CNN in Third Place in Prime Time for First Time

[DainBramaged]

Source: NY Times online

Filed at 5:44 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- CNN is poised to finish March third in the prime-time weeknight ratings behind Fox News Channel and MSNBC, the first time this has ever happened for the channel that pioneered the cable news genre nearly three decades ago.

CNN says its overall business is healthy and it is not straying from its straight news path. But it is suffering more audience erosion than its rivals since the peak days of the presidential election, further proof that the opinionated prime-time shows on Fox and MSNBC have greater audience loyalty.

CNN's weekday prime-time ratings are relatively flat compared to last year during the primary campaign, up 1 percent from March 2008, according to Nielsen Media Research. Fox's ratings have jumped 30 percent and MSNBC, the new No. 2, is up 24 percent. The biggest growth in cable news is for CNN's partner, Headline News, which is up 62 percent.

Fox remains on a mountain above its two closest competitors, with its prime-time audience in March more than that of MSNBC and CNN combined. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' has done particularly well, keeping more of its postelection audience than anything else on CNN and MSNBC.

Through Wednesday, Fox was averaging 2.73 million prime-time viewers in March. MSNBC had 1.16 million and CNN had 1.14 million. The March ratings period ends Friday, and it's doubtful CNN will be able to overcome MSNBC.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/03/27/arts/AP-TV-CNN-in-Third.html?_r=1

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. "....it is not straying from its straight news path."

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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[Joe Bacon]

44. Gee, who "straightens out" the news for CNN?

:shrug:

[old mark]

2. HLN and MSNBC are the only national news that I watch.

I watch HLN when Joe the morning moran is on and I watch MSNBC most of the rest of the time.
I never watch the regular CNN, and the only thing watchable on Fox is football.

mark

[SoxFan]

40. HLN has become unwatchable

I remember the old days when it was 24 hours of hard news. Now it's the Dead Blonde Channel.

[stopbush]

3. The scary number is how many viewers Fox gets.

Almost twice MSNBC.

[DainBramaged]

7. In the big picture, not many

SpongeBob gets over 4,000,000 viewers 6 times a week. NCIS re-runs get over 3,000,000 viewers 5 times a week. FAUX has a marginal audience, just like their political party.

[stopbush]

10. True, and all conservatives tend to watch Faux, while libs divide

their attentions between MSNBC & CNN.

[totodeinhere]

35. This liberal does not watch CNN. They are Fox News lite. n/t

[mvd]

38. Agree. In fact, I will avoid all the mainstream national news channels

Until they actually stop being FAUX-lite.

[fujiyama]

14. I think many of us get our news from non-TV sources

I use a variety of internet websites for news. For the last six months I didn't even have a TV. I really never missed it.

Cable is way too expensive IMO and there is little worth watching (though some specials on the Science, Nature, Nation-Geographic channels are kind of cool). The few network shows I watch, I catch online. I'm with family at the moment and we watch mainly reruns of sitcoms and they like to watch American Idol and Hindi-Language soaps during prime time.

Very little cable-news especially during prime time. I like it this way myself though I'll admit I like to see Keith and Rachel once in a while. I'm glad MSNBC is creating some niche for liberals.

[eagertolearn]

19. When we watch Rachel and Keith on-line does that count torwards their rating?

I think most of us who are involved and doing other things like to watch them on the internet when we have time (multi-taskers).

[marshall]

29. And the rest get their news from comedy shows

Saturday Night Live, John Stewart, Colbert, Mad TV, etc.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

17. Of course the CableCo's have a lot to do with it...

I think FuxNoise is on most if not all basic channel line up's. Our cable service doesn't offer MSNBC. It's not even available on the Digital Packages.

[SoxFan]

39. Same here

MSNBC got kicked to a premium tier (which fewer people are buying) while Fox, CNN, and the Dead Blonde Channel remain on basic.

[bosbdd2009]

28. Think About This..............

O'Reilly gets 3 to 4 million viewers a night, that's 1% of the population. Which means 297 million Americans are not watching him, he may be #1 on cable, but that's not very impressive when 99% of the people are not watching your show.

And all his viewers are right-wing nuts who agree with him so he is just preaching to the choir, and it will have no effect on the elections or anything. He's just a right-wing blowhard with the #1 cable news show, who gets 3 million right-wing idiots to watch his garbage.

[depakid]

4. The only difference between Fox and American CNN is that Fox is more outrageous and tabloid like

The agenda and the propaganda coming out of the two often including outright false statements of fact) is the same.

Sort of like the decision people make between Republican lite on the one side- and the real deal in all its "glory" on the other. Republican lite tends to lose.

[Thrill]

5. Not a surprise. Campbell Brown will drive many away from that network

Shes awful.

[PatSeg]

9. And Wolf Blitzer!

Actually most of their so-call journalists are painful to watch.

[Thrill]

15. If I didn't want to see Kyra Phillips everyday. I would never turn to CNN

[PatSeg]

21. I gave up on CNN some time ago

Jack Cafferty was the only one left that I could stomach, but sitting through Wolf Blitzer just wasn't worth it.

Maybe we could get MSNBC to lure Phillips away from CNN for you. She could replace that ditz Contessa Brewer.

[theophilus]

25. What is positive about her? I can't "stomach" her smugness since

her "if you can stomack it" remark directed at a Blitzer/Michael Moore interview. I will not watch any segment she appears on.

[Thrill]

26. Nothing really. I just think shes hot. Nothing more

[Joey Liberal]

33. I thinks she's hot too. n/t

[JayMusgrove]

43. I never saw a bigger news marchmallow than Wolf... he's so freakin

clueless.

[provis99]

6. can anyone name a CNN anchor who is not Republican?

John King, Campbell Brown, Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Ali Velshi, Jack Cafferty, pollster Bill Schneider, they're all Republicans!

[eagertolearn]

20. Wolf, Jack and Anderson are not that bad but i can't stand Lou Dobbs

Listening to him is like listening to someone scratch their nails on a chalk board!:puke:

[lob1]

22. I think Cafferty is a dem.

[tomm2thumbs]

8. they are splitting the baby that is the last remaining Far Right viewers... after

splitting them with Fox - so half of low ratings is very-low-ratings.

CNN isn't even watchable on the web any more. I don't think I've been there in weeks. Cheney sure has a good effect on 'em. They host him, and everyone else uses the footage and doesn't get the traitor reputation. Perfect fit.

[NeoConsSuck]

11. I get my news from DU

the boob tube is mostly used for Seinfeld re-runs, and nature shows.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

18. Hee hee....you said boob

be careful not to get this locked :silly:






BTW: I also get my news here.

[Joey Liberal]

12. CNN is dead to me n/t

[ohio2007]

31. CNN has turned into an entertainment and comedy routine show channel

no wonder. the ratings fail to attract revenue.

[AzDar]

13. Suck on THAT , Ed Henry.

:thumbsup:

[Thrill]

16. If they were smart they would put Rick Sanchez in Campbell Brown's spot

[Tarheel_Dem]

23. But then he'd be head-to-head with Keith. Not a good move. I wonder

if it would make a difference if MSNBC was offered on basic cable? Or better yet, they could switch places with CNN on the dial.

[llmart]

24. First of all......

a lot of my Dem friends don't even watch prime time news on TV any longer. We are all readers and get our news online. Repukes I know don't read much because that may require having a mind of their own, so they just follow the Repuke crowd and watch FAUX.

[Dulcinea]

27. I'm not surprised.

CNN used to be a really good news source when Ted Turner was still in charge. CNN covered a lot of stories no one else did. When Time Warner took over, they stopped spending money on the field coverage the network was known for, & spent it on talking heads like Paula Zahn (remember her?), Connie Chung (remember her?), Anderson Cooper, & Campbell Brown. None of them, except for maybe Cooper, has anywhere near the audience loyalty that Olbermann or O'Really has.

CNN has made its own bed & now has to lie in it. You get what you pay for when it comes to news coverage. And they don't want to pay.

[ohio2007]

30. After congress bails out the print media, CNN can ask for a handout. nt

[Summermoondancer]

32. It is time for them to dump the racist Lou Dobbs he hurts their ratings.

[Joey Liberal]

34. Lou belongs on Faux News n/t

[totodeinhere]

36. Actually, his ratings are no worse than Larry King or Blitzer and better than Brown. n/t

[Summermoondancer]

37. That tells you the sad state that America is in when they start

believing that dribble that he spouts.

[goforit]

41. Oberman is toooo obsessive of ORielly therefore increasing ORielly's ratings.

ORielly is a Freak show and the dumb ass Americans are mezmerized by freaks.

[AndrewP]

42. They are all one big cluster-fuck

[RFKHumphreyObama]

45. You know it is funny

During the late 80s and early 1990s -when the station was owned by Ted Turner -I used to consider CNN my no.1 source (along with the BBC for news and analysis). I was a young kid interested in politics and current events then and I would switch CNN on as often as possible

These days I barely even give the network a second glance. It only rates slightly higher than FAUX in my book

[TEXASYANKEE]

46. Lou Dobbs is painful to watch.

I used to really enjoy his show, up until a year or so ago. And then he went from Mr. Independent to Mr. I Hate Obama! He is pessimistic, argumentative, combative, and just downright angry. His show is completely unwatchable nowadays. They need to send him to Faux and bring in Kitty Pilgram fulltime.

[Crabby Appleton]

47. I watch CNN International from Hong Kong in the evening

I won't watch US CNN - too many flaming assholes on it.

[Dulcinea]

48. I'd watch CNNI if I could get it.

CNN US is BORING--too many talking heads & not enough real news.