HLN dayside news vs. MSNBC dayside news: January…
Earlier this month I noted that in the head to head matchup between 9am-5pm ET dayside newscasts, HLN beat MSNBC in both Total Viewers and the Demo. I speculated that January would see a swing for MSNBC in dayside due to all the primary coverage. Well, the January numbers are now in and the results aren’t as conclusively in MSNBC’s favor as I had figured they would be.
Here are the numbers for November, December, and January. I’m including November and December again because I now have more granularity in the Demo breakouts than I had last time.
November 9am-5pm Live+SD ratings
|
Network MSNBC |
Dates 10/29/07-11/25/07 |
HH |
HH |
P 2+ |
P 25-54 |
|
Network MSNBC |
Dates 10/29/07-11/25/07 |
P 35-64 |
P 18-34 |
P 18-49 |
December 9am-5pm Live+SD ratings
|
Network MSNBC |
Dates 11/26/07-12/30/07 |
HH |
HH |
P 2+ |
P 25-54 |
|
Network MSNBC |
Dates 11/26/07-12/30/07 |
P 35-64 |
P 18-34 |
P 18-49 |
January 9am-5pm Live+SD ratings
|
Network MSNBC |
Dates 12/31/07-01/27/08 |
HH |
HH |
P 2+ |
P 25-54 |
|
Network MSNBC |
Dates 12/31/07-01/27/08 |
P 35-64 |
P 18-34 |
P 18-49 |
In January, MSNBC reclaimed the lead over HLN in 9-5 Dayside in Total Viewers with a double digit percentage advantage. However in the 25-54 and 18-34 Demos it was basically a push and 18-49 continued to see HLN with a double digit percentage advantage over MSNBC while 35-64 shows a marginal percentage advantage for MSNBC.
Here’s the caveat in all of this. The audience size is so small in these smaller demographics it can be unstable. But, stable or not, that doesn’t mean this isn’t still an area of concern for MSNBC because the network’s position above HLN in dayside news wasn’t a problem for the network for over a year. But it suddenly is now.
When MSNBC’s far-left bias, which has permeated virtually everything that doesn’t leave Pat Buchannan’s mouth, took over as the primary focus. rather than anything resembling the truth, viewers took note…..most people don’t drink only Kool-Aid.
Comment by Nick D. — January 30, 2008 @ 11:39 am
The problem is too much politics, every segment of every minute of every hour. Now, don’t get me wrong I am intrested in politics and the last election cycle MS made gains using “the place for politics” theme-in prime time that is. I’ve been watching MS periodically all day, and by 4PM what political news is new news? On top of that, the American public is already sick of this government and the way things are going in this country is to a point where some people unlike myself, detest it. So I think, yes poltics works in primetime, but they need to break up their live hours and do a 30/30 mix of poltics and news coverage. That plus they need to assign a regular anchor schedule for dayside.
Comment by Scott K. — January 30, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
Honestly, the weird thing is that I am watching about tenfold my regular amount of MSNBC as of late during the daytime when I can since it is kind of interesting and they’ve sucked me in with some of their political coverage. For that matter, I think Morning Joe on the weekends has been a nice touch on the primary days, though I know some here would dispute that.
Comment by Chris — January 30, 2008 @ 8:51 pm
I agree with you Chris. MSNBC is my preferred view. They use too many anchors for my taste but with one exception they are all acceptable.
Comment by Paulo — January 30, 2008 @ 9:42 pm