Piers Morgan’s Ratings…

The New York Times’ Brian Stelter writes about Piers Morgan’s ratings…

Mr. Morgan had fewer total viewers in November than Mr. King had the previous November, as well, 620,000 versus 635,000. The decreases are modest, at best. “He’s basically tied” for the month, versus the same month last year, a CNN spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail message on Tuesday.

The spokeswoman noted that for the year overall, Mr. Morgan has averaged 28 percent more viewers ages 25 to 54 than Mr. King did last year, and 10 percent more total viewers.

But CNN’s other prime time program, “Anderson Cooper 360,” has posted stronger gains this year than Mr. Morgan’s interview program, which is called “Piers Morgan Tonight.”

The ratings are worth noting because Mr. King’s ratings were nearly universally recognized as unacceptably low for CNN last year, and because Mr. Morgan’s ratings are trending downward.

Off the Rails…

Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher rightfully smacks FNC for putting a so called psychic on the air to talk about a missing child case…

The whole thing would be kinda comical if not for the fact that a real missing child, and real grieving family, are involved. It’s bad enough that police departments sometimes humor these cranks, news organizations should not, especially when all they have to do is check the alleged psychic’s blog first. I’m a big Megyn Kelly fan, but she got snookered by her booker on this one.

The booker should immediately be ordered to take “Remedial Booking” classes. Or be fired…

FBN vs. Imus?

Today’s TVNewser piece on Don Imus’ FBN ratings is interesting. It’s negative of course since Imus’ ratings haven’t been so hot. But it has the characteristics of a network leak. Yes, I know…I’ve called out “leak” before and been wrong. But what makes this article special and sets off my leak alarm is the ratings period sampled…

Since May, (5/5/11 – 11/25/11) when Connell McShane took over for Charles McCord, the show has seen an -18% drop in A25-54 viewers. And despite crowing about an occasional win against “Squawk Box”, Imus has not logged a win in the 6-9am block this year, in either Total Viewers or the demo.

Why sample the ratings since when McCord left? The likelihood that TVN would go to someone and ask for FBN’s Imus ratings since the time McCord left seems rather unlikely bordering on the implausible. Ergo, it is more likely that this ratings data was leaked.

Where things get interesting is when we turn to speculating over who did the leak. The obvious candidates are CNBC and FBN. The idea that CNBC would be interested in torpedoing Imus with a ratings shot is I suppose plausible, though why would they want to go to the effort? But FBN? That’s a different story.

After what happened between Neil Cavuto and Imus where Imus yells at his viewers for not watching and then Cavuto comes on and basically tells him on the air that his show sucks and the ratings reflect it, a negative leak from FBN could be viewed as the coup de grace.

If it was indeed FBN that leaked it, I imagine it’s now open warfare time between the network and its morning host.

It’s tough luck for McShane though as he winds up getting caught in the crossfire since the ratings leak sampled the time he took over for McCord.

The TV Campaign…

The New York Times’ Jeff Zeleny writes about the 2012 campaign season and TV…

“Everything has changed,” said Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas, who traveled across Iowa as an unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate four years ago. “It’s like a town hall every day on Fox News. You hear people talking back to you what you saw yesterday on Fox. I like Fox and I’m glad we have an outlet, but it is having a major, major effect on what happens.”

The Fox News effect is amplified by other factors. Cable networks are staging more debates than ever, obliging candidates to build their fall schedules around preparing for and traveling to the slickly produced televised clashes, and putting a premium on a set of skills different from those of retail campaigning.

November Numbers: CNN…

CNN is noting its November ratings…

CNN GAINS VIEWERS IN NOVEMBER; MSNBC DOWN -23% AND FNC DECLINES -32% IN PRIMETIME

ANDERSON COOPER 360 UP +49%; ONLY SHOW TO GROW AT 8p; FNC DOWN -23%, MSNBC -36%

CNN ONLY CABLE NEWS NETWORK TO POST DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH, UP +30% IN 2011

Highlights:

CNN grows in primetime in Nov. while MSNBC and FNC experience double-digit declines, -23% and -32%, respectively.
AC 360 (8p) up +49%; FNC declines -23%, MSNBC down -36%.
CNN tops MSNBC in daytime (9a-5p).
In 2011, CNN up +30% in primetime while FNC looses -16% of its audience and MSNBC holds only 3%; beating MSNBC in total day.
Erin Burnett OutFront at 7p up vs. CNN programming a year ago.

Free for All: 11/30/11

What’s on your mind?

CNNI Drops Icon and Revealed from Schedule…

CNN Observations has the details on the two CNNI programs that have been removed from its schedule and gets reaction from the network which in my view amounts to a total non-committal about either show’s future…which in programming vernacular likely means don’t expect to see either of them ever again…

Keith Olbermann vs. Twitter: Chapter 2…

In the apparent never ending struggle between Keith Olbermann and his followers, Olbermann is once again holding Twitter at arms reach. It’s kind of murky how this all unfolded. This blog post explains what initially started the ruckus. But the resultant blowback on Twitter has caused Olbermann to issue the following tweet…

Ok, my thanks to everybody, but life is brief. TFN I won’t be replying to tweets. #ShowPlugs, photos, Baseball Nerd updates will continue.

“TFN”? Thanks for nothing? Tata for now? Huh?

Anyway, if Olbermann sticks to prior behavior he should be back to answering tweets again soon enough.

November Numbers: MSNBC…

MSNBC is noting its November ratings…

MSNBC CONTINUES TO TOP CNN IN PRIMETIME

MSNBC Out-Rates CNN in All Key Dayparts – Including Total Day and Primetime – In November

NEW YORK – November 29, 2011 – MSNBC continues to top CNN in primetime and all key dayparts, including total day and primetime, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. In November, MSNBC also out-rated CNN in the morning and every hour from 5p through midnight in both total viewers and A25-54.

Following are MSNBC ratings highlights for November:

• In November, MSNBC beat CNN in total day (M-Su 6a-6a) among total viewers (427,000 vs. 409,000) and A25-54 (139,000 vs. 122,000). November marked CNN’s lowest total day A25-54 audience since December 2010.

• MSNBC weekday primetime out-rated CNN’s primetime in both total viewers (865,000 vs. 722,000) and A25-54 (227,000 vs. 210,000). For the month, CNN delivered its lowest M-F prime A25-54 audience since April 2011.

Mandy Drury Interview Part 2…

Part 2 of TVNewser’s Media Beat interview with CNBC’s Mandy Drury has been posted….

The Race for #2…

The New York Times’ Bill Carter writes about the November ratings and the battle for 2nd. If you think you smell a leak, you’re probably right…

CNN’s re-emergence as the top ratings competitor to the Fox News Channel seems to have been short-lived.

The cable news ratings for November indicate MSNBC has come back to move ahead of CNN across the board, both in terms of total viewers and among those that the advertisers value the most.

MSNBC beat CNN in just about every way for the month. It finished second to Fox in prime time, the evening and in the morning. The channel even had a somewhat rare margin over CNN in the category of total day ratings, with an average of 426,000 viewers to 407,000 for CNN, and 138,000 viewers to 121,000 in the 25- to 54-year-old age group that news advertisers seek.

Free for All: 11/29/11

What’s on your mind?

CNNI Looks at Thailand

News on News reports that CNNI will be airing special coverage of Thailand the week of December 5th followed by a half hour special the following week…

This month CNN shines the spotlight on Thailand as its ‘Eye On’ series travels to South East Asia for a week of live coverage, special reports and analysis.

CNN correspondent Anna Coren crosses the country to explore the nation’s culture and economy as it journeys along the road to recovery from recent flooding. Bringing a mix of interviews and additional reporting from Paula Hancocks, Eye On Thailand will reveal the people and places defining the ancient kingdom and those growing its influence in Asia and beyond.

New CNNI Promotional Campaign…

CNN Observations has the details on a new CNNI promotional campaign for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East…

CNN International last week launched a new promotional poster campaign in airports across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, including: London, Frankfurt, Paris, Stockholm, Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg. The print campaign will be backed up with an online presence and promotional spots to be aired on CNN International.

The Hazards of Live TV: #25,133

Well, at least we know that the seven second delay works on Morning Joe…

How CNN Got that Herman Cain Affair Allegation Exclusive…

The Huffington Post’s Michael Calderone breaks it down…

However, the explosive allegations — scheduled to be revealed in a report airing Monday night on Atlanta TV station WAGA — didn’t come up during Cain’s first segment with anchor Wolf Blitzer. That’s because Blitzer didn’t know about them either when the two men sat down.

But during that segment, the first of three, CNN producers began to see tweets referencing the upcoming story and contacted a Cain staffer in the network’s green room, according to Washington DC bureau chief Sam Feist.

While seated during a commercial break, Blitzer then asked Cain about the Atlanta report and the candidate acknowledged that his campaign had been contacted about it and would be willing to discuss it on air.

Mandy Drury Interview

TVNewser’s Chris Ariens interviews CNBC’s Mandy Drury in part one of a three part MediaBeat series…

Anna Kooiman to FNC?

J$ got tipped is reporting that Anna Kooiman is headed from WCCB to FNC…

Free for All: 11/28/11

What’s on your mind?

New Morning Joe Ad…

MSNBC unveiled a new ad for Morning Joe. On a creativity scale of 1 to 10, I have to give this ad a 10…

Happy Thanksgiving…

May your Turkey be dry, you pumpkin pie crust fall apart, your sweet potatoes be sour, your mash potatoes be clumpy, your in-laws and parents drive you insane, your kids finish the job if your in-laws and parents fail, and the cable news nets be asleep at the switch when some big breaking news shockingly breaks in what is a normal news day for the rest of the world…

…basically your typical Thanksgiving day…

CNN Tuesday Debate Ratings…

CNN is noting its Tuesday night debate ratings…

CNN’S GOP NATIONAL SECURITY DEBATE WAS #1 LAST NIGHT

DRAWS 3.6 MILLION VIEWERS AND ONE MILLION IN KEY DEMO 25-54

AC 360 Top-Rated at 10 pm

According to Nielsen Fast National data, CNN’s GOP National Security Debate (8:00-10:00pm*), moderated by Wolf Blitzer, delivered 3.599 million total viewers and 1.041 million in the key demo 25-54 last night, Tuesday, November 22. This debate topped CNBC’s 11/09 debate (993k), CNN’s 6/13 debate (918k) and FNC’s 5/5 debate (854k) in the key demo 25-54. CNN was, by far, #1 during the 8-10pm time period last night among cable news networks.

From 8-10pm, CNN topped FNC by +93% among total viewers (3.599 million vs. 1.862 million) and +152% among 25-54 (1.041 million vs. 413k). CNN also topped MSNBC by +343% among total viewers (3.599 million vs. 812k) and by +413% among 25-54 (1.041 million vs. 203k).

Following the debate, CNN’s AC 360 ranked first in cable news at 10pm in total viewers averaging 1.427 million, FNC followed with 1.298m and MSNBC posted 723k. In the key demographic 25-54 CNN delivered 405k at 10pm, while FNC trailed with 365k and MSNBC averaged 209k.

Press Releases: 11/23/11

CNN (1)

COMMON Partners with the CNN Freedom Project for the Global Broadcast of COMMON DREAMS: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary

Grammy Award-winning artist and actor COMMON (@common) has partnered with the CNN Freedom Project to make a journey of discovery deep into the dangerous slums of Haiti where 300,000 children are forced to work in conditions the United Nations calls a ‘form of modern-day slavery.’ COMMON DREAMS: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary will broadcast globally on CNN on Sunday, November 27, at 8 p.m. (ET).

Haiti is a nation with a dramatic beginning and a disturbing secret. The world’s first black republic was created by slaves who rebelled against their masters in order to create a better future for themselves and their descendents. But 200 years later, that promise of freedom still eludes many Haitian children, who are today living in a form of abuse and exploitation known as ‘restavek.’ A French word meaning ‘to stay with,’ restavek began with the intention to educate children from rural villages. Unfortunately, many restavek children today are forced to work long hours in other people’s homes, cooking, cleaning dishes, doing laundry and fetching water. Worse yet, many of these children are not even allowed to go to school.

Free for All: 11/24/11

What’s on your mind?

Cuts Coming to CNBC?

Page Six says…

Comcast is putting the pressure on CNBC President Mark Hoffman to make cuts at the financial news network. CNBC Europe recently “didn’t meet its budget for the first time in forever,” a source said, triggering, “wide-ranging consequences.” Some remotes for CNBC in the US have been canceled. “Squawk on the Street” was slated to go on a road trip but it’s been scrapped. And correspondent Michelle Caruso Cabrera had her wings clipped because she spent too much covering the Greek crisis and has been told to travel less. A CNBC rep said, “CNBC has never been stronger or better and is tracking for a sixth consecutive year of record financial performance. You don’t become first in business worldwide by skimping on content and coverage.”

That’s extremely close to non-denial denial territory…

Al Sharpton’s New MSNBC Lean Forward Ad…

I have no idea what the Rev. is talking about nor why MSNBC thought this makes for a good ad. (video via Business Insider). Some prior MSNBC Lean Forward ads have been off the mark but not this far off the mark…

Press Releases: 11/22/11

CNN (1)

Dinner with the Kings to Air December 4th

Conan O’Brien, Tyra Banks, Russell Brand, Shaquille O’Neal and other A-listers tell all at Larry King’s dinner party

For the fourth hour-long special for CNN, Larry King and his wife Shawn hosted a dinner part with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and invited viewers in to join. The one hour special titled “Larry King Special: A Dinner with Kings” will air Sunday, December 4th at 8 and 11pm ET.

The dinner prepared by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck includes Tyra Banks, Russell Brand, Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey, Quincy Jones, Seth MacFarlane, Conan O’Brien, and Shaquille O’Neal. Join Larry and his guests as they discuss life, love, insecurities, success and failures at this dinner party like no other.

Free for All: 11/22/11

What’s on your mind?

Managing Editor Dan Colarusso Leaving Bloomberg TV…

Talking Biz News scoops that Bloomberg TV Managing Editor Dan Colarusso is leaving the network for Reuters…

New CNNI Hong Kong Ad Campaign…

CNN Observations has the details on a new CNNI ad campaign for Hong Kong…