That MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann would finish the month of January behind Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor in the cable news target adults 25-54 ratings isn't at all a surprise, but the fact that he finished third behind Headline News' Nancy Grace is. Even CNN's Campbell Brown wasn't far behind him.
Cable News 8pm, 12/28/09-1/29/10
| Show | Net | Adults 25-54 (000) |
| The O'Reilly Factor | Fox News | 983 |
| Nancy Grace | Headline News | 282 |
| Countdown With Keith Olbermann | MSNBC | 263 |
| Campbell Brown | CNN | 233 |
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In November, 2008 Olbermann was neck and neck in the adults 25-54 demo with O'Reilly, but now that Olbermann's ratings are down has he become an easy target of opportunity?
Daily Finance asks "Is America Getting Over Keith Olbermann?".
The Daily Show's John Stewart called him out in a mock "Special Commentary".
Even MSNBC's own Joe Scarborough called him reckless.
Take care going up the ladder indeed. It's hell on the way back down.
Don’t forget Ben Affleck’s hilarious turn as Olbermann on SNL! He nailed it.
I’m not sick of him. He’s better than the other newscasters, IMO.
Dylan, gotcha, but that was more than a year ago, while Olbermann was at or near his ratings peak. I wanted more recent examples.
he has a one-note charley show with a steady parade of mostly left-wing suckups. he hasn’t the guts to challenge the opposing side, face to face. his show with it’s predictable responses, might just as well be totally scripted.
C’mon Keith. You can’t lose to Nancy Grace, who needs to stop talking about the same thing everyday for a year (it seems).
Olberdouche a target? Perhaps.
I’d have to say that he’s been reduced more to a laughing stock.
It really appears that MSLSD is on a “scorched earth” policy with their PT commentary shows as the end seems nearer these days.
Here’s a fun site to laugh atbath tub boy: http://www.olbermannwatch.com/
Have we ever seen news-crew ratings drop low enough to kill a show or network? If ever there was a good excuse for it, these times would be IT.
How long can MSNBC keep going if NBC already has a ‘news’ offering, and Microsoft feels strapped enough to cancel Microsoft Flight Simulator?
I’ll bet there’s no cool “cancel/renew” software that can be written for that, huh? Some places keep hemmoraging the money until they go bankrupt “to be the news service America trusts” or whatever…
He’s a disgusting freaking crazy man.
And, American’s are waking up turning more and more to FOX!
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD!!!
Brian: Because MSNBC ad space can be used as make-goods for ads that fail on other NBC owned networks, because it is in most cable homes in the USA, and because it collects a carriage fee that probably covers all the news expenses regardless of ratings, there is no reason ever for GE to cancel MSNBC.
As long as the ratings allow it to fetch ten cents a month or so per subscriber that’s enough to keep them afloat. It could ultimately become such a joke that MSOs might be willing not even to pay THAT, but other cable channels have even lower viewership. Maybe if it started to run lower than CNBC but without the premium wealthy viewers.
If MSNBC were a company unto itself it may not be able to sustain its ratings, but handling make-goods for NBC makes it super profitable. It’s not going anywhere, much as on-air personalities’ behavior might make us wish for it to leave.
Did everyone see the Daily Show clip on this thread? Olbermann is indefensible and pathetic. Case closed.
I have noticed that since Nancy Grace has caught up and taken over second place, that KO has been attacking her in his show….what a loser he is!
@Joan
if fox was an actual news network maybe you’d be right. cable news is nothing more than adult cheer leading for republicans and democrats. fox will bash obama, msnbc will cheer obama… it’s a joke, not objective, and that’s why i dont watch it anymore.
I like CNN and MSNBC, but I prefer the local news(at least where I live) because there is no political agenda and the people voice their opinion, not the anchors.
no surprise, he’s a joke, disgusting, but like the old saying goes, what goes around, comes around, KARMA? your going down olbie, just can’t beat O’REILLY or FOX NEWS huh? people are sick of you!
I am as far to the left as–or further than–Mr. Olbermann, and I have been there longer, so my comment is not about his politics. I must say, however, that his tone of bombast, his approach of demean and ridicule his political targets, and his twisting of data to prove his points in a shamelessly self-important and autocratic manner have led me to stop watching the show altogether. I believe that such rhetoric and style of demeaning and ridiculing reduce credibility and exert a negative impact on general discourse. I agree with the President that “we can disagree without being disagreeable.” Mr. Olbermann is exceedingly disagreeable.
Ubergirly is too stupid to realize that he IS the person he rants against everynight.
The fact that he calls everybody racist that disagrees with obama got me wanting to slap the shit out of this man!
Olbermann has the top show on MSNBC which is why he is being targeted, if his ratings fell below another show on MSNBC people would stop going after him and then go after the new person. Just look at how Fox viewers constantly attack his ratings, he as of now is at the very bottom of shows that could even possibly be canceled and yet every week people say “cancel him/his ratings suck.
Now if the lowest rated anchor on MSNBC was being targeted then the whole idea of low ratings equaling easy target might make more sense.
As Richard has pointed out, even those who hold left wing political views are embarrassed by Mr. Olbermann’s arrogance and distortion of facts. He is also correct that this kind of behavior removes credibility from those who hold viewpoints similar to Mr. Olbermann. As long as he remains on the air the only alternative honest liberals have open to them is to watch another network.
i have a freind who works for nbc… one of the few non socialist liberals that work there… he tells me so many stories. he said olbermaniac is getting fired… he’ll be gone by the end of the week or by next week. the ratings are so low that they can’t wait any longer