Fox News Dominates 3Q 2009 Cable News Ratings

Fox News has pulled off another dominant quarter, claiming the top 10 cable news programs in 3Q 2009 and growing against 3Q 2008, while CNN and MSNBC lost substantial portions of their election-boom audience.

Fox News averaged 2.25 million total viewers in prime time for the third quarter, up 2% over the previous year. That's more than CNN (946,000, down 30%) and MSNBC (788,000, down 10%) combined.

"The O'Reilly Factor" led all cable news programs with an average of 3.295 million total viewers for the quarter, up 12% over the previous year. "Hannity" (2.603 million, up 9%), "Glenn Beck" (2.403 million, up 89%), "On the Record with Greta van Susteren" (2.150 million, up 16%), and "Special Report with Bret Baier" (1.997 million, up 20%) rounded out the top five.

Meanwhile, flagship programs at MSNBC and CNN did not sustain their growth from 3Q 2008: At MSNBC, "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" averaged 1.087 million total viewers, down 12% from the previous year and "The Rachel Maddow Show" averaged 996,000 total viewers (Maddow began the program in September 2008, so a comparison for the quarter would be inaccurate; compared to September 2008, though, Maddow's September 2009 total viewer average is down 40%). At CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" averaged 1.005 million viewers, down 17% from the previous year and "Lou Dobbs" averaged 658,000 total viewers, down 24%. Larry King and Campbell Brown were both down just slightly in total viewers.

CNN in particular had a rough quarter in the primetime Adults 25-54 demo: the network dropped 39% compared to 3Q 2008, averaging 287,000 viewers.

Full 3Q program rankings below, embedded via DocStoc:

3Q '09 _LIVE+SD_ P2+ ranker -

Comments

[Allwx]

That's 3 million out of a nation of 300,000,000. No one should be surprised that a bunch of old retired people have nothing better to do with their day than sit and gape at the pretty talking heads on Faux. The entire network is laced with the outright salacious.

[TheSkyKing]

Look at the demographics, particularly adults 25-54.

[thiggins68]

Facts are stubborn things and irrelevant to liberals.

[swaneer]

The Obama administration is the best thing that has ever happened to Fox News. It really is paying off recently with the administration deciding the news ratings war rather than the war in Afghanistan is the one they want to wage. Fox complains about it in every program. Instead of Mao, the admin. needs to read Uncle Remus, especially where Brar Rabbit says "please don't throw me in the briar patch".

[MaeScott]

Instead of reporting the news. FAUX drives the news. They'll be whining for the next 8 years...or longer.

[MarthaHarris]

Fox News is one of the funniest shows on TV. It reminds me of a never ending soap opera with a group of angry, bitter people who work underground and out of touch with what's really going on in the world.
I watch all the cable news shows, CSPAN and BBC America. Inevitably when I switch to Fox I start laughing in minutes. i also find it interesting that my loyal Fox News viewers are always surprised when I bring topics up that they were not aware of, and even more surprised when they google it and find out I'm right.
Ratings on Fox News should never reflect it as a news program, it fits far better as a comedy. Unfortunately the players on Fox not only lack of a sense of humor, they survive by feeding on all that negative energy.
Life is too short to waste it being angry.

[Anthony S Bellino]

It is unbelievable that anyone who would lampoon FOX would defend the likes of Maddow or Olbermann! Those shows are far worse than anything appearing on FOX. Are you so absent minded that you forget or choose to ignore the visceral personal attacks launched by these two against President Bush. Nothing anyone on FOX has ever said compares with the nastiness and vitriol of MSNBC hosts. If that is what you consider objective news reporting, than there is little hope of continuing this discussion in an intelligent manner. The Obama administration and liberals in general, can dish it out, but it certainly appears as if they cannot take it. Thin skinned and eager to stifle free speech and expression - hallmarks of the left.

[Fiosfiend]

Could not have said it better myself. Funny how those on the left don't see their "news" idols as being partisan. Maddow, Dobbs, Oberman, yeah they're "real" objective. I think the fact that viewers are leaving these shows in droves is proof positive that people are starting to put down the Kool-Aid. I think you're going to start seeing the better reporters leaving these so called "news" organizations in droves.

[salt1313]

hi this is my frist poltical blog.

this is a joke are you people really saying that one side is all right and one is wrong. both fox and cnn are biased, anyone who say's different are is fowlish. so the only logical conclushtion is that the truth is in betwine these two "new's" orgnation. i personly say it closer to fox, but that in MY choice.

My point is that those how name call are not capable of a rational destion.
And those poaple who think that one side has all the answers should QUESTION WITH VIGER, cause no one side is ever right on everthing. thanks for hearing me out and may you find the truth for your self

[MarthaHarris]

You sound angry. Just a little tip for next time, use spell check before submitting.

[rhurc]

You're right. Thanks for the post. But know that people on this blog don't agree with you. Their idea of news is whatever Obama wants it to be. That is why they all use the same language to describe the issues as the administration does.. There is no original thought here. They are sheep being led, and they're blind to it. Keep questioning.

[reklaw999]

The ratings are wrong. Some right wing accountant punched in the wrong number on the calculator or got the decimal place wrong. Obama need to shut that new organization down. Pull the plug brfore it is too late.

[Gizmo1125]

I am a independent and the only news network I watch is fox. I wouldn't waste my time or oxygen watching any of that other crap on tv that they call news. I like fox & friends in the morning, love Megyn Kelly & Bill Hemmer, love Shep, Bret, Cavuto, Beck, Greta, my favorite Oreilly and I even find myself sometimes watching Greg on the Redeye at 3 am. Fox is really a great network and I don't see anybody beating them anytime soon. My best friend who is a moderate democrat also watches fox. She loves fox & friends especially on the weekends and she likes watching Oreilly and Greta. So when I hear someone say only right-wing nuts watch fox I know that is a bunch of hogwash and they have probably never even watched a program on fox.

[Coastalthinker2]

If you are an "independent", why do you only get your "news" from Fox News?

[MarthaHarris]

Because Fox told them they were independents? Wow, those independents really came out for Obama!

[davemartin7777]

While Fox News has the highest ratings, it’s also the same group of people that make up just 20% of
America’s electorate… the far right-wing of the GOP.

There will always be an audience for the far right and that’s Rupert Murdock’s Fox News demographic.

Rupert keeps them frothing at the mouth with manufactured fear and GOP talking-points, phony outrage.

[EuroAllie]

Obviously you've never watched Fox News programming.

[Darkswan]

There is a reason why people watch Stewart/Colbert for the news. Because it is usually so horrible that if you don't laugh, you'll cry.

BTW - Looks like there are 4 liberal channels to 1 conservative channel. If you combine the 4 together they blow the doors off FOX, and thats with 2 of the 4 not as widely broad cast by comcast and the like.

I still prefer getting my news here at the Huff.

[DangerClose]

tend to be more educated? Do you mean the ones that arent sitting around collecting welfare, watching MTV and vote democrat every 4 years for the entiltlements?

[MJVs Common Sense]

Lets explore why these ratings are a somewhat silly measure of network success:

1) Liberals, as a whole, tend to be more educated than their neo-conservative counterparts and more educated people tend to read the news papers, emerging and online media, or books rather than watch TV.
2) Liberals, again being more educated, do not need their opinions validated by a screaming, crying, whining, or otherwise angry commentator, and are thus less likely to watch these kinds of programs.
3) I, like many other Liberals, also watch Fox News, but I do so out of intellectual curiosity (which could also be associated with higher levels of education). I tune in to see what Glenn is crying about, or what is offending Mr. O'Rielly on any given day. I do so with no regard to the fact that I will be adding to their ratings.
4) Neo-Conservatives tend to be much angrier than liberals, probably because they spent 40 years as an afterthought and now, after failing miserably to govern for the past 20 years, have to take a back seat to a very liberal president and congress. So one might expect them to need the validation provided by Fox News to mask their embarrassment and sense of failure.

All in all, I think these ratings don't really tell the whole story and if Liberals were more like Neo-Conservatives, you might see a more even split with more people watching Rachel and Keith (who have excellent programs).

[whitewater]

"1) Liberals, as a whole, tend to be more educated than their neo-conservative counterparts and more educated people tend to read the news papers"
This statement is either not true or liberal thinking is on a downtrend. Newspapers readership is precipitously dropping as consumers have moved to cable news.

[ergel]

As the liberal smug sense of superiority is over a half century old, it is getting to be old hat. Can’t you come up with something original after a half century of the same old slogans? During the 1956 presidential campaign, a woman shouted out to Adlai Stevenson: "Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!
Stevenson called back 'That's not enough, madam, we need a majority!'

In his 1956 song The Folk Song Army, Tom Lehrer lampooned this smug sense superiority:
“We are the Folk Song Army
Everyone of us---- cares.
We’re against poverty, war, and injustice
Unlike the rest of you squares.”

(on YouTube.)

It's a tired old liberal meme, that they are so knowledgeable and so superior to the knckledraggers on the right, who unlike the so knowledgeable liberals realize that the term "neo-conservative" wasn't even in use 40 years ago. I used to be an oh-so-superior liberal until I began reading and questioning what I was told.

Yes, I suppose we should support liberal congressmen who support thousand page bills they admit they haven’t read. Only a knuckle-dragging Fox-viewing 8th grade dropout would want their congressmen read thousand page bills they vote on. Heck, I would go for their reading a fifth. An educated liberal considers it unnecessary for their congressmen to read thousand page bills they vote on. After all if Fearless Leaders Pelosi and Reid say it is good, it is good.

[nogard]

Truly intelligent educated people, people who study hard science, people who learn that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, are generally much more conservative then the frauds obtaining cracker jacks degrees in ethnic studies, politics, humanities and so on. If you have any intellectual honesty at all you will notice the left rarely attempts to argue their position. They instead engage in name calling and character assassination because the absence of facts on their side leaves them little else. Go back and read your own post for the proof..

[DangerClose]

tend to be more educated? Do you mean the ones that arent sitting around collecting welfare, watching MTV and vote democrat every 4 years for the entiltlements?

[MarthaHarris]

What are you talking about? Unemployment has hit everyone. I'm a true patriot who votes every year on whatever election is happening.

I'm not watching MTV but do enjoy CSPAN, BBC America, the History Channel and the Discovery channel, among others. The TV can provide quite a wide range of educational information. If all else fails, I read.

Are you aware that other elections occur between Presidential Elections for state, local and federal offices?

[Nelk]

Watch it. That's the Democrat base you're talking about.

[tyk55]

Brother, I couldnt agree with you more. You look like a young guy and i am impressed with your knowledge. Im older and less formally educated but i dont have much love for the far right media. Give me liberals or give me death. Thats my motto. I think Keith Olberman and Rachel are the smartest and best in the business and like you i feel the ratings are of no significance. Id like to know how these ratings are derived. No one ever called me to ask which news show i was watching. How bout you?

[Anthony S Bellino]

It is unbelievable that anyone who would lampoon FOX would defend the likes of Maddow or Olbermann! Those shows are far worse than anything appearing on FOX. Are you so absent minded that you forget or choose to ignore the visceral personal attacks launched by these two against President Bush. Nothing anyone on FOX has ever said compares with the nastiness and vitriol of MSNBC hosts. If that is what you consider objective news reporting, than there is little hope of continuing this discussion in an intelligent manner. The Obama administration and liberals in general, can dish it out, but it certainly appears as if they cannot take it. Thin skinned and eager to stifle free speech and expression - hallmarks of the left.

[Dorse]

I have heard all these reports for a while now but I have heard no nuance. I live in metropolitan Atlanta where CNN and Fox are available on the non-digital band from Comcast, but in order to see MSNBC one has to be subscribed to the more expensive digital cable service. The impact on comparative ratings is obvious, but as I have been pointing out to my students the past two weeks, every report and reporter that I have encountered have discussed the comparison as though all other thing were equal, but--at least in Atlanta--they definitely are not, automatically creating a bias--and possibly a huge bias--against MSNBC. As a sociology instructor, it gives me an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the lack of systematic analysis in contemporary journalism; the full-blown thoughtlessness of most of what passes as news, and serves as admonition for being their own woman and their own man in terms of thinking.

[daultman463]

Wow dorse,all that to say what did say?"

[MarthaHarris]

Maybe she should use one sylable words so you'd have a better chance of understanding it.

[ergel]

Just remember that sociologists write in a language different from everyday English: the longer, more polysyllabic and incomprehensible the sentences are, the better. The most fitting depiction of a sociologist was done at a Fourth of July parade a half century ago, A sociologist had written a controversial book about the town. In return, the Fourth of July parade featured an effigy of the sociologist on top of a manure spreader. That's all you need to know about sociology and sociologists.

[reality time]

Not suprising. This nation is supposedly more conservative than liberal and FOX would be the news to watch..

[LeighAnnes]

The majority of the country doesn't watch cable news. They watch network news.

[glitz]

Most Americans just love cartoons. When liberals quit being fasinated by the Fox characters the rating will go South.

[MarthaHarris]

But Fox is soooooo funny!

[Susanfrom29]

Fox would be the news to watch if it were in fact, news.

[MarthaHarris]

I think most intelligent people know that it's not a news show.

[Thomas Reissmann]

I'd like to see the ratings for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colber Report with Stephen Colbert, after all it's news and it's on Cable. My feeling is they beat all of those schmucks on those other propaganda channels. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are really the only reporters that are honest because they don't have an agenda.

Does anyone have the ratings for them?

[InfosolutionWiz]

WELL SAID!

TELL FIXED NEWS TO STUFF THIS:

With President Obama as his power-hitting leadoff man, David Letterman posted his biggest score in recent years in the late-night ratings, dominating NBC’s “Tonight Show” last week by the biggest margin in more than 15 years.

Mr. Letterman’s “Late Show” on CBS, whose guest lineup also included former President Bill Clinton, averaged 5.04 million viewers for the first new week of the television season, up almost 30 percent from the same week a year before.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/01/late-show-beats-tonight-s_n_307155.html

[Santarem]

All those other channels ARE the propaganda machine. The only network truly covering real issues AND questioning politicians and their motives is FOX. Take a hard look (as I have) and you will quickly see what is really going on.

They are NO longer the "main stream" media -- they are now the fringe media! (The ratings prove it.)

To truth and freedom...


_

[MarthaHarris]

What does truth and freedom have to do with Fox?

Who doesn't believe in truth and freedom?

If you believed in TRUTH you'd be seeking out all the facts by listening to multiple news outlets .....

But you do have the FREEDOM to listen to filtered news and misrepresentations.

[flossophy]

So, what does everyone think of the anti faux meme that's out there?

[oonamanoona]

Why don't you read all the comments and find out? =)

[Abe00]

Fox News is sooo awesome. The ratings prove it. Glad to see this is happening.

[Pippilotta]

The ratings just prove the general "dumbing down" of America..

[billobasher]

You did not post correct material. ZOGBY has Obama at 53%, not 42%.