Press Releases – 4/29/08

MSNBC:

MSNBC’s ratings momentum continued in April, as the network finished the month as the only cable news net to show a viewership increase over last year (342,000 vs. 333,000, M-Su Total Day). MSNBC also showed the most growth in weekday primetime, up 9% in the key Adults 25-54 demo (253,000 vs. 232,000), while CNN dropped 9% and Fox News Channel plunged 14%. Other network highlights for April:

· MSNBC enjoyed significant growth in M-Su primetime, up 13% among A25-54 (234,000 vs. 207,000) and up 17% in total viewers (597,000 vs. 512,000).

· “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” (8-9 p.m. ET) continues to dominate CNN, beating Campbell Brown’s “CNN Election Center” by 69% in A25-54 (354,000 vs. 210,000) and by 37% in total viewers (978,000 vs. 716,000). “Countdown” out-rated “Election Center” every night they faced each other in April. “Countdown” grew 21% in the demo compared to last April (354,000 vs. 292,000), while CNN dropped a huge -23% (210,000 vs. 273,000) and FNC fell -12% (453,000 vs. 517,000).

· “Race for the White House with David Gregory” (6-7 p.m. ET) showed big increases for the month, up a solid 46% in total viewers versus last April (461,000 vs. 315,000) and up 15% among A25-54 (136,000 vs. 118,000) while both CNN and FNC saw double-digit demo drops.

· “Hardball with Chris Matthews” (5-6 p.m. ET) grew 13% among total viewers (530,000 vs. 470,000) and was essentially flat in A25-54 (153,000 vs. 154,000) while CNN fell -20% in A25-54 and -16% in total viewers and FNC dropped a big -28% in A25-54 and -11% in total viewers.

· “Verdict with Dan Abrams” (9-10 p.m. ET) grew 8% in total viewers versus last April (580,000 vs. 538,000).

· The 10 p.m. ET repeat of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” increased 29% in total viewers versus last April’s “doc block” (510,000 vs. 396,000) and grew 10% in A25-54 (203,000 vs. 185,000), while both CNN and FNC declined in the demo.