My vacation is over and the O’Reilly vs. Olbermann charts return. The short term chart above is a bit spotty with data since for this comparison I don’t chart special shows that are titled something other than “The O’Reilly Factor” or “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” and recently there have been lots of specials.
Long Term Trend of O’Reilly vs. Olbermann TV Ratings:
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Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2008 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
I read somewhere the Obermann is behind MSNBC surge in popularity. I tried to figure out what that means…This long range chart to last November doesn't seem to show him gaining much..if any..at all. Was MSNBC that far down before Obermann show began?…..
Joe, we only started the site last fall and my detailed knowledge only goes back that far, but my understanding was that MSNBC was way behind its current position before they made many changes, among them getting Olbermann.
Which is utterly amazing considering what a terrible commentator he is. MSNBC hired a real winner in Keith Olbermann. Yup.
So I'm clear, in the second chart it appears that about 2 million daily viewers of either of these programs each day fall outside the 25-54 demographic. Are they predominantly over 54?
Thanks
Franz, about 80% of O'Reilly viewers are over 54 (2 million of 2.5 million). That is fairly typical of TV news viewers.
About 60% of Olbermann viewers are over 54 (700k of 1.1 million). That is a low % for TV news.
And it's the 25-54 demo that makes the money for the networks.
Welcome back from vacation, Bill. Robert did a great job in your absence.
Seems as though things haven't changed much over the last year. It is my belief that Olbermann has leveled off. Even though he's their main guy, many are reporting that behind the scenes he is causing a great deal of distress for the network. It is being reported that his dictatorial methods are beginning to wear out his welcome.
My guess that Olbermann's rise was significantly tied to the high level of interest in the Democratic nomination race. I think he can maintain his current level through the election, but if Obama wins I think he's going to have trouble finding the level of targets he has over the recent past.
I think his level of ratings success can allow him to a pretty wide latitude within (and outside) MSNBC, but if that success falls off the long knives may come out quickly.
Ratings or no ratings, there comes a time when a network cuts it's losses. AKA Rosie and ABC. I believe Keith is about to melt down.
Both are egotists, but Olbermann seems mean and hateful, Oreilly just seems lost.
A sad sign of our times when these two rule the media.
I like Keith’s show a lot and couldn’t disagree more that he is more hateful than his Fox News “peers”. O’Reilly is way more of a jerk and Sean Hannity is off the charts.
In general, it seems to me that the few “liberal” news shows out there, bias as they may be, have moments where they are decent to outright gracious to figures on the right. I have never seen that returned from Bill and Sean, not once.
MSNBC has a few “liberal to left leaning” shows. But they have “conservative to right leaning” voices as well. The “liberal” shows don’t really claim to be anything else whereas Fox constantly has that fraudulent “Fair and Balanced” tag on the screen.
I’ve heard that MSNBC is at a disdvantage in the sense that it allegedly isn’t offered as a first tier shown in cable and satellite packages. In other words, you have to get the expanded packages with more channels to get it at all in many areas. Not sure how true that is or how big of an effect it has on the ratings but here’s one guy that hopes that blue line keeps going up and that red line keeps going down.
I laugh alot when I watch Keith at MSNBC. It is painful to watch him squirm whem his guy is not doing well. IT is clear to me that most everybody at MSNBC are radically left wingers and that is why their station is imploding and callapsing right before their eyes. It is great to watch!
Just keep on watching. Tell your friends to watch too. Tell them to tell their friends to watch as well. Keep it up. You’re doing great!!!
I dont consider myself a liberal or a conservative. Ive watched both of these guys more than a few times and conclude the following: Olbermann (and the rest of MSNBC) are at best entertainment. He should have a disclaimer on every show that spells out the fact that this is an OPINION piece. NOT hard news. And whoever is in charge of his meds needs to up the dosage as he is barely in control of himself. Also, he comes across as full of himself. Example-he signs off every night like hes Edward R Murrow. Ed must be spinning in his grave. O Reilly is pompas and self important although between the two, Bill O is much more credible and watchable. And the fact that Olbermann feels he must constantly attack O Reilly on air shows a level of deperation on his part.
Jim M, I consider you a liberal or a conservative. Guess which one.