Variety’s Sam Theilman writes about the more contested than usual primaries drawing viewers in to cable news…

“You hear people talking about ‘debate fatigue,’ ” says Phil Griffin, NBC News senior VP and exec in charge of MSNBC. “There is no debate fatigue. You’ve got one of the best elections in my lifetime right now.”

If “best” means “least certain,” CNN/U.S. prexy Jonathan Klein agrees: “It’s totally up for grabs.” Klein notes that it’s been decades since there was real fervor around so many candidates at once, and that fuels the ratings fires. “There’s a huge appetite out there for information about the candidates; the voters want to hear directly from the candidates themselves.”

Klein also opines that it’s the participatory aspect of the coverage that makes it so enthralling to so many. “In most past elections, there was some incumbent president or vice president running; this time, people feel in their heart that their vote might matter.”