Cable viewers return to their favorite shows

Cable viewers return
to their favorite shows

But for September CNN was the clear news leader

By Elizabeth White

    Cable viewing returned more to normal last week, as ESPN, TBS and Lifetime topped the primetime ratings for the week.
    Only five news programs ranked among the top-50 household programs last week, two episodes of "Larry King Live" on CNN and three episodes of "The O’Reilly Factor" on Fox News.
    But the cable ratings for the month of September and the third quarter of 2001 still bear the heavy mark of the Sept. 11 attacks.
    CNN was the highest-rated network for September in primetime and the second highest in total day ratings for households, the third-highest-rated network in primetime and second highest in total day numbers for adults 18-49. It was the third highest in primetime and the highest-rated network in total day for adults 25-54.
    Fox News and MSNBC also ranked among the top-10 networks for September in every audience category except primetime adults 18-49.
    For the quarter, CNN was a top-10 network in households and adults 25-54 for both primetime and total day measurements.
    Fox News was among the top-10 networks for primetime and total day households, while MSNBC ranked no higher than 12th in any category, as it did for total day households. No news networks placed among the top-10 networks for the quarter among adults 18-49.
    Compared to the third quarter of 2000, both CNN and Fox News experienced triple-digit growth for the quarter in total day and primetime households. MSNBC’s ratings were 67 percent higher in total day and 75 percent higher in primetime households than during the third quarter last year.
    In the demographics, the third-quarter ratings jump for news networks was even more dramatic.
    Among adults 18-49, CNN’s ratings went up 215 percent in total day and 189 percent in primetime for the quarter, to rank the network 12th and 13th, respectively, in the demographic.
    Fox News’ adult 18-49 ratings increased 289 percent in total day and 214 percent in primetime to rank the network 21st in each daypart for the quarter. MSNBC’s numbers in the demographic improved 87 percent in total day and 107 percent in primetime for an 18th and 22nd place ranking, respectively.
   Among adults 25-54, CNN’s third-quarter numbers went up 237 percent in total day and 195 percent during primetime, to rank ninth and tenth, respectively. Fox News increased its numbers by 308 percent in total day and 219 percent in primetime for 18th and 19th place, and MSNBC improved 103 percent and 114 percent for 17th and 21st.
    A full 61 of the top-104 household programs for the quarter were news programs about the attacks, most airing during the week of Sept. 11. Sixty of the 61 programs belonged to CNN.
    But the highest-rated program of the quarter belonged to MTV, as the "2001 Video Music Awards" on Sept. 6 pulled in 10.7 million viewers and an 8.6 household rating.
    Tied for second place with CNN’s coverage of Bush’s primetime address on Sept. 11 was ESPN’s NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans on Sept. 9. The game had 9.2 million viewers and a 7.8 household rating. Over 10 million viewers watched Bush’s address on CNN, but that also translated to a 7.8 rating for the news network.
    The highest-rated scripted program for the quarter was Nickelodeon’s "Rugrats: All Growed Up" special on July 21, which ranked ninth for the quarter with nearly 12 million viewers. It was followed by part one of TNT’s "The Mists of Avalon," which ranked 35th for the quarter with nearly seven million viewers.

Top 10 Primetime Household Networks Ranked in Order, Third Quarter 2001
PT #	Net	Q3 '01 PT Rtg	Q3 '01 PT (000)	% Chg. '01 vs. '00 PT Rtg	% Chg. '01 vs. '00 PT (000)	TD #	Q3 ’01 TD Rtg	Q3 ’01 TD(000)	% Chg. '01 vs. '00 TD Rtg	% Chg. '01 vs. '00 TD (000)
1	LIF	2.1	1690	17	23	2	1.3	1039	18	20
2	TBS	1.7	1463	-11	-3	4	1.0	864	-9	-4
2	USA	1.7	1417	-15	-8	5	0.8	668	0	2
2	NICK	1.7	1394	0	7	1	1.4	1175	-13	-4
2	TOON	1.7	1288	-15	2	3	1.2	905	0	12
6	TNT	1.5	1263	-12	-5	5	0.8	682	-11	0
7	ESPN	1.3	1080	-13	-11	9	0.6	486	-14	-13
8	A&E	1.2	1020	-20	-12	5	0.8	639	-11	-11
8	CNN	1.2	1004	100	104	8	0.7	593	133	132
10	DISC	1.1	956	-8	4	9	0.6	503	0	3
10	FOXN	1.1	735	120	175	9	0.6	422	200	235
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data

Top 10 Primetime Networks Among Adults 18-49 Third Quarter 2001
PT #	Net	PT (000) Q3 2001	PT % Chg ’01 vs.’00	TD #	TD (000) Q3 2001	TD % Chg ’01 vs. ‘00
1	TBS	962	0	1	576	-1
2	USA	897	-10	4	411	-2
3	LIF	855	18	2	557	17
4	TNT	842	-9	3	434	1
5	ESPN	706	-18	6	326	-18
6	DISC	643	-2	7	321	-2
7	TNN	600	144	13	248	48
8	TLC	545	9	9	291	22
9	MTV	529	11	11	259	3
10	SCIFI	502	0	16	224	-3
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data

Top 10 Primetime Networks Among Adults 24-54 Third Quarter 2001
PT #	Net	PT (000) Q3 2001	PT % Chg ’01 vs.’00	TD #	TD (000) Q3 2001	TD % Chg ’01 vs. ‘00
1	TBS	982	0	2	549	-3
2	LIF	962	17	1	594	17
3	USA	932	-6	4	405	3
4	TNT	931	-3	3	462	3
5	ESPN	756	-16	8	319	-17
6	DISC	696	0	6	337	-1
7	SCIFI	568	-1	11	247	-2
8	TLC	561	6	10	283	20
9	TNN	559	103	12	243	34
10	CNN	489	195	9	300	237
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data

Top 10 Programs Among Adults 18-49 Third Quarter 2001
Rk	Date	Program	Net	Day	(000)
1	9/6/01	2001 Video Music Awards	MTV	Thu	6760
2	9/11/01	Bush Address/USA Attacked	CNN	Tue	5589
3	9/9/01	NFL/Dolphins/Titans	ESPN	Sun	5459
4	9/11/01	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	5183
5	9/11/01	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	5051
6	9/30/01	NFL/Cowboys/Eagles	ESPN	Sun	4729
7	9/11/01	Rumsfeld PC/USA Attacked	CNN	Tue	4461
8	9/11/01	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	4437
9	9/11/01	Explosions In Afghanistan	CNN	Tue	4421
10	9/11/01	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	4397
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data

Top 10 Programs Among Adults 24-54 Third Quarter 2001
#	Date	Program	Net	Day	(000)
1	9/11/01	Bush Address/USA Attacked	CNN	Tue	5847
2	9/11/01	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	5583
3	9/9/01	NFL/Dolphins/Titans	ESPN	Sun	5509
4	9/11/01	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	5488
5	9/6/01	2001 Video Music Awards	MTV	Thu	5234
6	9/11/01	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	5012
7	9/20/01	Bush Addresses Congress	CNN	Thu	4998
8	9/30/01	NFL/Cowboys/Eagles	ESPN	Sun	4971
9	9/11/01	Rumsfeld PC/USA Attacked	CNN	Tue	4954
10	9/11/01	Explosions In Afghanistan	CNN	Tue	4815
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data

Top 20 Basic Ad-Supported Cable Programs Third Quarter 2001
#	Date	Program	Net	Day	Dura- tion	HH Rtg	HH Shr	(000)	P2+ (000)
1	9/6	2001 Video Music Awards	MTV	Thu	206	8.6	13.7	6990	10757
2	9/9	NFL/ Dolphins/ Titans	ESPN	Sun	211	7.8	12.7	6572	9284
2	9/11	Bush Address/ USA Attacked	CNN	Tue	6	7.8	10.3	6539	10598
4	9/11	Explosions In Afghanistan	CNN	Tue	34	7.5	11.8	6351	9180
4	9/11	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	30	7.5	11.0	6336	9867
4	9/11	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	30	7.5	10.6	6328	10143
7	9/11	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	9	7.4	11.3	6253	9467
8	9/11	Rumsfeld PC/USA Attacked	CNN	Tue	11	7.3	11.0	6115	9177
9	9/20	Bush Addresses Congress	CNN	Thu	37	7.2	9.9	6062	9184
9	7/21	Rugrats	NICK	Sat	60	7.2	14.8	5885	11913
11	9/20	Sp Rpt: Bush Congress Address	CNN	Thu	6	7.1	9.5	5967	9112
12	9/11	Ashcroft PC/USA Attacked	CNN	Tue	8	7.0	10.3	5876	8401
13	9/11	Congres- sional Leaders Brief	CNN	Tue	6	6.9	10.3	5843	8662
13	9/30	NFL/ Cowboys/ Eagles	ESPN	Sun	204	6.9	10.9	5838	8321
15	9/11	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	17	6.8	10.3	5763	8342
16	9/20	Congress Address To Bush	CNN	Thu	6	6.5	8.9	5504	8396
17	9/11	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	30	6.3	13.1	5331	6619
17	9/11	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	30	6.3	13.6	5328	6585
17	9/11	America Under Attack	CNN	Tue	21	6.3	12.4	5324	6932
17	9/11	Taliban News Conf.	CNN	Tue	10	6.3	12.2	5289	6694
17	9/12	Attack On America	CNN	Wed	30	6.3	12.4	5277	6676
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data

-Elizabeth White is a staff writer for Media Life.

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