OK, that's not really news; FNC has been beating CNN for more than five years now. But it's still fun to pause over the numbers.
And here's something I just noticed: CNN can’t get up to FNC’s household ratings until dinnertime. Typically, ratings rise during the day, peaking, of course, during prime time. But the audiences at CNN--such as they are--seem to be late risers.
Take Monday’s ratings, for example.
During FNC’s pre-morning show, "FOX & Friends First," at six a.m., FNC got a .6 It took CNN a full 11 hours, at 5 p.m., to match that--with "The Situation Room."
To put it more simply, Fox beats CNN all day. There's the headline, all ciphering about "dayparts" aside.
So is there any good news for CNN? Only this: MSNBC does even worse, rising above .6 only once during the entire day--one little spike to .8. Otherwise, MSNBC was always at .5 or below. It's amazing how much buzz "MSDNC" gets relative to its weak ratings.
So what's the explanation? I suspect that MSNBC is sort of a vanity operation for NBC and parent GE. OK, it doesn't get ratings, but it is a TV network, and it's fun to have those around, as long as you can use other people's money.
What is amazing, however, is that GE shareholders would be so tolerant of an under-performing division. First they humored Bob Wright, now they humor Jeff Zucker and Jeff Immelt. Will it go on forever? Apparently, unless, say, Nelson Peltz gets into The Cable Game.
