Cable ratings: In 2005, Fox News was still #1 and CNN was still #2 while MSNBC and Headline News battled for #3. Some of the more interesting ratings skirmishes happened along the sidelines, as this totally unscientific sample of ratings posts shows. For even more ratings goodness, click on the ratings section of TVNewser.
> Dec. 29: Greta is the #1 woman on cable news
> Dec. 28: CNN’s defunct NewsNight is the network’s #2 program of 2005
> Dec. 28: Several FNC programs post losses in the 25-54 demo, while several CNN programs post gains
> Dec. 28: MSNBC barely beats HLN for the year
> Dec. 15: Rick Kaplan says MSNBC is steadily growing its share of the demo audience
> Nov. 30: FNC is #1 by far, but many of the network’s viewers are older
> Nov. 22: MSNBC #1 in the demo in weekend prime
> Nov. 14: The ratings aren’t great for Cooper’s 10pm premiere week; 360 was more popular at 7pm
> Nov. 8: MSNBC occasionally beats CNN at 7 and 8pm in the demo
> Sept. 30: 123 of Donny Deutsch’s 168 Big Ideas have scratched; Later, its “slow and steady ratings rise”
> Sept. 27: A busy news cycle boosts all the cable nets in Q3
> Sept. 27: MSNBC takes third place back from HLN
> Sept. 13: Bill O’Reilly’s 200th consecutive week as the king of cable news
> Sept. 7: For the week of Katrina, FNC has 34 of the top 40 hours on all of cable
> Sept. 1: New record: FNC draws 4.9 million primetime viewers on the Wednesday of Katrina
> Aug. 31: Viewers flock to cable. On the Tuesday of Katrina, FNC averages 4.2 million viewers in primetime, while CNN had 3.7 million and MSNBC had 1.5
> Aug. 30: On the Monday of Katrina, FNC averages 2,815,000 in total day. CNN averages 1,837,000 and MSNBC has 679,000
> Aug. 30: On the Sunday before Katrina, FNC averages 2,341,000 total day viewers. In primetime, FNC averages 4,073,000, CNN averages 2,279,000, and MSNBC averages 1,021,000
> Aug. 9: Rita Cosby’s premiere night is MSNBC’s #1 program
> Aug. 3: The busy month of July is a “ratings bounty”
> July 27: Greta’s highest #’s of the year: 2,997,000 viewers at 10pm
> July 20: Viewers flock to Fox for SCOTUS nominee news
> July 12: CNN is competitive, especially in the 25-54 demo, during hurricane coverage
> July 1: TVNewser’s signature Scoreboard of daily ratings premieres
> June 27: Again thanks to Natalee, Greta tops The Factor three nights in a row
> June 22: Greta Van Susteren averages 2 million viewers a day thanks to Natalee Holloway
> June 14: As Jacko’s verdict was read, FNC averaged almost 5 million viewers and CNN had nearly 3.5 mil
> June 9: Countdown is MSNBC’s #1 program
> Apr. 26: FNC’s primetime 25-54 demographic ratings decline six months in a row
> Apr. 26: Nancy Grace beats every program on MSNBC in April
> Apr. 11: FNC gains the least and CNN gains the most during Pope coverage; Also, funeral ratings
> Mar. 29: “CNN Headline News has supplanted MSNBC as the third-place cable news channel.”
> Mar. 26: Nancy Grace is HLN’s highest-rated show ever
> Feb. 25: One FNC equals two CNNs; One CNN equals two MSNBCs
> Feb. 24: Nancy Grace is the top draw for the premiere night of Headline Prime
> Feb. 10: Comparing the ratings of CNN and FNC’s biz shows
> Feb. 8: FNC’s State of the Union coverage is the top-rated program on all of cable
> Feb. 1: Squawk Box’s ratings have been declining steadily for several months
> Jan. 20: FNC’s the big winner for Inauguration coverage
> Jan. 12: “MSNBC is clearly in CNN’s rearview mirror on primetime demos”
> Jan. 7: CNN up, MSNBC down post-tsunami
> Jan. 4: Thanks to tsunami coverage, CNN beats FNC all day in the demo on New Years Day
2005: Charts, Demos, Gaps, Oh My
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