Free Republic

The biggest interview on television last week, with the Senate candidate Rand Paul, happened at 9 p.m. But regrettably for CNN’s Larry King, who used to rule that time slot by wooing newsmakers, the interview was booked by his higher-rated competitor, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. Next week will be Mr. King’s 25th year on CNN, but these are hard days for the host, and not just because he is being beaten in ratings and bookings. Although still the linchpin of CNN’s lineup, he has come to embody an enormous problem facing the cable news channel. How can he and CNN compete...

Fox News had more total viewers and adults 25-54 than CNN, MSNBC and HLN combined during Tuesday’s primary election coverage. P2+ Prime Time FNC – 2,367,000 viewers CNN – 614,000 viewers MSNBC –997,000 viewers CNBC – 202,000 viewers HLN –420,000 viewers

Glenn Beck has been in denial about his ratings slide for weeks now. First, he claimed that there is no ratings decline for his Fox News show, and then he claimed that the weather was to blame for his 33% drop in viewership. However by attracting only 1.7 million viewers on Friday, Beck hit a new all time low which is now 50% off of his peak audience of 3.4 million.

There's no question Fox News is killing its competition in the ratings. And the reason is quite simple according to Rupert Murdoch, the CEO of News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA), the parent company of Fox News. On Fox News Channel's May 4 "Your World with Neil Cavuto," Murdoch credited the success of Fox News to the void it fills as people are concerned about the political direction of the nation. He explained with that, his network draws viewers since other networks lean liberal, which is the dominant view of those in power in Washington, D.C. "Well, I think as Fox News...

Glenn Beck's Ratings Collapse Gillian Reagan Apr. 29, 2010, 4:15 PM Is Glenn losing his edge? Maybe not. Fox News' Glenn Beck might be a one-man $32 million media empire (books, radio shows, tours and more!) but what's going on with his marquee Fox News show? The Los Angeles Times' Joe Flint reports that News Corp.-owned Fox News cable news ratings are still high above the competition. But Glenn Beck's total number of viewers are down by almost 30%, from 2.9 million in January to 2.1 million in April. Glenn might not be the rising ratings juggernaut month to month,...

In news that’s sure to make liberals’ heads explode, Fox News has now sat atop the cable-news ratings for one hundred consecutive months. FNC also secured nine out of the top 10 programs in cable news for April in total viewers.

Last week, Nielsen reported that CNN had lost roughly half its prime-time viewers in the first quarter of 2010 compared with a year earlier... Meanwhile, Fox News’s “talk radio” on TV propelled it to second place among all cable networks in the same time period. In 2009, led by the twin riders of the apocalypse Glenn Beck (up 50 percent year over year) and his comparatively more fact-based coeval Bill O’Reilly (up a mere 28 percent, but still boasting an audience nearly five times that of Larry King’s), Fox had its best year ever.

Fox News Channel was the clear favorite in cable news during the February ratings period. In prime time, Fox News averaged 2.2 million viewers. It outpaced MSNBC with 935,000, CNBC with 637,000, HLN with 495,000 and CNN with 534,000. In the 25-to-54 age group, Fox News averaged 531,000 viewers. Fox News outpaced MSNBC with 350,000, CNBC with 312,000, HLN with 162,000 and CNN with 147,000. The five most-watched cable news programs were all on Fox News: “The O’Reilly Factor” with 3.6 million, “Glenn Beck” with 2.8 million, “Special Report With Bret Baier” with 2.5 million, “Hannity” with 2.5 million and...

MSNBC’s David Shuster became a fan of Fox News’ late-night comedy/news hybrid Red Eye just in time for its three-year anniversary. And it’s coming at a time when the 3amET show is seeing big ratings in the A25-54 demographic – even topping CNN prime time last week. Just like when we highlighted the show’s ratings in September 2009 (which the FNC advertising department enjoyed as well, taking out full-page ads in the New York Post and others), the ratings for last week show Red Eye beating CNN again. This time, the show had better ratings in the A25-54 demographic than...

MSNBC’s David Shuster became a fan of Fox News’ late-night comedy/news hybrid Red Eye just in time for its three-year anniversary. And it’s coming at a time when the 3am ET show is seeing big ratings in the A25-54 demographic – even topping CNN prime time last week. Just like when we highlighted the show’s ratings in September 2009 (which the FNC advertising department enjoyed as well, taking out full-page ads in the New York Post and others), the ratings for last week show Red Eye beating CNN again. This time, the show had better ratings in the A25-54 demographic...

Ordinarily, one wouldn't take much notice of a gallon jug losing only a drop or two of water a day. But if you came back a year later and saw it half-empty, that would get your attention. Such is the case with the steep ratings declines at CNN and MSNBC. A year ago, they already trailed Fox News badly -- so badly that Fox's audience in a given hour of prime time was sometimes greater than CNN, MSNBC, and Headline News (HLN) combined. Revise "sometimes" to "virtually always." A comparison of Media Bistro's scoreboard for Thursday, February 4, 2010 to...

Cable news ratings, January 18, 2010: Check out the highlights, and see the full ratings below: • Bill O’Reilly had the top show Monday night, again, in total viewers and the A25-54 demographic. But his total viewer average reached more than 4.3 million, which put his 8pmET FNC show more than one million total viewers ahead of 2nd place, Sean Hannity’s 9pmET show.

Americans do not trust the major tv news operations in the country- except for Fox News. Our newest survey looking at perceptions of ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News finds Fox as the only one that more people say they trust than distrust. 49% say they trust it to 37% who do not. CNN does next best at a 39/41 spread, followed by NBC at 35/44, CBS at 32/46, and ABC at 31/46. Predictably there is a lot of political polarization in which outlets people trust. 74% of Republicans trust Fox News, but no more than...

Fox News was the top cable network in primetime last week, averaging the most total viewers between January 18th-24th. The last time FNC topped USA and came in first was during the week of the 2008 presidential election. In a week dominated by coverage of the earthquake in Haiti and the U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, FNC drew an average of 3.2 million total viewers in primetime (Mon-Sun). Fox was ranked 3rd in total day. CNN was 22nd in primetime and 19th in total day, and MSNBC was 25th in primetime and 31st in total day. Here's are the primetime...

All Cable But Fox News Cuts Brown Victory Speech in Favor of Coakley!When they say Fox News is fair and balanced they can prove it. Here is a comparison from Johnny Dollar showing the amount of time the cable news networks devoted to covering the Coakely concession speech and the Brown victory speech in last Tuesday's Massachusetts special election: You would think that considering Brown's amazing win, that his speech would be the greater story. But apparently the news directors at MSNBC and CNN thought that giving the loser more time was newsworthy. Read more at floppingaces.net ...

FOXNEWS HANNITY 6,809,000 FOXNEWS GRETA 6,399,000 FOXNEWS O'REILLY 5,228,000 FOXNEWS BECK 3,446,000 FOXNEWS BAIER 3,338,000 FOXNEWS SHEP 3,241,000 CNN KING 1,681,000 CNN COOPER 1,508,000 CNN BROWN 1,308,000 MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,274,000 MSNBC MADDOW 1,236,000 CNN BLITZER 1,135,000 CNNHN BEHAR 845,000MSNBC HARDBALL 798,000

I just turned on my TV, and went directly to DIRECTV's "News & Information Channels". Right between FOX Business (Dave Ramsey) and FOX News (O'Reilly) is a click on for "The Australian Open Experience" (DIRECTV's channel mix). DIRECTV always places these next to HIGH TRAFFIC SITES. DIRECTV is acknowledging FOX is #1.

Sarah Palin was a smart hire for Fox News Channel, judging by the ratings for her debut on "The O'Reilly Factor" on Tuesday. The former Alaska governor's first appearance as an analyst drew 3.954 million viewers -- more than everything else on other cable new shows combined in the 8 p.m. hour.

While mainstream media members continue to belittle her at every opportunity, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin attracted huge audiences in her first two official appearances as a Fox News Channel contributor. Debuting on Tuesday's "O'Reilly Factor," the former vice presidential candidate drew almost 4 million viewers more than doubling the combined total of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and CNN's Campbell Brown. The following evening on "Glenn Beck," Palin attracted over 3 million -- at 5PM! Regardless of what her detractors say, Palin was a smash hit (complete numbers below the fold courtesy TVBytheNumbers.com, Tuesday first): 8PM – P2+ (25-54) (35-64) The...

Love 'em or loathe 'em, and there seems to be little in between, 2009 was a remarkable year for Fox News Channel. Despite being ensnared in seemingly weekly controversies involving accusations that its coverage of the Obama administration was laced with right-wing political bias, the year-end numbers are in, and they show Fox News establishing dominance over rivals CNN and MSNBC. In short, 2009 was the best year in the network's 13-year history. According to Nielsen, the ten-most-watched cable news shows in 2009 were all Fox News programs. With conservative-leaning opinion shows like "The O'Reilly Factor," "Hannity," and "Glenn Beck"...