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viewers to cable news
CNN slips from highs of post-attack coverage
By Elizabeth White
As alarmed as Americans are about anthrax, they are not tuning into the cable news shows in great numbers as they did for the terrorist attacks on the U.S. in early September.
People are watching less cable news now than they were at the beginning of the month.
Still, cable news viewing is hardly back to normal.
People are watching significantly more cable news than they were a year ago.
CNN tied with Lifetime and Nickelodeon in September as the highest-rated network in households but has experienced steady ratings declines throughout October, except for a brief spike the week of Oct. 8, when the bombings in Afghanistan began.
Last week, CNN’s household ratings were down over 30 percent in primetime and 25 percent in total day measurements from the week of Oct. 1.
Among adults 18-49, CNN fell out of the top 10 during primetime last week and was down almost 40 percent since the week of Oct. 1 in total day numbers.
Among adults 25-54, CNN declined 40 percent in primetime and 36 percent in total day from the beginning of the month.
Fox News and MSNBC experienced similar weekly declines but still ranked among the top-10 networks for the month in households.
Fox News was the sixth-highest-rated network in primetime households during October but dropped 24 percent in ratings from the beginning of the month to the end. The network was fifth for the month during total day measurements, slipping only 10 percent across the four weeks.
MSNBC finished October in 10th place during primetime households and seventh place during total day. The network declined 19 percent and 12 percent, respectively, from the week of Oct. 1 to the week of Oct. 22.
MSNBC and Fox News were nearly absent from the top-10 demographic rankings last week, coming in ninth and 10th place, respectively, among adults 25-54 during total day measurements.
Despite these declines, though, the cable news networks are still nowhere near the low numbers of the summer, during the media frenzies over Gary Condit and missing intern Chandra Levy and the shark attacks in Florida.
All three networks have posted enormous year-to-year growth since last October, which had its own major story in the hotly contested presidential election.
In household ratings, CNN is up 100 percent in primetime and 225 percent in total day from last October. Fox News’s household ratings increased 78 percent in primetime and 150 percent in total day, and MSNBC’s went up by 175 percent in primetime and 167 percent in total day.
Among adults 18-49, CNN’s numbers last month were up 149 percent in primetime and 281 percent in total day from last October, Fox News was up 190 percent in primetime and 322 percent in total day, and MSNBC was up 220 percent in primetime and 249 percent in total day.
Among adults 25-54, the increases were even more dramatic. CNN improved 177 percent in primetime and 309 percent in total day from last year, Fox News increased its rating by 217 percent in primetime and 383 percent in total day, and MSNBC went up 242 percent in primetime and 220 percent in total day.
But perhaps as a sign of lessening interest in the news on cable, the top three programs for the month of October were NFL games on ESPN, followed by TNN’s "WWF" in fourth place. The highest-rated regularly scheduled news program was CNN’s "Larry King Weekend," which ran on the night the bombings in Afghanistan began and ranked 20th in households for the month.
|
Top 10 Primetime Networks
Among Adults 18-49 |
||||||
|
# |
Net |
PT (000) |
PT % |
TD |
TD (000) |
TD % |
|
1 |
TBS |
999 |
-14 |
1 |
537 |
-12 |
|
2 |
TNT |
944 |
24 |
4 |
457 |
11 |
|
3 |
ESPN |
925 |
-11 |
5 |
404 |
-17 |
|
4 |
LIF |
810 |
20 |
2 |
525 |
17 |
|
5 |
USA |
777 |
1 |
6 |
380 |
0 |
|
6 |
TNN |
735 |
39 |
9 |
330 |
40 |
|
7 |
CNN |
640 |
149 |
3 |
472 |
281 |
|
8 |
DISC |
580 |
7 |
12 |
295 |
2 |
|
9 |
TLC |
578 |
14 |
11 |
310 |
29 |
|
10 |
FOXN |
533 |
190 |
10 |
329 |
322 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
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|
Top 10 Programs
Among Adults 18-49 |
|||||
# |
Date |
Program |
Net |
Day |
(000) |
|
1 |
10/14/01 |
NFL/Raiders/Colts |
ESPN |
Sun |
4548 |
|
2 |
10/7/01 |
NFL/Panthers/49ers |
ESPN |
Sun |
3951 |
|
3 |
10/8/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3339 |
|
4 |
10/22/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3244 |
|
5 |
10/20/01 |
Concert For New York City |
VH1 |
Sat |
3117 |
|
6 |
10/1/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3033 |
|
7 |
10/8/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2967 |
|
8 |
10/15/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2938 |
|
9 |
10/1/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2859 |
|
10 |
10/25/01 |
NFL/Colts/Chiefs |
ESPN |
Thu |
2788 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||
|
Top 10 Primetime Networks
Among Adults 25-54 |
||||||
|
# |
Net |
PT (000) |
PT % |
TD # |
TD (000) |
TD % |
|
1 |
TNT |
998 |
29 |
4 |
471 |
10 |
|
2 |
ESPN |
996 |
-6 |
6 |
410 |
-12 |
|
3 |
TBS |
976 |
-17 |
3 |
511 |
-15 |
|
4 |
LIF |
894 |
19 |
2 |
550 |
13 |
|
5 |
USA |
809 |
0 |
8 |
377 |
3 |
|
6 |
CNN |
799 |
177 |
1 |
568 |
309 |
|
7 |
TNN |
713 |
41 |
10 |
326 |
35 |
|
8 |
FOXN |
640 |
217 |
7 |
406 |
383 |
|
9 |
DISC |
631 |
7 |
11 |
309 |
-1 |
|
10 |
TLC |
605 |
11 |
13 |
295 |
22 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
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|
Top 10 Programs
Among Adults 25-54 |
|||||
# |
Date |
Program |
Net |
Day |
(000) |
|
1 |
10/14/01 |
NFL/Raiders/Colts |
ESPN |
Sun |
4695 |
|
2 |
10/7/01 |
NFL/Panthers/49ers |
ESPN |
Sun |
4150 |
|
3 |
10/20/01 |
Concert For New York City |
VH1 |
Sat |
3699 |
|
4 |
10/25/01 |
NFL/Colts/Chiefs |
ESPN |
Thu |
3139 |
|
5 |
10/8/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2933 |
|
6 |
10/7/01 |
Spl:America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
2930 |
|
7 |
10/22/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2730 |
|
8 |
10/7/01 |
America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
2719 |
|
9 |
10/7/01 |
America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
2714 |
|
10 |
10/7/01 |
America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
2683 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|||||
|
Top 10 Primetime
Household Networks |
||||||||||
|
PT |
Net |
Oct. '01 PT Rtg |
Oct. '01 PT (000) |
% Chg. '01 vs. '00 PT Rtg |
% Chg. '01 vs. '00 PT (000) |
TD |
Oct. ’01 TD Rtg |
Oct. |
% Chg. '01 vs. '00 TD Rtg |
% Chg. '01 vs. '00 TD (000) |
|
1 |
CNN |
1.8 |
1533 |
100 |
125 |
1 |
1.3 |
1088 |
225 |
216 |
|
1 |
LIF |
1.8 |
1486 |
13 |
17 |
3 |
1.1 |
956 |
10 |
21 |
|
3 |
TNT |
1.7 |
1457 |
21 |
35 |
7 |
0.8 |
707 |
0 |
11 |
|
3 |
ESPN |
1.7 |
1414 |
-6 |
0 |
9 |
0.7 |
596 |
-22 |
-13 |
|
3 |
TOON |
1.7 |
1353 |
-11 |
9 |
3 |
1.1 |
864 |
0 |
16 |
|
6 |
TBS |
1.6 |
1397 |
-16 |
-9 |
5 |
1.0 |
818 |
-9 |
-6 |
|
6 |
FOXN |
1.6 |
1184 |
78 |
146 |
5 |
1.0 |
753 |
150 |
266 |
|
8 |
NICK |
1.5 |
1223 |
-6 |
-1 |
1 |
1.3 |
1072 |
-7 |
-3 |
|
9 |
USA |
1.4 |
1192 |
-7 |
2 |
9 |
0.7 |
601 |
0 |
7 |
|
10 |
AEN |
1.1 |
950 |
-21 |
-16 |
9 |
0.7 |
619 |
-22 |
-10 |
|
10 |
MSNBC |
1.1 |
772 |
175 |
202 |
7 |
0.8 |
582 |
167 |
242 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
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|
Top 20
Basic Cable Ad-Supported |
|||||||
# |
Date |
Program |
Net |
Day |
Rtg | Shr |
(000) |
|
1 |
10/14/01 |
NFL/Raiders/ Colts |
ESPN |
Sun |
6.6 |
10.2 |
5622 |
|
2 |
10/7/01 |
NFL/Panthers/ 49ers |
ESPN |
Sun |
6.2 |
9.5 |
5254 |
|
3 |
10/25/01 |
NFL/Colts/Chiefs |
ESPN |
Thu |
4.7 |
7.3 |
4002 |
|
4 |
10/8/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.6 |
7.2 |
3858 |
|
5 |
10/7/01 |
America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
4.4 |
8.2 |
3744 |
|
5 |
10/1/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.4 |
6.9 |
3733 |
|
5 |
10/7/01 |
America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
4.4 |
8.2 |
3707 |
|
5 |
10/1/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.4 |
6.2 |
3705 |
|
5 |
10/7/01 |
America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
4.4 |
8.6 |
3705 |
|
10 |
10/8/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.3 |
6.0 |
3617 |
|
11 |
10/7/01 |
America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
4.2 |
8.0 |
3567 |
|
11 |
10/7/01 |
Spl:America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
4.2 |
6.3 |
3542 |
|
11 |
10/22/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.2 |
6.5 |
3515 |
|
14 |
10/7/01 |
America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
4.1 |
7.3 |
3509 |
|
14 |
10/15/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.1 |
6.4 |
3472 |
|
14 |
10/15/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.1 |
5.6 |
3410 |
|
17 |
10/11/01 |
Bush Presidential Address |
CNN |
Thu |
3.9 |
5.9 |
3292 |
|
17 |
10/12/01 |
MLB/Cardinals vs. Diamond- |
FAM |
Fri |
3.9 |
6.8 |
3283 |
|
17 |
10/7/01 |
America Strikes Back |
CNN |
Sun |
3.9 |
8.2 |
3277 |
|
20 |
10/7/01 |
Larry King Weekend |
CNN |
Sun |
3.8 |
5.5 |
3221 |
|
20 |
10/8/01 |
Ashcroft PC/America War Brief |
CNN |
Mon |
3.8 |
10.5 |
3200 |
|
20 |
10/9/01 |
MLB/Cardinals vs. Diamond- |
FAM |
Tue |
3.8 |
5.7 |
3154 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
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November 1, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Elizabeth White is a staff writer for Media Life.
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