Cable News Ratings: Top 30 Programs For February 2012 (PHOTOS, POLL)

The cable news ratings for February 2012 are in, and things were not business as usual.

Like clockwork, Fox News cleared the top of the list. The network, which celebrated ten years in first place, claimed the top twelve programs in total viewers.

However, the ratings weren't all positive for Fox News. Overall, the network was down -3% in total viewers and down -13% in the coveted A25-54 demo, compared to this time last year. There had been extensive coverage of Arab Spring last February.

Beyond that, the epic tug-of-war between MSNBC and CNN continued, and the February verdict was split. CNN won the demo during primetime, but MSNBC continued to draw the most total viewers. CNN got a big boost from the GOP debate hosted by John King, as well as its coverage of Whitney Houston's death.

At MSNBC, "The Rachel Maddow Show," which ranked right below the top Fox News programs, and "PoliticsNation" were both up in total viewers and the demo compared to last year. "Morning Joe" also maintained its spot in the top 30 shows, which it broke last month.

How did individual shows fare? Below, see the top 30 cable news programs of February.

Comments

[Barbara Monahan]

11:30 AM on 03/24/2012

This for Nancy Grace.Shame on you trying to act like it was breaking news about The Martin case its all over America!!!!!!! As you cut everyone off that was giving you information!! I used to have great respect for you. Did you for get what happened to you?Anyway this young man is dead because of some man who has problems he wants to be a cop,he can't pass the syke test! so he made himself a cop in his"Gated community" and Trayvon was his target! Its a shame.

[oldwolf49]

06:02 AM on 03/10/2012

I can't believe that the Daily Show is not even listed?!?! I watch it and get more out of those stories than the evening news.

[Ken Rambush]

09:04 PM on 03/09/2012

it shows fox news appeals to more people than the clowns at msnbc---ell you have to do is watch chris matthews to see how bad msnbc really is

[oldwolf49]

06:01 AM on 03/10/2012

We watch faux news to get some comedy stchik and a laugh during our day.

[jimspy]

11:24 PM on 03/18/2012

Fox will always have higher ratings than MSNBC. For the same reason that Hee-Haw always beat Masterpiece Theatre.

[morbius]

10:06 AM on 03/08/2012

All I can say is report what Rodger Ailes said to Nixon while he was Nixons aide:Today television news is watched more often than people read newspapers, than people listen to the radio, than people read or gather any other form of communication. The reason: People are lazy. With television you just sit—watch—listen. The thinking is done for you.

[loveO]

11:41 PM on 03/05/2012

Love how every show is Fox News.

Goes to show liberals, it's not every single person around you that's an idiot. Try looking in the mirror.

[AaroneousRex]

01:59 AM on 03/06/2012

This is an argumentum ad populum. Just because Fox News has higher ratings than MSNBC or CNN does not mean that Fox News is somehow more credible.

[loveO]

02:41 AM on 03/07/2012

It means that Fox News provides shows that people want to watch. Instead of that constant liberal garbage that come from MSNBC or CNN.

Hey guess what news flash, EVERYONE knows Fox News leans to the right.

It just amazes us that liberals can't see (or aren't willing to admit) that MSNBc, ABC, and CNN are all in the tank for Obama.

[michael429]

11:51 AM on 03/07/2012

there are 300,000,000 people in the country...so about .001 % of them lke to watch Fox...they may ( or may not) all be idiots. Think about it, you are apable of grasping the concept.

[nypapajoe]

09:58 AM on 03/05/2012

First and foremost Fox is not a a news source it's a republican right wing propaganda facilitator!

[loveO]

11:41 PM on 03/05/2012

and what is a News source. The Huffington Post???

[americannms]

01:16 AM on 03/10/2012

....and Al Sharpton is fair & balanced, with no political affiliation.

[Al91206]

01:12 AM on 03/05/2012

Sigh .. I see so many opportunities for CNN: Get rid of everyone there - Wolf, Piers, and Anderson Cooper (yes yes I know) but they are all awful.

So glad Es Schultz make it over 1M viewers!! Go Rachel Go!!

[windstorm46]

09:47 PM on 03/04/2012

OH poor FOX - their ratings have gone down. I wonder why!?!

[loveO]

11:42 PM on 03/05/2012

Yeah those other stations almost caught up to their worst show.....

[terry740]

09:14 AM on 03/06/2012

I have a theory about why Fox has so many older viewers. They like me (I'm 64) grew up watching such honest reporters like Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Morrow that it was easy for the lying liars at Fox to hook them. I've heard many stories going way back to Al Franken's old show on Sundance channel about how young liberals couldn't get their mother , father or grandparent to believe the talking heads at Fox were lying to them. As for me ,growing up as the only democrat in a racist southern family , I learned the difference between hate speech and truth at an early age.

[demisfine]

08:36 PM on 03/04/2012

Fauxcasters are the spokesmodels of the News Media.
They are not journalists, they are not reporters, they are not interviewers.
They are animationic egomaniacs who would enjoy and afternoon with a nice mirror more than an afternoon on location at a crisis.

[Michael Dobson]

05:48 AM on 03/05/2012

MSNBC and CNN have been ham-stringed from the start.

They are on cable, while Faux News is right after the National News on EVERY T.V. in the nation.

NO one needs to be subscribed to Cable to see Faux News...

[loveO]

11:42 PM on 03/05/2012

Fox NBC and CNN all have 24 hour news stations on basic cable.

[smkahoo]

09:30 AM on 03/06/2012

And MSNBC is honest reporting, right?

[demisfine]

09:56 AM on 03/06/2012

In comparison, absolutely.

[robphilnz]

05:10 PM on 03/04/2012

For those who wish to remind themselves of the bizarre case in 2003 won by Fox which entitles them to lie: http://www.relfe.com/media_can_legally_lie.html.

Briefly, in 2003 two Fox employees did research on Bovine Growth Hormone (banned by most countries) and found evidence that it was harmful to humans. Before it was broadcast, Fox let Monsanto see it. They produced their own story in complete to the findings.

Fox demanded that the journalists broadcast the Monsanto version. When they refused, they were fired.

The employees took Fox to court and won most of their claim. Fox appealed, and in an utterly unexpected turn, the court rescinded the lower court findings on the grounds that Fox is allowed to lie.

[robphilnz]

05:20 PM on 03/04/2012

Second para error:

*. . . in complete opposition . . "

[Femonanon]

04:40 PM on 03/04/2012

"TDS" :-p

[Femonanon]

04:39 PM on 03/04/2012

TDA & TCR
Vs. last summer, ratings for “The Daily Show” were up +10% among Adults 18-49, +22% among Adults 18-34, up +20% among Men 18-34 and up +15% among Men 18-24. Viewership grew +9% to

2.2 million Total Viewers (P2+)

Vs. last summer, ratings for “The Colbert Report” were up +9% among Adults 18-49, +18% among Adults 18-34, up +13% among Men 18-34 and up +12% among Men 18-24. Viewership grew +9% to

1.5 million Total Viewers (P2+)

[Femonanon]

04:19 PM on 03/04/2012

********************************************************************************************************
So, The COLBERT REPORT is #7 ?!? I love it. 1.5 million viewers late at night!! ha ha...Fox & Fiends must feel likes idgits :-)
AND The Daily Show is #2 !!!
Rock on, boys
******************************************************************************************************

[miss sandy]

03:31 PM on 03/04/2012

Rachel Maddow makes O'Reilly look and sound stupid.

[Femonanon]

04:20 PM on 03/04/2012

Sad thing is, it's not even necessary. That was happening before the good Doctor got her show. :-)

[robphilnz]

05:19 PM on 03/04/2012

O'Reilly's targeting of the lowest intellectual and educational demographic means that the only person holding him off the bottom since GlennBeckistan was lost down the plughole of life is Limbaugh.

However, with a loss of sponsors, Limbaugh is circling dangerously close to that same plughole, leaving very little buffer for O'Reilly.

If O'Reilly also loses sponsors for doubling down on Limbaugh's scurrilous defamation of a young woman, perhaps his noisy exit will come sooner, rather than later.

[north of the boarder]

09:12 PM on 03/04/2012

Can't come soon enough.

[Indialantian]

05:01 AM on 03/04/2012

The daily show is #1 with me. What's their ratings?

[trainer3]

12:19 PM on 03/04/2012

I met Larry Wilmore at a play in NYC recently. We were talking as if we were old friends, sitting there waiting for the play to begin. It was great. I took his picture (I asked). And my GF had just been telling me of a commentary (as resident Black Chief Correspondent) he had done on The Daily Show that week, about Linsanity. We walk into the play, I say, "Hey hon....look who is sitting next to us." She nearly fell over, instead she talked to him and told me later she was over the moon about it all.

He made me look GOOD. Thanks Larr.

[Femonanon]

04:21 PM on 03/04/2012

TDS is #2 overall, they just don't include the "late night" because they consider it a different category
2.5 million viewers

[somearelost]

09:17 AM on 03/05/2012

You mean like "comedy show" ?