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CNN resumes lead
Viewers flock to watch Sunday's retaliatory raids
By Elizabeth White
So much for returning to normal television habits.
CNN led the way in household ratings again last week, as its Sunday coverage of the bombings in Afghanistan dominated viewers’ attention.
CNN was the most-watched cable network in both total day and primetime households, with seven of the top-10 programs for the week belonging to the news network.
Another seven CNN programs ranked among the top-50 programs for the week, including three episodes of "Larry King Live" and one episode of "The Point with Greta Van Susteren."
Fox News was fifth for the week in households in both primetime and total day, while MSNBC was seventh in total day and 12th in primetime.
But eight of MSNBC’s Sunday programs ranked among the top-50 programs in households for the week, compared to only four programs for Fox News. Fox News’s highest-rated program was Sunday night’s "The O’Reilly Factor," in 19th place with just over two million homes.
The highest-rated program for the week, however, was another Sunday program that had nothing to do with Afghanistan or terrorism. It was ESPN’s NFL game between the Panthers and the 49ers. The game averaged a 6.2 household rating and over five million homes, and was also the top-rated program for the week in both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.
The younger demographics showed further signs of news overload, as CNN ranked sixth in primetime and second in total day among adults 18-49. Fox News ranked eighth in primetime and tenth in total day, and MSNBC was absent from the top 10 in primetime and seventh in total day.
ESPN, TNN, TBS, TNT and Lifetime made up the top-five networks for the week among primetime adults 18-49 instead. TNN was also the highest-rated network in total day ratings among adults 18-49, with TBS, Lifetime and TNT filling out the rest of the top five.
The highest-rated news program for the week among adults 18-49 was CNN’s 10 p.m. news special on Sunday, "America Strikes Back," in fourth place with 2.7 million viewers in the demographic. CNN’s Sunday afternoon coverage from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. averaged almost 2.3 million viewers.
In contrast, ESPN’s NFL game drew nearly four million adults 18-49, and TNN’s two WWF programs averaged 2.9 million viewers in the demographic.
Among adults 25-54, the news fared a little better.
CNN was first in total day ratings for the demographic, but sixth during primetime. Fox News was eighth in both total day and primetime ratings, and MSNBC was seventh in total day and tenth in primetime.
CNN’s Sunday night special "America Strikes Back" was the second-most-watched program for the week among adults 25-54, with 2.9 million viewers in the demographic. CNN’s Sunday afternoon coverage averaged 2.5 million adults 25-54.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s NFL game attracted 4.1 million adults 25-54, and the "WWF" averaged 2.6 million viewers in the demographic.
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Top 10 Basic
Cable Ad-Supported |
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|
Rank |
Net |
(000) |
| 1 | ESPN | 1075 |
| 2 | TNN | 1051 |
| 3 | TBS | 918 |
| 4 | TNT | 867 |
| 5 | LIFETIME | 783 |
| 6 | CNN | 725 |
| 7 | USA | 666 |
| 8 | FOXNEWS | 575 |
| 9 | TLC | 537 |
| 10 | DISCOVERY | 519 |
| Source: Turner Entertainment
Research from Nielsen Media Research data
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Top 10 Basic Cable
Ad-Supported Programs |
|||||
# |
Date |
Program |
Net |
Day |
(000) |
| 1 | 10/7/01 | NFL/Panthers/49ers | ESPN | Sun | 3951 |
| 2 | 10/1/01 | WWF Entertainment | TNN | Mon | 3033 |
| 3 | 10/1/01 | WWF Entertainment | TNN | Mon | 2859 |
| 4 | 10/7/01 | Spl:America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2714 |
| 5 | 10/7/01 | NFL Prime Time | ESPN | Sun | 2476 |
| 6 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2407 |
| 7 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2353 |
| 8 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2268 |
| 9 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2147 |
| 10 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2093 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||
|
Top 10 Basic
Cable Ad-Supported |
||
|
Rank |
Net |
(000) |
| 1 | ESPN | 1127 |
| 2 | TNN | 1026 |
| 3 | TNT | 960 |
| 4 | TBS | 939 |
| 5 | LIFETIME | 884 |
| 6 | CNN | 881 |
| 7 | USA | 743 |
| 8 | FOXNEWS | 666 |
| 9 | DISCOVERY | 584 |
| 10 | MSNBC | 580 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
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Top 10 Basic Cable
Ad-Supported Programs |
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# |
Date |
Program |
Net |
Day |
(000) |
| 1 | 10/7/01 | NFL/Panthers/49ers | ESPN | Sun | 4150 |
| 2 | 10/7/01 | Spl:America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2930 |
| 3 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2719 |
| 4 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2714 |
| 5 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2683 |
| 6 | 10/1/01 | WWF Entertainment | TNN | Mon | 2676 |
| 7 | 10/7/01 | NFL Prime Time | ESPN | Sun | 2531 |
| 8 | 10/1/01 | WWF Entertainment | TNN | Mon | 2519 |
| 9 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2365 |
| 10 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 2352 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
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|||||
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Top 10 Basic Cable
Ad-Supported Networks |
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# |
Net |
PT |
PT (000) |
PT Shr |
TD Rank |
TD Rtg |
TD (000) |
TD Shr |
| 1 | CNN | 1.9 | 1645 | 3.1 | 1 | 1.3 | 1101 | 3.8 |
| 1 | ESPN | 1.9 | 1625 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.8 | 658 | 2.2 |
| 3 | TBS | 1.8 | 1528 | 2.8 | 5 | 1.0 | 827 | 2.8 |
| 3 | TOON | 1.8 | 1402 | 2.8 | 3 | 1.1 | 844 | 3.1 |
| 5 | LIF | 1.7 | 1455 | 2.7 | 3 | 1.1 | 933 | 2.8 |
| 5 | FOXN | 1.7 | 1239 | 2.7 | 5 | 1.0 | 747 | 3.0 |
| 7 | TNT | 1.6 | 1346 | 2.5 | 7 | 0.8 | 677 | 2.3 |
| 8 | TNN | 1.4 | 1150 | 2.1 | 7 | 0.8 | 656 | 2.0 |
| 8 | NICK | 1.4 | 1145 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.2 | 1032 | 3.5 |
| 10 | A&E | 1.3 | 1104 | 2.0 | 7 | 0.8 | 650 | 2.0 |
| 10 | USA | 1.3 | 1066 | 2.0 | 12 | 0.7 | 574 | 2.0 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
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Top 20
Basic Cable Ad-Supported |
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# |
Date |
Program |
Net |
Day |
Length | Rtg | Shr |
(000) |
| 1 | 10/7/01 | NFL/ Panthers/ 49ers | ESPN | Sun | 201 | 6.2 | 9.5 | 5254 |
| 2 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 60 | 4.4 | 8.2 | 3744 |
| 2 | 10/1/01 | WWF Ent'ment | TNN | Mon | 68 | 4.4 | 6.9 | 3733 |
| 2 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 60 | 4.4 | 8.2 | 3707 |
| 2 | 10/1/01 | WWF Ent'ment | TNN | Mon | 60 | 4.4 | 6.2 | 3705 |
| 2 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 60 | 4.4 | 8.6 | 3705 |
| 7 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 60 | 4.2 | 8.0 | 3567 |
| 7 | 10/7/01 | Spl: America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 60 | 4.2 | 6.3 | 3542 |
| 9 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 60 | 4.1 | 7.3 | 3509 |
| 10 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 60 | 3.9 | 8.2 | 3277 |
| 11 | 10/7/01 | Larry King Weekend | CNN | Sun | 60 | 3.8 | 5.5 | 3221 |
| 12 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 60 | 3.7 | 6.2 | 3167 |
| 13 | 10/7/01 | The Point w/Greta | CNN | Sun | 60 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 2920 |
| 14 | 10/7/01 | NFL Prime Time | ESPN | Sun | 58 | 3.3 | 5.2 | 2780 |
| 15 | 10/7/01 | m/"Money Talks" | TBS | Sun | 120 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 2684 |
| 15 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | CNN | Sun | 15 | 3.1 | 7.5 | 2613 |
| 15 | 10/7/01 | Sp. Rpt/ Al-Jazeera TV Cov | MSNB | Sun | 9 | 3.1 | 6.1 | 2210 |
| 18 | 10/7/01 | America Strikes Back | MSNB | Sun | 14 | 3.0 | 5.9 | 2117 |
| 19 | 10/4/01 | Dragon Ball Z | TOON | Thu | 30 | 2.9 | 6.1 | 2290 |
| 19 | 10/1/01 | Dragon Ball Z | TOON | Mon | 30 | 2.9 | 5.9 | 2270 |
| 19 | 10/7/01 | The O'Reilly Factor | FOXN | Sun | 60 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 2095 |
| 19 | 10/7/01 | Sp. Rpt/Press Conference | MSNB | Sun | 9 | 2.9 | 5.8 | 2064 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
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October 11, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Elizabeth White is a staff writer for Media Life.
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