Post-Election Retention: Fox News Weathers The Storm Best

Broadcasting & Cable:

According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News retained 74% of its total day and 70% of its primetime audience. MSNBC retained 62% of its total day and 60% of its primetime audience, while CNN retained only 50% of total day and 42% of its primetime audience.

In addition, Fox News was also able to stay near the top of the cable network rankings. Fox went from the number one network in primetime on all of cable election week to number three the week after. Fox was behind only ESPN and USA, which typically lie at or near the top of the rankings. By comparison, CNN fell from number two to 10, while MSNBC dropped from four to 11.

Make no mistake, to the surprise of no one the news networks saw a decline in viewers, but at the end of the day Fox News weathered the post-election storm better then the competition.

Read the whole story: Broadcasting & Cable

Comments

[StillIRise]

That's because people like me tuned into Fox News to watch how they would spin the election, after their lies and smears and slanders for two years. I wanted to hear Sean Hannity call Barack, "President-Elect," and to see Brit Hume and Bill Kristol squirm as they tried to explain why, after all was said and done, the Republicans still lost virtually every seat they were campaigning for, and to see O'Reilley's head explode!

I imagine a lot of people tuned into Fox for the same reason I did ... VINDICATION!!

[sjones66]

Does it ever come out that Fox is the channel of choice for News for the military and government? That's a WHOLE lotta viewers who watch everyday. This may change in jan. Just sayin'.

[StillIRise]

I have heard that Fox is the ONLY news channel our overseas military can get, not by choice, but because they don't have the signal to tune into any other station.

[adam hartung]

Recognizing that Fox first caught CNN, which had practically 100% share in cable news, we need to give Fox credit for a great accomplishment. That MSNBC has figured out how to catch Fox and CNN is a really significant accomplishment. Understanding how each did this can help us all compete more effectively to improve sales and profits - even in a tough economy like this one. Read more at http://www.ThePhoenixPrinciple.com

[PublicusOrator]

FOX Newws has been No. 1 for a few years. Perhaps the American public is quite happy with the product. When FOX's success is combined with the failure of Air America (hanging on by the skin of its teeth) a lesson is to be learned. Sarcastic comments may be made of those who watch FOX but why is it that NO ONE is tuning into Air America. Under the American market system if Air America had sustainable ratings even the most rabid right winger would be an advertiser. Money is Money. This country is not and never has been a Leftist country. The Democrat victories in 2006 and the wipe out of 2008 are reflective of an electorate fed up with incompetence not ideology. If life doesn't change much by 2010 many of the Democrats elected in 06/08 will be sayonara. This is exactly why Obama not being a fool is creating a centrist administration. Their is a difference between campaigning for office and governing.

[rupert12]

So that means Faux averaged 2.45 million viewers in prime time. Our current population estimate is 301 million. So...on any given evening 99.2% of the American population does NOT watch Faux News.

We give these people way too much credit. In reality, almost noone is watching. The vast majority of Americans don't care who they are or what they have to say. That goes for the other two networks as well.

[jdh45]

But Oreilly can't seem to knock Zoey 101 out of it's top slot.
It use to be Spongebob. Way to go"bad skin Bill"!!!

[LightSword]

Fair and balanced gets you a long way =)

[mcantwell]

Does that mean 74% of American's actually like the hate spewing foaming at the mouth irrational rhetoric of Faux Noise?

[SickOfTheCorruption]

Yes. And these idiots have no where else to go to hear this kind of crap. Fox News is their motherland.

[moderate1]

Gee, maybe you should be more dramatic...

You seem to enjoy the hate and foaming at the mouth irrational rhetoric from this website.

[StillIRise]

This doesn't say very much for 74% of America, does it? Then again, we saw a large percentage of them at the McCain/Palin rallies!

[LollieDotCom]

That's because they own the minds of everyone with a below average i.q. in the country. Duh. They have no competitors for the less than bright crowd.

[moderate1]

Not so. Many of the not so bright crowd frequents this website. I always enjoy the Fox bashing from the loyal readers of HuffPo. You come here and slurp up jaded rhetoric just like Fox viewers do. This website makes you feel like all of your preconceived notions are correct, much like Fox does for conservatives. You're not any better than they are, although it appears that you are more blinded to this fact than your fox viewing counterparts.