com (personal sound amplifier) or cleverclasp.com (a magnetic clasp for jewelry) ??

    Comment by Terance — February 28, 2007 @ 2:39 pm

  11. Terance, according ot the chart Lurker provided, from 2005, net ad revenues for FNC & CNN were pretty much equal, and that’s with CNN also owning Headline News, CNN International, etc. So again, explain how their dominant ratings don’t result in advertisers.

    Comment by bigred — February 28, 2007 @ 2:42 pm

  12. Terance, I just did a very brief comparison of commercials for CNN and Fox, and don’t see a whole lot of difference. I realize that more detail is needed, but it does show that you aren’t entirely correct about Fox’s advertisers.

    CNN 2:28 ET: Lipitor, Stainmaster Carpet, Loreal Excellence, Florida Keys, Bayer Aspirin, Activ On

    FNC 2:41 ET: The Villages (Florida retirement community) Zetia, BariatricEdge.com, E-trade

    Comment by Hyde — February 28, 2007 @ 3:53 pm

  13. Bigred, so do you sit through FNC’s commercials?

    Lurker, what does cost per subscriber have to do with who FNC’s advertisers are?

    Btw, I never mentioned CNN.. But, if I was shopping for a vehicle, it sure wasn’t advertised on FNC! :> (the closest thing was a “Hoveround Power Chair”)

    FNC - 12:43 - Ensure, FreeCreditReport.com, FosamaxPlusD, Morgan Stanley
    FNC - 12:56 - Ditech.com, Eye Health & Vitality (Bayer), Clever Clasp (cleverclasp.com)

    FNC - 1:11 - Etrade, Housevalues.com, Diabetic Experts of America, Purina, Peripheral Artery Disease/Bristol Meyers

    FNC - 1:25 - Sea-Bond (Denture paste?), Franklin Templeton Investments, Stop Cuts to Hospital Care, Cover the uninsured, Listen up (personal sound amplifier)

    FNC - 1:40 - eHarmony.com,Head On, Flexitol, Medicare Decision Guide(Humana), Triple Flex Rapid Relief (Nature Made)

    FNC 1:48 - Webmd, Ditech, Ensure, Binder and Binder, Nutrisystem

    FNC - 1:55 - 21st.com (Car insurance), Hoveround Power Chairs, UPS, E-Loan

    FNC - 2:11 - Payday Advances (Community Financial Services Association of America), Enablex, JG Wentworth

    FNC - 2:18 - E-trade, Aleve, Kelloggs, Delta Skymiles, Nutrisystem

    FNC - 2:26 - Ditech.com, Binder&Binder, Peripheral Artery Disease/Bristol Meyers, EarLifts

    FNC - 2:41 - The Villages (Florida retirement community), Zetia, BariatricEdge.com, Etrade

    FNC - 2:49 - 21st.com, Freecreditreport.com, Nutrisystem

    FNC - 2:55 - Morgan Stanley, Listen up (personal sound amplifier)

    I’m not trying to compare FNC’s advertisers to other networks. I really have no idea who makes more money from ad sales and frankly don’t care. Its what FNC is “selling” and “not selling” to their audience which intrigues me.

    Comment by Terance — February 28, 2007 @ 4:23 pm

  14. Steve:
    “Wouldn’t you think that a rational manager concerned with shareholder value at CNN or MSNBC would have figured this out by now and done something about it?”

    That is a perfect example of everything that is WRONG with journalism today. I don’t want my news dictated by the short-term greed of shareholders who are more concerned with profit than quality or journalistic ethics.

    It is also a perfect explanation for Fox’ success, and that of all sensationalistic tabloids. I just wouldn’t want to rely on them for news.

    Comment by Mark @ News Corpse — February 28, 2007 @ 4:33 pm

  15. Terance, which is it? You say you’re “not trying to compare FNC’s advertisers to other networks”, but your earlier post says “FNC isn’t exactly leading the pack when it comes to advertisers.”

    We’re still waiting to hear how they’re “not leading the pack”.

    According to the link Lurker posted, FNC was projected to bring in more ad revenue than CNN & way more than MSNBC in 2005. I’m sure the numbers are even better for ‘06.

    To answer you question… I often flip during ads, but I do catch some of them. So?

    Comment by bigred — February 28, 2007 @ 4:50 pm

  16. Terance, what good is your list unless you also provide who advertised on CNN and MSNBC during the same time period?

    I used to watch all three networks (but no longer MSNBC, for obvious reasons), and it seemed like all three had the same commercials.

    Also, what about the prime-time ads? While the day time ads may be geared to those who stay at home (for whatever reason), night-time commercials are probably targetting people who work (probably a younger audience).

    You did a great job in recording all of these ads, but maybe someone else (I’ll give it a try) should record what the competition is advertising for the comparison to be meaningful.

    Comment by Missy — February 28, 2007 @ 4:54 pm

  17. I get it Terance. Note that the commercials you saw go on 24/7. During thwe O’Reilly Factor however, they have a special mention of:
    1) The Talking Points Memo is brought to you by…
    2) The Impact segment is brought to you by…
    The O’Reilly Factor isn’t the only one either. I know CNN does this on different shows too. Do the advertisers pay more for these?

    Comment by erljr — February 28, 2007 @ 4:59 pm

  18. Missy - why aren’t you watching Tucker anymore?

    Comment by erljr — February 28, 2007 @ 5:05 pm

  19. Mam o man !The FOX haters did it again.Thay moved you off story that FOX is the leader to the commercials, and you all fell for it .The blind leading the blind.

    Comment by mike — February 28, 2007 @ 5:13 pm

  20. Missy, good point. The ads might very well change at night. I just thought it was interesting to see what the #1 rated news network was advertising for a block of time.

    Bigred, shouldn’t FNC have car companies (and other high end products) knocking down the door? My favorite was the EARLIFTER which helps people with droopy ear lobes.

    Thanks, Erljr.

    Comment by Terance — February 28, 2007 @ 5:15 pm

  21. ^

    I was talking about total profits but yea net ad revenues are about the same for CNN and FNC but CNN also includes HLN.

    Comment by Lurker — February 28, 2007 @ 5:18 pm

  22. That is a perfect example of everything that is WRONG with journalism today. I don’t want my news dictated by the short-term greed of shareholders who are more concerned with profit than quality or journalistic ethics.

    Interpretation: Can we have more Bush bashing please?

    Mark: I just checked your link and found a negative O’Reilly story. Why am I not surprised?

    Comment by Ira — February 28, 2007 @ 8:36 pm

  23. everyone take a deep breath and relax. The only reason FOX is doing well is because they are indeed “Fair and Balanced” while the other channels are waaaayyy to the left and out of touch with America. Keep up the good work FOX

    Comment by bayonet — February 28, 2007 @ 11:14 pm

  24. Mark

    The great thing about democracy and capitalism is that people vote at the ballet box and with their pocket books everyday. The “quality or journalistic ethics” that you mention is in the eye of the beholder. Please look at the numbers and see what the numbers are saying about the quality or journalistic ethics. Aside from increasing shareholder value, (which grantees that they will be around in the long run) wouldn’t you think that a rational manager at CNN and MSNBC would want to get in the game (have an audience) and compete for influence. Most other enterprises would have rushed to adjust to what the customer wants by now. It’s just a mater of time.

    Comment by steve — March 1, 2007 @ 10:42 am

  25. At what point do advertisers say no to a program. I can not believe how few people watch some of these shows. I would think below a half million viewers and advertisers would not pay much.
    Heck O’Reilly’ repeat show beats most of them.

    Comment by Dick — March 1, 2007 @ 3:13 pm

  26. I love how even the repeat of the O’Reilly Factor has about double of what MSNBC Keith Obermann has. Keep up the good work Bill.

    Comment by Andy — March 1, 2007 @ 4:39 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment



Anti-spam measure: please retype the above text into the box provided.

Get free blog up and running in minutes with Blogsome | Theme designs available here