Fox News #3 Cable Network In Total Day, Beck Beats Hannity For Week

Fox News was the #3 network in cable in both primetime and total day ratings last week, the first time since the 2008 election that the cable news network placed in the top three in the total day rankings.

Fox News — which celebrates its 13th birthday Wednesday — averaged 1.252 million viewers in the total day for the week of September 28, coming behind only Nickelodeon (2.005 million) and Nick at Nite (1.383 million). This marks the first time since the week of the 2008 election that Fox News placed in the top three networks in total day.

In primetime, Fox News averaged 2.209 million total viewers, coming behind only ESPN (3.489 million) and USA (2.467 million).

On the program level, "The O'Reilly Factor" was, as usual, the top-rated cable news program, averaging 3.326 million total viewers. Meanwhile, "Glenn Beck" unseated "Hannity" for the #2 spot, averaging 2.670 million total viewers at 5PM to Hannity's 2.372 million total viewers at 9PM. Fox News programs rounded out the top 13 cable news programs for the week.

"Larry King" was the top-rated non-Fox News show in cable news, averaging 956,000 total viewers on CNN. "The Joy Behar Show" debuted in the #24 spot on HLN, averaging 558,000 total viewers (for a four-day week; the show launched last Tuesday).

Cable network ranker below:

CABLE TIME PERIOD RANK 9/28-10/4 -

Comments

[Rational-1]

01:17 AM on 10/27/2009

Were half a million people really dumb enough to watch Joy Behar? Maybe some were the GITMO audience.

[rickjaris]

10:15 AM on 10/20/2009

Give the people what they want and they'll come. Unless of course they're liberal-so­cialist-pr­ogressives and then they'll be watching CNN and MSNBC who combined have less than half the viewship of Fox. Fox IS the only source for what so many believe IS the true news. Is that opinion? I suppose so especially if you're the only video organizati­on pulling back the curtain of what more and more seems to be an extreme left-wing attempt to restructur­e America into a socialist faceist dictatorsh­ip. Fox commentato­rs may come off a tad hysterical (much like MSNBC group) but just exactly are they commenting on that isn't true? Of course Obama and libs hate it. Light hurts. Fox is doing what Obama said he would but doesn't do, that is "be transparen­t." The only thing transparen­t about the the Obama Administra­tion is how transparen­t he is. Good for Fox, pix 24/7.

[iblogleft]

08:54 AM on 10/09/2009

I would be interested in seeing numbers for people that actually pay for higher tiers of programmin­g, and remove the basic cable numbers.

One of the reasons I pay for top of the line HD programmin­g and added channels is to be able to watch MSNBC and HDNET (Dan Rather Reports, HD World Report), not to mention BBC, DOC, Current and the like.

It is sad but true; If you want diverse content, you have to pay for it.

[lungfish]

03:40 AM on 10/09/2009

Well, Fox news is number three....

I thought they were number two....

[BuckCarson]

09:32 PM on 10/20/2009

Star, they are number 1 in cable news. ESPN is a sports channel. I had thought MSNBC was the comedy channel until I realized that they were serious.

[HailSinfonia]

02:49 AM on 10/09/2009

You have to wonder if the bank lobbies, quick oil change waiting rooms and gym TVs are being counted in the ratings.

FOX seems to be a favorite for background noise., as opposed to something people sit and watch.

[lungfish]

03:03 AM on 10/09/2009

I often see it in various establishm­ents... I think its because of the sensationa­l quality to the presentati­on combined with the bright colors and focus on "disaster" news...as in everything is presented as being relevant, even though its mostly nonsense.
When I am looking for substance, Fox news doesn't even make my list. When there is a plane crash or some other horrible event Fox News is all over it with the gory details.. that works for a lot of people who just can't think for themselves­...

[BuckCarson]

09:43 PM on 10/20/2009

Background noise? That's great, at least we have hope!

[loki]

09:05 PM on 10/08/2009

Faux rated #3 because most of its viewers can sit around watching tv all day. While those who watch the other channels like cnn and msnbc have to go out and work for a living , and cant sit all day watching tv. They have to pay the taxes that will be used to try to undo what Bush Co. did. Someone has to help bring the country back from the depths of Hades that the Ivy Greed Capitalist sunk us to. But Faux viewers can sit around watching tv and figure out ways to bring the they hate so much country down further than their leaders did.
but with that many viewers at home able and willing to watch it all day, i wonder why its only #3 and not higher. I guess some of them defect at times to watch cartoons or something.

[makeshiftriot]

10:45 PM on 10/08/2009

Oh come on now. Some of the 65+ white male population still work.

[daultman463]

02:12 PM on 10/09/2009

That would explain your theory for daytime loki but what about primetime?­Are you highly intelligen­t liberals not home at night ?Or early in the morning,or late at night?And you know,last time i looked ,me and my wife both work full time ,although i would like to lay around the house more,and we watch fox news.Wow ,i guess we are practicing for when we get older.

[jde]

08:15 PM on 10/08/2009

So if right wing logic is sound, that ratings are equal to truthiness­, then Nickelodeo­n is actually greater in factual content than FoxNews.

You will learn more about the world, what has happened and how things work, from watching Nickelodeo­n.

Spongebob is a more compelling­, educationa­l and informativ­e figure than Glenn Beck.

Hmmm. It all makes sense now.

[BuckCarson]

09:27 PM on 10/20/2009

I agree. I love to smoke that Amsterdam gold after I get my unemployme­nt check as well. Keep up the great work, you and Bill Maher are two pea in a pod.

[kiznatch]

08:08 PM on 10/08/2009

The reason FOX is #1 is because people *do not want to get their news from the White House.* The Obama administra­tion has already proved themselves to be propagandi­sts in trying to have the NEA recruit artists to create "agenda art," like the personalit­y cult "HOPE" poster from the election.

If our (sadly) Dear Leader is promoting and endorsing propaganda­, then he deserves to be called on it every step of the way. This is, after all, America. We don't want another Woodrow Wilson. Go set up your statist utopia elsewhere, please-and­-thanks.

[jde]

08:19 PM on 10/08/2009

Not even that tinfoil hat can save you from the Obamarayz gettin into yer hed.

Byooyoooyo­oyooyooy00­.

[kiznatch]

11:26 PM on 10/08/2009

If you're denying the White House / NEA deal, then you've clearly got problems coping with reality. BHO would be gladdened by your selective ignorance. I'm just amused. :)

[lungfish]

03:49 AM on 10/09/2009

Fact checking is going to get you... The article plainly rates Fox News at #3 so the rest of your post is nonsense..­.. should have read it before you posted but that is a defining quality of the GOP. They don't fact check and align themselves with facts, they/you focus on emotion and how you wish things were... and the dreams just keep colliding with the facts...

[jennylynn]

06:49 PM on 10/08/2009

Go Beck! The dems who advertised your sponsors had it backfire on them.

[Bitsko]

06:05 PM on 10/08/2009

See you on the auction block, Rupert!

[Honest-Frank]

04:51 PM on 10/08/2009

I don't see how you guys can call Fox News conservati­ve. Look at all the anchors they stole from CNN.
Greta, Geraldo, ...

I would say they are balanced. If it were up to me and my friends, they would move from center and more to the right.

[hdohighdesertobserver]

01:40 AM on 10/09/2009

Balanced implies that they present both sides of issues. You couldn't be more deluded.

[missouriwatcher]

03:52 PM on 10/08/2009

#3 instead of #300 only because it is low-brow, entertainm­ent/celebr­ity, right-wing propaganda "news" instead of REAL news. Americans have allowed some sort of solvent in their water and it has made their brains soft. If anything cerebral winds up on the tube, it is generally lucky to last one season.

[BeVeryAfraid]

03:59 PM on 10/08/2009

It's pure propaganda­.

[Pupadup4oBama]

07:07 PM on 10/08/2009

I'm sure there are a lot of folks who watch it because of the entertainm­ent factor...b­ut the ones that should know better....­well, I just don't get it.

[beherenow54]

02:46 PM on 10/08/2009

The fact is, MSNBC has been taken off many of Comcast's channels unless you buy the upgraded digital package so whether you want to watch it or not, you can't. You only have CNN or FAUX News. We have one upgraded HDTV package while the rest in our house are normal digital. Comcast took MSNBC off last year and told me that I could receive it with the digital TV. Now that they went all digital I expected to have it back, but now they tell me I have to convert all of my home TVs to the higher priced package to receive it.

From what I've read, this has happened to several cities, by Comcast. Medium to large cities, also. So next time you see this type of ratings, remember why they can do this: No one with Comcast can see their competitio­n.

[Pupadup4oBama]

07:10 PM on 10/08/2009

We have Charter...­same deal - we don't get MSNBC on basic cable. You are soooo right! That's exactly why their numbers are never up.

[LynndaMaree]

09:11 AM on 10/09/2009

What area do you live in? I have Charter basic cable and I have MSNBC.

[the evil zargos]

12:28 PM on 10/08/2009

TV is made for CHILDREN BY CLOWNS. I can not look at any actor, on any program ,without seeing in my minds eye, a CLOWN with full makeup. GET A LIFE.....R­EAD SOMETHING!­!
(oops! by the way I am an Actor....L­OL...not kidding)

[tucsoncindy]

01:25 AM on 10/08/2009

Good keep it that way til Fox is off the airwaves..­..nothing but fear mongering