Anderson Cooper's Ratings Plummet

Cable viewers prefer opinion-based news programming

(NEWSER) - CNN’s ratings have fallen behind those of the other major cable news networks as prime-time viewers pass over the network in favor of opinion-based news coverage. Every prime-time CNN show lost to its Fox News opponent, and in some instances the losses were even more humiliating—at 10pm, for example, Anderson Cooper 360 not only lost by a wide margin to Greta Van Susteren but was also beaten by repeats of 8pm programs hosted by Keith Olbermann and Nancy Grace. More»

Insiders pitch plans, from bringing back Crossfire to pulling an MSNBC

(NEWSER) - With CNN’s primetime viewership off 40% since last year, Michael Calderone at Politico undertakes a survey of news insiders to see what can be done for the “most trusted name in news.”

• Resurrect Crossfire: CNN could give people the outspoken MSNBC- and Fox-style opinions they appear to want, but the right vs. left format would keep the network itself neutral. "We were No. 1," says a former contributor, even with Lou Dobbs as a lead-in.

In January overall, Fox was third most watched cable channel

(NEWSER) - "Fair and balanced" might be cause for lively debate, but Fox News' status as the top dog in cable news isn't—the network scored the top 13 programs in total viewership and the key 25-54 demographic through January. Bill O’Reilly’s show tops the rankings, with Sean Hanitty and Glenn Beck behind him. In the entire cable spectrum, last month found Fox third in viewers, behind USA and ESPN, Mediabistro reports. Its competitors fell far behind: CNN's spot was 24, and MSNBC’s 29. More»

Network is prime-time ratings loser

(NEWSER) - Based on cable news ratings, CNN's "no bias" strategy seems to be backfiring. The network, which sticks to the middle in its news coverage, has had an average of 271,000 primetime viewers in April, behind both conservative Fox News (668,000) and lefty MSNBC (300,000), the New York Times reports. "All of a sudden it seems a little unfashionable to be in the middle," says one CNN correspondent. More»

Fox, MSNBC are pushing longtime rival into 3rd place

(NEWSER) - The oldest cable news network is starting to lag behind both of its main rivals in primetime, Variety reports. In the first quarter of this year, CNN saw a 23% drop in the key 25-54 demographic and a 10% drop overall from 8 to 11pm. In particular, Campbell Brown's show at 8pm (she's now on maternity leave) got socked by Bill O'Reilly on Fox and Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. Fox leads the primetime race by a mile, and MSNBC actually overtook CNN for the first time. More»