Friday’s Numbers…
MSNBC beat CNN in primetime Total Viewers and the Demo and also beat it in the Total Day Demo. MSNBC’s Dock Block came out big for the network with all three docs doing better than 600,00 viewers. Headline News beat CNN in the Primetime Demo as well. Morning Joe scratched in the Demo as did Prime News with Erica Hill (6pm hour).
Cable News Daily Ratings for July 27, 2007
P2+ Total Day
FNC – 817,000 viewers
CNN – 433,000 viewers
MSNBC – 327,000 viewers
CNBC – 241,000 viewers
HLN – 253,000 viewers
P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,341,000 viewers
CNN – 600,000 viewers
MSNBC – 627,000 viewers
CNBC – 215,000 viewers
HLN – 478,000 viewers
25-54 Total Day
FNC – 236,000 viewers
CNN –126,000 viewers
MSNBC – 131,000 viewers
CNBC – 82,000 viewers
HLN – 101,000 viewers
25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 266,000 viewers
CNN – 144,000 viewers
MSNBC – 278,000 viewers
CNBC – 75,000 viewers
HLN – 197,000 viewers
Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 873,000 viewers (353,000)
American Morning – 306,000 viewers (131,000)
MSNBC Live (7-8am) – 155,000 viewers (a scratch with 44,000)
Robin & Co. – 233,000 viewers (113,000)
6PM - P2+ (25-54)
Special Report with Brit Hume – 1,123,000 viewers (181,000)
Lou Dobbs- 797,000 viewers (136,000)
Tucker– 315,000 viewers (76,000)
Mad Money – 217,000 viewers (59,000)
Prime News w/ Erica Hill- 137,000 viewers (a scratch with 47,000)
7PM - P2+ (25-54)
FOX Report with Shepard Smith – 1,436,000 viewers (257,000)
Situation Room – 634,000 viewers (147,000)
Hardball with Chris Matthews –374,000 viewers (97,000)
On the Money – 241,000 viewers (87,000)
Glenn Beck –403,000 viewers (150,000)
8PM - P2+ (25-54)
O’Reilly Factor – 1,834,000 viewers (275,000)
Roland Martin: Debate This- 588,000 viewers (121,000)
Countdown w/ Olbermann – 662,000 viewers (188,000)
Fast Money – 227,000 viewers (70,000)
Nancy Grace – 615,000 viewers (213,000)
9 PM - P2+ (25-54)
Hannity & Colmes– 1,299,000 viewers (283,000)
Larry King Live – 632,000 viewers (149,000)
MSNBC Investigates- 644,000 viewers (322,000)
Heads Up Poker Tournament – 310,000 viewers (81,000)
Glenn Beck – 439,000 viewers (193,000)
10 PM P2+ (25-54)
On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren- 889,000 viewers (241,000)
Anderson Cooper- 580,000 viewers (163,000)
MSNBC Investigates- 576,000 viewers (323,000)
Donny Deutsch – a scratch with 107,000 viewers (73,000)
Nancy Grace – 378,000 viewers (185,000)
11 PM P2+ (25-54)
The O’Reilly Factor– 509,000 viewers (152,000)
Anderson Cooper – 440,000 viewers (154,000)
MSNBC Special– 679,000 viewers (412,000)
Mad Money– 161,000 viewers (92,000)
Showbiz Tonight – 421,000 viewers (210,000)
CNN always tends to take a beating on Friday’s these days — I guess people are looking for more laid-back programming (which would explain why MSNBC does so well).
That Roland Martin show they put in at 8pm was kinda interesting actually — they covered a lot of ground and it went by pretty fast. I noticed CNN put together a detailed set of graphics, so I’m assuming this show will be used to plug the 8pm gap until Campbell jumps (or waddles) on board.
Comment by Anonymous — July 30, 2007 @ 5:43 pm
Should have put John Roberts on Friday, they would have had better numbers.
Comment by Mary Snow — July 30, 2007 @ 5:48 pm
“MSNBC beat CNN in primetime Total Viewers and the Demo and also beat it in the Total Day Demo.”
Um, Spud? you don’t think it’s worth noting that MSNBC beat EVERYONE in the primetime demo?
With the DocBlock?
I don’t know about you, but that seems kind of significant to me. The end of live news as we know it?
Comment by Arthur — July 30, 2007 @ 5:48 pm
Spud,
Does anyone know who the people are, that are watching Doc Block, the demographic?
I see MSNBC Live 7-8 scratched, is this the time slot, that Mika is on reading the news? Didn’t she just get a contract promising her a pantload of money? Huh, well news at 11:00 of course not on MSNBC.
Comment by Ree — July 30, 2007 @ 6:12 pm
Someone around here chastised me for saying Olby’s demo number has been down. Are we still living in la la land or can we finally agree that Olbersturmfuhrer has had a long streak of third place landings in the demo.
Comment by Edward Schatz — July 30, 2007 @ 6:14 pm
if we are going to debate numbers, can you please use the right ones, like tvnewser does?
Olbermann did a 220 in the demo to BO’s 277 and Nacy’s 216. So until you use the numbers that advertisers actually use (live+SD) pleeze spare us.
Comment by beachbum — July 30, 2007 @ 6:54 pm
I thought this debate was still up in the air as to which numbers are really the most meaningful. Maybe Spud knows.
Comment by Jim — July 30, 2007 @ 7:04 pm
I to this day still dont understand how those MSNBC docs draw in such big numbers (esp in the Demo). To be honest they’re interesting to watch- but alot of them are repeats. Anyhow i guess it’s the best thing MSNBC has and it helps them alot especially when it comes to the demo
Comment by Sam — July 30, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
More people would rather watch child molesters and men in prison than there live hosts. The writing is on the wall.
Comment by Alix — July 30, 2007 @ 7:57 pm
Today the blogoshpere celebrates Falafel day here. I wish all the cable news fans out there a truly happy Falafel day.
Comment by elmonica — July 30, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
With the DocBlock?
I don’t know about you, but that seems kind of significant to me. The end of live news as we know it?
Arthur & Alix: It seems the MSNBC ratings should be measured against Court-TV and A&E, rather than CNN, HLN and FNC.
Comment by Ira — July 30, 2007 @ 8:01 pm
Ira — you are SPOT on — I was thinking gee what if Fox ran reruns of American Idol or CNN ran some off the wall crap. I think Dan’s memos would have much to say about it.
Comment by Aunt Mary — July 30, 2007 @ 8:09 pm
“It seems the MSNBC ratings should be measured against Court-TV and A&E, rather than CNN, HLN and FNC.”
I agree with you, Ira, but I’m sure the fans of MSNBC would call it sour grapes. The NYTimes had to launch a childrens’ books bestsellers list because Harry Potter kept dominating the ‘grownups’ list. Maybe we need a new category for canned news?
Comment by Arthur — July 30, 2007 @ 8:11 pm
I’m starting to feel sorry for Joe Scarborough now. He’s going to be out of a job when Imus starts up at FBC as predicted and Abrams has taken over his job at night.
Comment by Jules — July 30, 2007 @ 8:28 pm
I’ve been hearing rumors about Imus and FBC - what a great fit that would be before the market opens. Morning Joe needs to get rid of Mika to save itself or they’ll be all done when Imus does resurface. Morning Joe is much more expensive than Imus to produce too. MSNBC is such a mess.
Comment by Melanie — July 30, 2007 @ 8:36 pm
Arthur — For years I watched the whole MSNBC line up — I never missed Countdown, Matthews, Tucker, Abrams Report or Scarborough Country and the early morning people in our home watched Imus. I know I sound like I am always beating MSNBC up, but heck with every change they make they are going down hill. Now I do not have Scarborough Country, Abrams show is not as good as his other show was, Countdown went to the loons, Imus is gone. My point is, fans should not call this sour grapes, they should complain in hopes that people at MSNBC that read ICN will see that they need management help!
Comment by Aunt Mary — July 30, 2007 @ 8:49 pm
Someone point beachbum to the ratings FAQ. Advertisers don’t use Live+SD. Go back to KosLand
Comment by Edward Schatz — July 30, 2007 @ 9:04 pm
#6, please explain how the live plus numbers are the “right ones”… and I would love to know which advertisers have all of the sudden started using those.
Considering that people who record programs almost always fast forward over the commercials, any ad agency buyer who uses live plus #’s should be fired. Immediately.
Comment by bigred — July 30, 2007 @ 9:27 pm
well i dont see any problem with MSNBC having documentaries as the FACT still remain that most of it’s programmes are News oriented. As for those who say that they should be compared to A&E and such keep in mind that CNN has a documentary series also- called CNN presents, now they have a new one called CNN special Investigation Unit- Sanja Gupta has even has specials as it relates to health related subjects- none of that lessens CNN role as a News Organization. Let me not even bring up Red Eye and that comedy show over on FNC.
Bigred i dont think you can say for certain that advertisers dont count live plus same day- as i’m sure that there are people who still watch the ads when they record a show- albeit i suspect not many. With the amount of people using Tivo growing i’m sure they will have to begin to factoring it in sooner or later. Btw it is quite easy for some one to skip ads during a live programme- all they have to do is change the channel and check back. I know i do it alot.
Comment by Sam — July 30, 2007 @ 9:42 pm
“well i dont see any problem with MSNBC having documentaries as the FACT still remain that most of it’s programmes are News oriented.”
Yeah, but they’re OLD. They’re ages old - what do you call ‘old news’? Historical artifacts? They should be on the History Channel.
They’re also sensational schlock. “Cops” genre carp.
Comment by Arthur — July 30, 2007 @ 11:17 pm
bigred, you bring up an excellent point that I don’t think anyone here has mentioned before. Why would the advertisers care to count the people who watch recordings of these programs, when, as you state, people would zip right over the commercials? I know I sure do!
And #6, the “right” numbers just seem to be those that MSNBC feels is favorable to itself. Even CNN has pointed this out.
Comment by Missy — July 30, 2007 @ 11:46 pm
Jules=Melanie
ES, bigred, et al,… Discovery, A&E, and Animal Planet are considering Live+SD+3 (note the “+3″ there). History Channel and the news nets are sticking with Live only. No changes have been made; but I’m sure if they are, we will hear about it.
The change we don’t hear about: When an actual advertiser is convinced their advertising will do better on a different network. Remember we are only talking about rates here - how much advertisers actually pay for airtime. If all the advertisers pull their ads because they determine MSNBC isn’t actually a news channel anymore, it really doesn’t matter how much they get to charge.
Comment by erljr — July 30, 2007 @ 11:48 pm
The channels themselves would probably love to add the DVR numbers, because they can boost their ad rates. But the ad world is rightly skeptical about the situation.
Comment by bigred — July 30, 2007 @ 11:58 pm
“If all the advertisers pull their ads because they determine MSNBC isn’t actually a news channel anymore, it really doesn’t matter how much they get to charge.”
Why would the advertisers pull their ads because MSNBC isn’t ‘newsy’ enough any more? It’s eyeballs on the screen, and what particular demographic group they happen to fall into. I suspect the awful docblock appeals to a demo that is very appealing to advertisers, namely young men, who are typically highly sought because they are rare (as TV viewers, anyway).
Comment by Arthur — July 31, 2007 @ 2:14 am
Jules and Melanie-the only place there have been rumors about Imus going to FBC is on this blog. Unfortunately, it has not been sourced anywhere else, and I doubt very strongly it will happen. Boomer Esiason will likely sign for Imus’ old spot by the end of this week. CBS will be paying lots of $$$$ out to Imus, but he will be out of a job…No one knows where he will surface. He just turned 67, and the longer he’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ the harder gets for him to find another venue for himself. Terrestrial radio is down everywhere….CBS will pay him big bucks, but they’ll also be saying “Goodbye” and he will have much less leverage in trying to secure another venue for himself. I am a HUGE Imus fan….and miss him everyday!
Comment by cas — July 31, 2007 @ 6:24 am
The rumors I’ve heard about Imus have not come from this site but from Imus sites. He’s coming back - that is a fact. He may be 67 but he still has much to say and his fans still want to hear him. Apparently, Kinky Friedman was on MJ this morning talking up his return too.
Comment by Jules — July 31, 2007 @ 9:26 am
Arthur,
Your right, about Doc Blocks. You know I have been thinking what are Dan Abrams strengths, 1. Dan is a lawyer, I think he needs to take a lawyers approach to MSNBC, armour up that Network, the Imus firing hurt them why? MSNBC was vunerable, if NBCU is taking a wait and see to see if the network will turn around. Abrams needs to firm up the Network and then they can hire the talent, that will get them viewers. Dan Abrams needs to start playing offense, it isn’t like he doesn’t have his father and other lawyers for advice and guidance. Dan Abrams if at all possible needs to cowboy up and save his Network. No more bandaids he needs to hire someone who will watch his back, someone who has experience and compentence, while he does this wrangle the network back into his hands- not the media monitors ect.. MSNBC has a jewel in Willie Geist and Tucker Carlson can be flexible they need to be on in the Morning. Imus in the Morning talked up the rest of the days line up, even when Imus dissed someone coming up later in the day you wanted to watch to see what he was referring to. Let Tucker and Willie lead then line up the rest of the day. Stop making Olberman have to come up with special comments to try and keep people viewing- No more bandaids start going for substance, why do they think Mika’s stunt over Paris coverage worked in the first place. The viewers want more news and less filler. MSNBC can turn around and then attract some A-list talent, the talent won’t be worried about getting “Imused” Dan Abrams needs to be a Lawyer. The Move on story about plans for FBC is more of what happened already. The secondary boycott issue, MSNBC already was attacked by this tactic. Dan the enemy of your enemy is your friend.
Comment by Ree — July 31, 2007 @ 10:27 am
Jules-’from your mouth to G-d’s ears”..wherever Imus ends up, I’ll be there…I think he got a really raw deal…he was unfairly fired..he’s a great broadcaster, few people can come close…I hope we all find out very soon where he’ll be. I know he wants to come back to work, and I know he has a VERY, VERY loyal fanbase….
Comment by cas — July 31, 2007 @ 11:18 am
I heard Kinky this morning too say Imus is coming back on air but he wouldn’t say where. He’s got to know. He says Imus isn’t telling him because Kinky can’t keep secrets but I bet Kinky knows. Kinky said he has a wild guess but he still wouldn’t say what that was.
Someone needs to get Kinky drunk or something so he can spill the beans!!! LOL
Comment by Noelle — July 31, 2007 @ 11:23 am
I don’t know if I can stand one more morning of Mika playing dumb, giggling and rolling her eyes. I usually last for about 10 minutes before I turn the channel. Imus can’t come back soon enough - I heard the FBC rumor too. Rumor is he’ll be on both forms of radio and be simulcast on TV…I hope it’s sooner rather than later.
Comment by moonbeam — July 31, 2007 @ 11:43 am
I’ve only heard rumors about Imus going back to CBS Radio and WFAN, I haven’t heard any other rumors. However, it now seems CBS Radio is going to buy out Imus’ contract and hire Boomer Esiason for Imus’ old spot….I haven’t heard about any other venues for Imus…can’t wait till either Bo Dietl or Kinky Friedman or Imus himself tells us where he’s going to end up!!!!!
Comment by cas — July 31, 2007 @ 11:58 am
Kinky confirmed Imus will be back and my day couldn’t get any better! I never knew how important my morning habits were until Imus was gone and I realized he was as important to my routine as my coffee. Nobody has taken his place. I honestly can’t wait for news.
Comment by moonbeam — July 31, 2007 @ 12:12 pm