We've had lots of cable news charts on the site recently showing dramatic declines for both individual cable news show and cable news network ratings as a whole compared to their October 2008 election period. Many have asked about a comparison of Fox's results with those of CNN and MSNBC, and reader MikeS has come through again, compiling the charts below showing the relative audience for each network compared to its October 2008 average for both adults 25-54 and average viewers.
It's pretty clear that the election year ratings hangover being suffered by both CNN and MSNBC initially struck Fox News as well. Their ratings declines on a percentage basis were similar through early 2009, but beginning in February CNN and MSNBC audiences continued falling relative to their pre-election levels and Fox News' ratings stabilized at about 90% of their election period levels. CNN did have a Michael Jackson death ratings spike in mid-summer, but that has now entirely dissipated.
Beginning in mid-summer, Fox News' ratings began climbing and are now at or near the levels for October, 2008 while both CNN and MSNBC are down 50% plus from their October, 2008 levels.
5-11pm Adults 25-54 viewers vs. October, 2008 average:
5-11pm total average viewers vs. October, 2008 average:
You can see our daily cable news ratings here.
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
I think its safe to say people are sick of the BS pushed by MSNBC & CNN. The numbers tell the story!
When you talk bad about the people who are watching calling them stupid or radical we will turn you off!
You have to earn our respect and with all the bad things you have said you have a whole lotta work on your hands!
Why FOX is winning? They respect us and they don’t treat us like were stupid.
Perhaps this has more to do with people’s priorities in their “off”time than with their political views? In other words, Fox viewers continue to spend their time watching TV, while everyone else has better things to do……………….
Watch MSNBC and CNN and you too can be “To stupid to understand”.
The only ones who are watching FOX all day are those who watch looking for something to hate about FOX. And you haters drive up their numbers just by hating FOX and talking about FOX all the time you make other people look at whats all the fuss about. Thus, driving up the numbers for what you hate more than anything. Keep hating! FOX loves it. Keep pointing the finger at FOX and say “LOOK AT THEM!” And people will!
LMAO at the haters!
There are apparently more nincompoops watching TV than I thought.
I grew up during the Vietnam War, and therefore I know all too well how the news media can slant the news and try to manipulate events. I’m convinced that if Fox News had been around back then, things might have turned out very differently. Maybe those of us who wanted our country to win that war, instead of cutting and running, might have prevailed. Maybe people would have gotten the full story of what our soldiers accomplished, instead of hearing just the opinions of that traitorous c*nt Jane Fonda, and maybe there would have been fewer people spitting on our soldiers and calling them “baby-killers”. Some of you wonder why Fox News is so popular? Because some of us have seen the alternative – where only the views of the biased are presented, where editorializing is substituted for hard reporting of the facts. Fox News IS fair and balanced. Give it a try and maybe you’ll learn something. Now that there’s a radical President in power and a Congress bent on social engineering and control of the populace through “health care reform”, thank god Fox News is there to give us the WHOLE story, instead of the puff pieces spouted by a fawning media. THAT is why Fox is so popular – because people want to hear the truth!
The average CNN, MSNBC viewer has no need for current events or other news that effects or may effect their life. They prefer goverment to mange their life and send them a paycheck each week so they can spend their time watching some reality show instead of being productive and contributing in some way to society. It is a shame that there is not a test to determine if you are smart enough to vote.
Before everybody goes into a panic over this, let’s put the FOX News network into proper perspective. My understanding is that it averages about 3 million viewers a day. What that really adds up to is only 1% of the total U.S. population. And the probability that most, if not all, of those viewers are of a conservative bent anyway who only have FOX News to turn to for “informational” solace and comfort is quite high. So I think I’d advise the whole country not to get too concerned about what 1% of the population is watching. They may be making a lot of noise, but they’re still only 1% and they should only be given 1% attention, if every one of the other 99% was smart about it. As to why the other networks have slipped, well, that’s because everybody else has simply gotten on with their lives after the election and they’ll only tune back in again when there’s actually something of value happening.
lmao@ Robin_Salter…
BTW, wolfster38, your comment about numbers being “driven up” by the “haters” is probably a little inconsistent with reality. Your television doesn’t magically tell every polling agency in the biz how much time we’ve spent watching FoxSpews…. and I doubt any “hater” of yours is willing to record twenty minutes of watching billo-the-clown’s head explode on their Nielson-ratings report.
(And NO, techies, the user-feedback system incorporated into digital cable/satellite receivers does NOT get reported to outside agencies, so don’t waste your time bringing it up.)
Fox news and Fox.com are keeping the spirit of the fourth estate alive while the rest of the simpering, whiny, gutter-snipes of the press gobble down the pap & smear from WH. We watch the other four cable and the three networks just to see what they miss or how they buy the WH “spin”.
President (with all due respect to the office) Obama and his cronies must think we ARE all stupid or will not do anything about their destruction of the financial condition of the US and their continued attempts to increase our moral degradation and reliance upon the government.
Well just wait until the upcoming elections and those following in 2010 and 2012!
We will not only kick out the Democrats but we will usher out the “do-nothing” Republicans with more than one term in office and replace them with independent citizens this time, with term limits and a requirement of fiscal responsibility.
WY, statistics disagree with virtually everything you said except the 1% part. I’ve posted them plenty here.
But we aren’t suppsoed to get to much off the topic of cable news ratings and into politics/personal insults. So people, don’t get yourselves banned or comments deleted. User/contributor Mike B created a forum that has been endorsed by the people that run this site for us to talk politics etc:
http://www.voyagertrans.com/forum1/index.php
Not sure why the Liberals and MSNBC fans don’t want to come to our forum and talk on a level playing field. Scared to I guess.
OH! Don’t forget, Glenn Beck drops the “Blue Curtain” tonight! Will discuss “for the full hour”!
Set your DVRs!!!
Regarding the drop in MSNBC viewers to half of what it was around election time: I think that gradually people are getting tired of hearing the two prime time anchors talking about former President Bush and former presidential candidate Palin. Ironically, the conservatives acknowledge that Obama has the power of the presidency to solve problems, while the liberals keep making excuses, as if he has little power.
Please liberals, please tell me how this is win-win for CNN and MSNBC. I’m very intersested being I hear that MSNBC is proud of Olberman’s ratings.
I’ve noticed over the last few days that CNN seems to be stepping up their game and calling the Obama admin out. They put Valerie Jarrett on the hot seat the other day by getting her to blather about how biased FOX is and then the reporter asked her if she felt the same way about MSNBC and Jarrett started spinning her wheels just like Richard Heene after balloon boy called him out on Larry King.
Then last night, Jeff King, filling in for Anderson Cooper, actually broached the subject of Obama paying off financial donors with special favors at taxpayer expense. It was pretty great.
My bad: I meant former VICE-presidential candidate Palin.
Do we really have to do this exercise on a daily basis?
Ya, ya…Fox “news” is really popular with the ultra radicalized right wing base of the Republican party (at least what remains) and the more they are sidelined by progressive America, the more rabid they become in their viewing habits. This is a surprise?
In other news: The earth travels around the sun in an ellipse…
YZNN
You must realize that now that Liberal Democrats are in charge, sooner or later their policies of socialism would come to light. You can’t dress up a turd.
YZNN, FOX is far more mainstream than MSNBC. It’s the MSNBC viewers who are extreme and radicalized. Not to mention in denial. Deep denial.
I hardly think any group that feels the need to change their name from “liberal” to “progressive” in order to avoid the stigma of their own disgraceful ideology is in any position to sideline the dominant ideologies of this country — those of the conservatives and moderates.
>You can’t dress up a turd.
Did it take you a while to come up with that or do you jot down Glenn Beckisms on Flash cards while smacking your head against the wall at night? Just wondering…