The collapsing economy has given the network nightly news shows the sort of kick they never saw from last fall’s elections.
Last week, the week ended Feb. 1, all three broadcasts recorded a season high of some sort, and their viewership has been up in recent weeks as nervous Americans tune in to hear the latest bad news.
NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams,” the season leader among total viewers, had its best week among adults 25-54 in three years, averaging a 2.9, according to Nielsen. The newscast also posted its best single-night audience on Jan. 26, drawing 11.5 million, pushing it to a weekly average of 10.3 million.
ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” averaged a season-high 9.3 million total viewers, 200,000 more than the previous week, and a 2.4 in 25-54s.
CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” posted its best numbers among total viewers in more than two years, averaging 7.7 million, and also averaged a 2.0 in 25-54s, up 5 percent from the previous week.
Just why the shows are peaking isn’t hard to figure out. While cable networks excelled during the go-go-go rush of the primaries and the presidential race, chronicling the minutiae of each candidate’s campaign, the nightly news is better suited to covering the broader daily developments of the economic downturn.
All three networks are devoting huge chunks of their newscasts to the economy. Wednesday night, for instance, all three led with an economy-related story and had at least one economy-related feature later in the broadcast.
Each network has noted experts to bring in for analysis. NBC, for example, has relied heavily on its CNBC personalities, which has served the dual purpose of informing viewers and extending the cable network’s brand.
The format works well for viewers who simply want to get an update on where things stand without wading through the endless bottom newsfeeds on cable or the sometimes confusing, more in-depth economic collapse stories online or in newspapers.
That coupled with the recent inauguration has kept network news ratings high, and indications are they’ll stay that way at least until the economic crunch begins to lessen.
Right now, with record unemployment numbers and a continued number of businesses going under, that does not seem to be anytime soon.
***
Meanwhile, in other daypart ratings for the week ended Jan. 25, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was first among the Sunday morning shows in total viewers with 4.19 million tuning in and among viewers 25-54 with a 1.1 rating. CBS’s “Face the Nation” was second in viewers with 3.34 million and among 25-54s with a 1.0, with ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” pulling 3.26 million viewers and a 0.9 among 25-54s. “Fox News Sunday” averaged 1.5 million viewers and a 0.4 rating among 25-54s.
In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” was first for the week, averaging 5.3 million total viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Nightline” had 3.9 million viewers and a 1.1 rating in the demo, with CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” pulling 3.0 million viewers and a 1.1. In late-late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 1.9 million total viewers and a 0.7 in 18-49s (with a Friday encore), with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” averaging 1.9 million viewers and a 0.6 in 18-49s. CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” averaged 1.8 million viewers and a 0.6, and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” brought in 1.1 million viewers and a 0.4 among 18-49s (with a Friday encore). (Note: Monday's “Late Show,” “Nightline” and “Kimmel” are excluded from the weekly averages due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and Tuesday's “Nightline” is also excluded due to a late start time.)
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first with 6.1 million total viewers and a 4.5 household rating and 15 share, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 4.8 million viewers and a 3.6/12. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 3.0 million total viewers and a 2.2/8.
CBS had the largest full daytime audience during the week, averaging 3.69 million viewers, but was third among women 18-49 with a 1.3 rating. ABC had the second-largest audience, averaging 3.1 million viewers, and was tied for first among women 18-49 with a 1.4 rating. NBC had a full daytime audience of 2.99 million and was also tied for first among women 18-49 with a 1.4 rating.
|
SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending January 25, 2009
Sunday averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
|
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Adults 25-54 |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Meet the Press |
NBC |
3.0 |
8 |
1.1 |
4.186 |
|
Face the Nation |
CBS |
2.3 |
6 |
1.0 |
3.337 |
|
This Week With George Stephanopoulos |
ABC |
2.3 |
6 |
0.9
|
3.257 |
|
News Sunday |
Fox |
1.1 |
3 |
0.4 |
1.495 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
Week Ending January 25, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Rtg% |
|
Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
NBC |
5.3 |
1.4 |
|
Nightline* |
ABC |
3.9 |
1.1 |
|
Late Show with David Letterman* |
CBS |
3.0 |
0.9 |
|
Late Night with Conan O’Brien* |
NBC |
1.9 |
0.7 |
|
Jimmy Kimmel Live* |
ABC |
1.9 |
0.6 |
|
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson |
CBS |
1.8 |
0.6 |
|
Last Call with
Carson Daly* |
NBC |
1.1 |
0.4 |
|
* Friday's "Late Night" and "Last Call" were encores. Monday's "Late Show," "Nightline" and "Kimmel" are excluded from these averages due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and Tuesday's "Nightline" is also excluded due to a late start time.
Source: NTI
|
|
MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending January 25, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Today |
NBC |
4.5 |
15 |
6.1 |
|
Good Morning
America |
ABC |
3.6 |
12 |
4.8 |
|
Early Show |
CBS |
2.2 |
8 |
3.0 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending January 25, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS |
3.69 |
1.3 |
|
ABC |
3.10 |
1.4 |
|
NBC |
2.99 |
1.4 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending Feb. 1, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
25-54s |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams |
NBC |
2.9 |
10.301 |
|
ABC World News with Charles Gibson |
ABC |
2.4 |
9.336 |
|
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric |
CBS |
2.0 |
7.716 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|
SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending January 25, 2008
|
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
|
CTD
|
7.4
|
8528
|
|
2
|
JEOPARDY
|
CTD
|
6.3
|
7198
|
|
3
|
TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)
|
WB
|
5.4
|
6220
|
|
4
|
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
|
CTD
|
5.2
|
5950
|
|
5
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)
|
CTD
|
4.7
|
5368
|
|
6
|
JUDGE JUDY (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.6
|
5222
|
|
7
|
FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)
|
2/T
|
4.3
|
4980
|
|
8
|
CSI NEW YORK-SYN(AT)
|
CTD
|
3.8
|
4374
|
|
9
|
SEINFELD (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.7
|
4287
|
|
9
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND
|
CTD
|
3.7
|
4245
|
|
11
|
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN(AT)
|
CTD
|
3.5
|
3972
|
|
12
|
LAW & ORDER:SVU-SYN (AT)
|
NBU
|
3.3
|
3817
|
|
12
|
DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)
|
CTD
|
3.3
|
3748
|
|
14
|
SEINFELD-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.2
|
3720
|
|
14
|
INSIDE EDITION (AT)
|
CTD
|
3.2
|
3644
|
|
16
|
GEORGE LOPEZ (AT)
|
WB
|
3.1
|
3503
|
|
17
|
LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY
|
DAD
|
2.8
|
3230
|
|
17
|
HOUSE-SYN (AT)
|
NBU
|
2.8
|
3171
|
|
19
|
FRIENDS (AT)
|
WB
|
2.7
|
3136
|
|
19
|
TWO-HALF MEN WKND B (AT)
|
WB
|
2.7
|
3104
|
|
19
|
KING OF QUEENS-SYN (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.7
|
3096
|
|
22
|
CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)
|
CTD
|
2.6
|
2968
|
|
22
|
KING OF QUEENS-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.6
|
2957
|
|
22
|
KING OF THE HILL-SYN(AT)
|
2/T
|
2.6
|
2932
|
|
25
|
ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW
|
WB
|
2.5
|
2831
|
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
