Comments on: Cable News Ratings for Monday, August 18

By: LISA

LISA — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:41:49 +0000

FOX SHOWS HAVE BOTH SIDES REPRESENTED. HANNITY IS VERY RIGHT WING, WHICH IS WHY HE HAS A PARTNER THAT REPRESENTS THE OTHER SIDE, UNLIKE COUNTDOWN AND THOSE SHOWS THAT ONLY HAVE ONE VIEW. THAT IS WHY FOX IS FAIR AND BALANCED AND HAS THE RATINGS TO PROVE IT.

By: Christina

Christina — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:40:23 +0000

Keith is alot of fun to watch. I enjoyed Maddow as Keith’s guest but not so sure if I will watch her show as regularly as I watch Keith. I agree that MSNBC tends to lean to the left, but, they are honest in their reporting. Fox, however, blantantly lies. I was shocked when Hannity stated on his show that he is a McCain surrogate. With that announcement how can he still claim fair and objective reporting?

By: Old Ewok

Old Ewok — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:53:16 +0000

I stop watching Olberman because the guy seems so desperate and spends too much time cutting down others…he is a looney tune….Maddow will only draw a small amount of viewers,…people will get tired of the same old rants from both of them…MSNBC may not last very long.

By: Meri

Meri — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:16:26 +0000

Keith Olberman and MSNBC is no different from Fox. Fox is the most biased news show that I have ever seen and I will not watch it any more. One thing Fox is not – Fair or Balanced.

By: pockafella

pockafella — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:52:14 +0000

there is no debate on Olbermann, just bashing conservative views, and having everyone on who agrees with him– bottom line they won't ever get higher ratings then FNC, even by adding Maddow who is just another Olbermann who won't even acknowledge a viewpoint besides liberal. Get some real debates instead of thrills up your leg and you will get real ratings and a real news show. period.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:17:13 +0000

Moderate: Agree…If your looking for debate MSNBC especially Obermann is not the place to go…

By: Moderate

Moderate — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:01:25 +0000

MSNBC has the 23% on the far left (extremists). They need to reach out to the moderates rather than trying to solidify the small audience they have now.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:26:09 +0000

Kieth Oberman the only thing worth watching on MSNBC??
Understand now why
1. Why they have such low rating and
2. Why I don't turn to MSNBC

I guess its good for people who want one point of view, that all Oberman has...

By: StephenMartin

StephenMartin — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:56:37 +0000

I do not believe she will be able to maintain the viewers. When she sits in for KO, her viewer ship usually slides downhill as the week goes by doesn't it?

By: Repack Rider

Repack Rider — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:11:26 +0000

Keith Olbermann is the only thing worth watching on MSNBC. Now I won't have to change the channel after he's done. Maddow will definitely fuel higher ratings; everyone loves her, and no one cares about Abrams.

By: Chris Merrill

Chris Merrill — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:04:36 +0000

I agree with different points of the above posts.
First, Anonymous. Rachel after Keith should hold more viewers than Dan currently does, she has had massive exposure on countdown and unless she screws it up big time, my guess is she holds at least 75% of the viewers. Still an improvement over Abrams, who got about 50%. BUT I only think this will happen IF (and this is a big IF) Olbermann finds better #1 stories. Unless he is doing a special comment, I normally turn it off after 'worsts'.
Seidman – Yes, left-leaning pundits do not draw as large an audience as right-leaning pundits, but it still draws viewers. Olbermann can normally draw about a million a night. I think anything that matches Olbermann's style better than Abrams in the 9 slot would help. Look at what happens to FNC when their lawyer show comes on at 10.
As for the 'election coverage' pushes everyone up. That's true. Its happened before. Its also true that right-wing pundit's ratings rise and fall based on the occupant of the White House. When 'their guy' is in power, viewers and listeners go up. Air America didn't exist 8 years ago, neither did MSNBC's current prime-time lineup. Who's to say that left-leaning views don't respond the same way?

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:21:33 +0000

The_Anonymous: I only have a couple of data points, but my general assumption is this: left-leaning doesn't equal TV audience. This isn't to say there aren't as many left-leaning people as right-leaning people, but the data seems to indicate they're not nearly as interested in *watching* discussions about it on television or listening to it on radio as their right-leaning cousins.

If that assumption is correct, it doesn't really matter what you do from a programming point of view.

the election coverage will push up everyone, and MSNBC too, but if Saddleback is any indication, it will push up FNC and CNN more, so things would still basically be in the same general pecking order.

By: THE_Anonymous

THE_Anonymous — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:11:23 +0000

I'm not sure, but I think MSNBC will find some success with Rachel in the 9pm slot vs. Abrams. KO's and RM's viewership is pretty much the same (generally left-leaning), and KO's viewers seem to love Rachel (when she subs for KO, the ratings hold up remarkably well). Abrams fumbled a LOT of Olbermann's generous lead-in — don't see that happening with Rachel's new show. That, coupled with the increased interest in cable news with the upcoming election should bode very well for MSNBC. Wouldn't be surprised to see them #2 starting mid-September.