"Countdown" Beats "O'Reilly Factor" In Ratings Demo For First Time Ever

MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" beat Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" in the key Adults 25-54 demographic for the first time ever last week.

"Countdown" averaged 477,000 viewers (A25-54) vs. O'Reilly's 472,000 (excluding Tuesday's primary coverage). This marks the first time that MSNBC has beaten Fox News in O'Reilly's 8pm time slot since June 2001.

Comments

[saun8934]

I love Olbermann!! I would never watch O'Reilly over Olbermann, never! Olbermann keeps you well informed on real news unlike Faux news.

[Rebochan]

Two pompous windbags that can't be bothered to let silly things like "facts" ever get in the way of their wild rantings.

But of the two, I'll take Olbermann. I think...

[emmaspeaks]

Everyone I talk to watched Keith Olberman. My husband doesn't argue with it because if I don't watch i ended up dreaming about him. ha! I just love him. He says what I'm thinking. Rarely do I disagree with him.

[RedStateCenterLeft]

If you really listen to the tone of Olbermann's voice as he said that Couric was today"s Worst Person, I could sense he felt little joy in saying it as he does with doing same to Bill Orally.

More to the point, O-Mann was going to bat for a colleague whom Couric defamed. As a reporter myself, I've been taught never to criticize people from other news outlets with whom my firm competes.

What Couric did, to a regular beat reporter who was expressing fact, rather than his own comment, was not cool. You don't rip people in public like that. O-Mann gave Couric a piece of his mind. Rightly so, I say.

[kassandrasduplex]

God I pray I see Bil O-Lie-ly receive public humiliation and scorn. I want to see him (and Limbaugh) go down the way Joe McCarthy went down, drunk in an asylum. Sorry for the vitriol, but these people have destroyed Americans' lives. They deserve a dose of karma, if not Instant Karma.

[hughbetcha]

Of the two of them, O'Reilly is more objective...now simmer down. O'Reilly routinely defends Obama from the more scurrilous attacks by the Right, he also went to bat for Hillary and takes on Republicans far more than Olbermann takes on Democrats. I can't recall Olberman once, ever, going after a Democrat or attacking any liberal position. He surrounds himself with bobble-headed yes men. He feeds them their lines and they vomit them back up puppet like to him with a `Well, your right Keith' or `That's a good point Keith.' Fineman, Richard Wolff, Jonathan Alter and the neverending book peddling appearances by John Dean have turned this from a show I used to really like to one which I increasingly don't both watching and realize I haven't missed anything. As for O'Reilly, his increasing coverage of tabloid news means I pretty much never watch him either. I'd kill for a genuinely straight, intelligent, non-smug news program.

[Dzim]

"show I used to like..."

That's sort of like "I've been a Democrat all my life until..."

or..

"I'm as hetero as the next guy, but..."

[sheikwil]

O'Reilly objective, you must be smoking from the same crack pipe as Rush Limbaugh.

[PaulyWog]

For real independant non-corporate news try Democracy Now http://www.democracynow.org//)

[Oilygarch]

The tide's a turnin'. *LOL*

[KSFARMBOY]

I think this was the week Bill was on vacation.

[rchwel]

Probably busy fabricating chapters fopr his biogrpahy !

[RalphinFlorida]

Olbermann is the greatest!!! I never miss his program and love the "Worst Person in World" segment. Oreilly is a bully and a braggart who overpowers his guests with senseless rhetoric and constant interruptions.. A few days ago Scott McClellan held his ground with Oreilly, and actually made Billo look like an oaf. I use my DVR to record Oreilly if I know that he has an interesting guest scheduled, always with the hope that the guest will clean Oreilly's clock. I still don't understand how he got a pass from Fixed Noise regarding the sexual harrassment charges against him.

[TheLar]

I guess Bill-O's bitter dinosaur demographic has begun the die-off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsIaymf90zc

[Susani]

I'm guessing that him interviewing Scott McClellan had NOTHING to do with it. come on.... Olberman is a hack, wannabe. Spewing hatred and gossip. His jealousy of O'Reilly is eating at him so much, his head about blows off.
You die hard lovers minds can't be changed, so sad. but then again, this world is full of hateful and ignorant people.

[Zenith1959]

Correct, like Bill Orally and the people who watch him.

[dolphin65]

It's like pot calling the kettle black. Who is the "die harder" here with full of hateful and ignorant comment?

[bossjimgettys]

FOX News ratings in general have been slipping all year, as well as O'Reilly's. McClellan has been on every television show broadcast in the last two weeks so I doubt very much that that moved the needle. If MSNBC went all-out to be the Anti-Fox, they'd be the #1 cable news network in no time. BTW, the median age of the Faux News viewer is something like 66, the oldest-skewing of all cable and broadcast networks, so what does that tell you?

[Dzim]

"Olberman is a hack, wannabe."

No, he's not. He's one of the more interesting commentators on the scene, which is why he's succeeding where Glenn Beck, Tucker Carlson, etc etc have failed.

More important, he's doing better among educated people than Bill O'Reilly or Hannity. Those are the people that the advertisers want, anyway. Yes, the tide is turning...

[Wordtodawise]

Count down beats O'Reilly, fabulous.

Keith Olbermann's hard hitting commentary has served as an effective counterbalance to FOX news and Bill O'Reilly.

While Keith has focused on exposing the corrupt nature of the bush administration and the ineptness of Bush as a non leader of a suffering nation, O’Reilly has been in the tank for the failed Bush regime.

Keith Olbermann's style of presentation is inviting, thought provoking and entertaining. In contrast, Bill O'Reilly is repulsive, overbearing and shallow. He projects his ego into the scene and alienates the viewers. It's curious why any self respecting guest who holds a different view than O’Reilly would dare to appear on his show. The man is simply crude, coarse and common.

It baffles the mind why O'Reilly is still a prominent FOX news personality. This is a man who was accused of work place sexual harassment. Rumored to have spent millions to bury the scandal yet his mug is still on FOX news. Here's an idea for a national discussion, "Work place sexual harassment and the perverts who commit them". Invite O’Reilly to co host.

Congratulations are in order to Keith for his success in thumping O'Reilly. Keith has provided immense satisfaction to viewers who have anguished for so long enduring the torture of FOX news without quality antidote.

Wordtodawise

[Spazzers]

I wouldn't call 5,000 viewers a thumping.

[rchwel]

HA HA HA ONE viewer more than O'Liely still means the liar bill lost in the ratings ! America has finally woken up this is not the year of the reich wing propaganists ! Thank god, seven plus years for the repigs to destroy what it took 225 years to build !

[hughbetcha]

He still gets consistently killed in the overall ratings. And what's with the `common' line? You just out of Knightsbridge?

[jeanrenoir]

Thank God for $5 gas. The combination of 4,000+ American deaths completely in vain AND $5 gas has acted as just the 2x4 needed to get the attention of the mulish American masses. If Israel bombs Iran and presents us with $10 gas, that will finish the job on the neocons and the Republican Party itself, not to mention AIPAC. The "silent majority" is now much, much enraged than it's ever been, at least since the Depression. The idiotic neocons have given the Republicans exactly what they deserve. I saw Vincent Bugliosi's book indicting Bush for murder in an airport today. The firestorm over Iraq is only beginning. This will potentially be McCarthy in political reverse, with the liberals crucifying the conservatives this time, but with justice instead of mere smears.

[spardicus]

Agreed. Good post.
It's been a long frustrating wait to see what it would take to get the attention of 'the mulish American masses.' The planet in peril while neocons put profit before planet, a war in the wrong country that has made us less safe, a $9 trillion debt our children will have to repay for us - and on and on - all okay - but when $5 gas hits their wallet - they tune in.
As a father of two boys I'm glad the $5 gas came now; hoping it's enough to get them out of the White House. If McCain gets in, his draft will certainly tune in the rest of them, but it would be too late by then.

[yako]

How many other parents as you, voted for Obama, against Hillary Clinton and the Republicans because they have children of draft age? The fear is very real. One of the big national polls should ask this question.

[KSFARMBOY]

Nice to see you so giddy about 4,000 troops dead. As for the $5 a gallon gas, it did not spike till the Dems took control of congress. Also congress with a lower approval rating than the President, and for your last point on indicting Bush for murder, it will not happen, no evidence, no trial. Bush got approval from congress before the troops were sent in. If he gets tried for murder, anybody who voted to give him approval is next.

[Jacksbloodyface]

Are you seriously blaming 4 dollar gas on the democrats? Seriously? Explain your logic please.

[JohnMayer]

“As for the $5 a gallon gas, it did not spike till the Dems took control of congress.“ This is the well-known - to Liberals, that is; Conservatives will just have to look it up - “post hoc; ergo propter hoc” fallacy. True, the Dems haven’t done enough to confront the Repugs; they truly are, I fear, the lesser of two evils. Pelosi’s circling the wagons around Bush and the PNACzis is disgusting, an echo of Lieberman (I can’t believe I one wore that man’s name on a T shirt). There must be a special circle of hell for turncoat Democrats. Maybe I’ll vote Green at last this year.

[damnadamson]

First off people on Huffpost don't think I'm a jerk for saying this, but please ... if you're going to use the english language don't butcher your words as is the case in far too many of these postings .... second of all Keith Olberman is one of the greatest moral orators of our time. Hopefully he will jump over to politics and run for president in 2016 after Obama is finished ... a guy can dream.

[MainSpark]

You, a jerk? Nah.
However, before you make another request of HuffPo readers, regarding the butchery of the English language, keep in mind that grammar and punctuation are key parts of the language.
To that end, let me give you a little tidbit of help. On your keyboard, right between the "m" and "period" keys, there's the "comma" key. Find it! Learn it! Use it! Master it!
Then you can come back and take the HuffPo English language butchers to task!

[Spazzers]

Word to the wise about the comma, if in doubt leave it out. Way too many people have comma diarrhea.

[mc]

Don't forget to capitalize the E in English.

[FloaterBall]

Ahem. Try not to butcher your punctuation either.

[dadw5boys]

NO I AM THE WINNER!!!!!!!

I BLOCKED FOX !!!!!!

Never watched it but it make me dumber because it was there waiting.

I feel 10 years younger since I got the FOX out on my media diet.

Lose weight now SHED FOX NETWORK!!!

[ohbomba]

You need to read,watch and listen to all views to make educated, informed decisions.
You also need to do research instead of taking what the talking heads spew as gospel.

[CamJam]

WAY TO GO Olbermann! Dang it's about time!

[TheRightAngle]

There both head cases.