It seems like every few months that a study comes out bemoaning the fact that more people get their news from Jon Stewart’s faux current events program “The Daily Show” than almost anywhere else.
Many, including Stewart himself, have dismissed those reports as silly.
But judging by the numbers, it seems to be true, at least when looking at “Daily’s” numbers versus other cable networks in the run-up to last night’s midterm election.
Last Wednesday, Nov. 1, Stewart scored his second-best adults 18-49 rating of the year, a 1.3, and third-best in series history. The show drew 2.0 million total viewers for the night, which was day three in “Daily’s” weeklong “Battlefield Ohio: ‘The Daily Show’s’ Midwest Midterm Midtacular” series.
Among total viewers, it actually bettered all but one show that day on the Big Three real news networks, Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC, according to Nielsen data analyzed by Disney networks. “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News averaged 2.4 million total viewers Wednesday night at 8 p.m. “Daily” averaged the same number of viewers as the No. 2 cable news program in all of primetime, “Hannity and Colmes” on FNC, despite airing two hours later, at 11 p.m.
In fact, “O’Reilly” was the only show during the week ended Nov. 5 to outdraw “Daily” among total viewers, bettering 2.2 million each night. The best showing for “Larry King Live,” CNN’s No. 1 program in primetime, was 1.2 million viewers on Tuesday.
MSNBC’s top show in total viewers in primetime was Tuesday’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” which averaged 887,000.
And while certainly there’s some variance between programs and it’s not an exact comparison, the combined weekly primetime average 18-49 rating for Fox News, CNN and MSNBC last week, a 0.7, was barely half “Daily’s” Wednesday showing.
It’s probably safe to assume that last night’s “Daily Show” set a new season and perhaps series high with the results of the midterm elections. It will be interesting to see how the Comedy Central show compares to the so-called real news networks in the younger demos for the night.
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Nov. 5:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, TNT, TBS, FX
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, TNT, Fox News, Cartoon Network
Top movie (18-49s): USA’s “Barbershop 2” (Sunday 8 p.m.) 1.3 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Patriots/Vikings” (Monday 8:30 p.m.) 11.89 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Patriots/Vikings” (Monday 8:30 p.m.); ESPN’s “College Football-Saturday (Thursday 7:30 p.m.); “South Park” (Wednesday 10 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday 10 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday 9 p.m.); FX’s “Nip Tuck” (Tuesday 10 p.m.)
Show on the rise: Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” Wednesday, 11:30 p.m. Thanks to a big “Daily Show” lead-in, “Colbert” tied a series best among adults 18-49, averaging a 1.0 rating and finishing No. 10 for the night among all cable shows in that demo. It also drew 1.5 million total viewers.
Show on the decline: ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” (Monday 8:30 p.m.) After the previous week’s record-setting performance, “MNF” came back to reality with a merely good showing, averaging 11.89 million viewers for the New England Patriots-Minnesota Vikings matchup, 4.3 million fewer than the previous week.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending Nov. 5 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
2771 |
NICK |
1651 |
|
2 |
USA |
1886 |
TNT |
1018 |
|
3 |
TNT |
1562 |
ESPN |
979 |
|
4 |
FOXN |
1188 |
USA |
955 |
|
5 |
TOON |
1141 |
NAN* |
951 |
|
6 |
TBSC |
1107 |
TOON |
889 |
|
7 |
LIF |
1094 |
ADSM* |
845 |
|
8 |
NAN |
1094 |
LIF |
768 |
|
9 |
AEN |
947 |
FOXN |
732 |
|
10 |
FX |
944 |
TBSC |
666 |
|
11 |
HGTV |
889 |
AEN |
616 |
|
12 |
SCIF |
873 |
HALL |
548 |
|
13 |
CMDY |
857 |
FX |
513 |
|
14 |
AMC |
840 |
CMDY |
499 |
|
15 |
HIST |
840 |
HGTV |
496 |
|
16 |
HALL |
817 |
FAM |
495 |
|
17 |
FAM |
816 |
HIST |
495 |
|
18 |
SPK |
809 |
MTV |
491 |
|
19 |
CORT |
804 |
DISC |
482 |
|
20 |
DISC |
691 |
AMC |
471 |
|
21 |
MTV |
686 |
FOOD |
469 |
|
22 |
ESP2 |
677 |
SCIF |
467 |
|
23 |
CNN |
635 |
TVLD |
466 |
|
24 |
TVLD |
631 |
SPK |
456 |
|
25 |
TLC |
613 |
CORT |
449 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Nov. 5 |
|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
Patriots/Vikings |
ESPN |
8867 |
|
2 |
College Football Thursday |
ESPN |
4916 |
|
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
3380 |
|
4 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3273 |
|
5 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3193 |
|
6 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
3173 |
|
7 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
3126 |
|
8 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2994 |
|
9 |
Fairly Odd Parents |
NICK |
2940 |
|
10 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2902 |
|
11 |
Jimmy Neutron |
NICK |
2822 |
|
12 |
Ned Declassified |
NICK |
2821 |
|
13 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2780 |
|
14 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2680 |
|
15 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2569 |
|
16 |
Nip Tuck |
FX |
2521 |
|
17 |
Ned Declassified |
NICK |
2461 |
|
18 |
Jimmy Neutron |
NICK |
2459 |
|
19 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2455 |
|
20 |
Zoey 101 |
NICK |
2422 |
|
21 |
Rugrats: 3 Jacks & A Beanstalk |
NICK |
2416 |
|
22 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2411 |
|
23 |
Avatar |
NICK |
2408 |
|
24 |
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
2388 |
|
25 |
Drake & Josh |
NICK |
2385 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
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TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Nov. 5 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
862 |
ADSM* |
434 |
|
2 |
USA |
504 |
ESPN |
337 |
|
3 |
TNT |
457 |
NICK |
335 |
|
4 |
TBSC |
414 |
TNT |
294 |
|
5 |
CMDY |
370 |
NAN* |
255 |
|
6 |
MTV |
354 |
USA |
255 |
|
7 |
FX |
353 |
TBSC |
250 |
|
8 |
VH1 |
305 |
MTV |
234 |
|
9 |
SPK |
269 |
CMDY |
223 |
|
10 |
AEN |
266 |
TOON/FX |
184 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Nov. 5 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
Patriots/Vikings |
ESPN |
2611 |
|
2 |
South Park |
CMDY |
1615 |
|
3 |
College Football Thursday |
ESPN |
1439 |
|
4 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
1353 |
|
5 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
1189 |
|
6 |
RW/RR The Duel |
MTV |
1112 |
|
7 |
Nip Tuck |
FX |
1085 |
|
8 |
Family Guy |
ADSM |
1022 |
|
9 |
Laguna Beach |
MTV |
1011 |
|
10 |
Futurama |
ADSM |
989 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Nov. 5 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
1811 |
ESPN |
648 |
|
2 |
USA |
1092 |
TNT |
622 |
|
3 |
TNT |
987 |
USA |
549 |
|
4 |
TBSC |
812 |
ADSM* |
546 |
|
5 |
FX |
730 |
NICK |
536 |
|
6 |
CMDY |
660 |
TBSC |
468 |
|
7 |
SCIF |
637 |
NAN* |
442 |
|
8 |
SPK |
581 |
LIF |
430 |
|
9 |
AEN |
580 |
FX |
383 |
|
10 |
LIF |
577 |
CMDY |
380 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Nov. 5 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
Patriots/Vikings |
ESPN |
5991 |
|
2 |
College Football Thursday |
ESPN |
3027 |
|
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2587 |
|
4 |
Nip Tuck |
FX |
2361 |
|
5 |
South Park |
CMDY |
2340 |
|
6 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2260 |
|
7 |
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
1792 |
|
8 |
Monday Night Countdown |
ESPN |
1563 |
|
9 |
NFL Countdown |
ESPN |
1541 |
|
10 |
Bulls/Heat |
TNT |
1495 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Nov. 5 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank |
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
1824 |
TNT |
616 |
|
2 |
USA |
1079 |
ESPN |
615 |
|
3 |
TNT |
974 |
USA |
531 |
|
4 |
TBSC |
778 |
LIF |
463 |
|
5 |
SCIF |
681 |
NICK |
433 |
|
6 |
FX |
679 |
TBSC |
430 |
|
7 |
LIF |
650 |
NAN* |
381 |
|
8 |
AEN |
592 |
AEN |
376 |
|
9 |
CMDY |
589 |
FX |
356 |
|
10 |
SPK |
576 |
SCIF |
337 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Nov. 5 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1 |
Patriots/Vikings |
ESPN |
6064 |
|
2 |
College Football Thursday |
ESPN |
3189 |
|
3 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2271 |
|
4 |
Nip Tuck |
FX |
2219 |
|
5 |
WWE Entertainment |
USA |
2045 |
|
6 |
South Park |
CMDY |
1723 |
|
7 |
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
1712 |
|
8 |
NFL Countdown |
ESPN |
1603 |
|
9 |
Monday Night Countdown |
ESPN |
1553 |
|
10 |
Bulls/Heat |
TNT |
1313 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research. |
