Earlier this month, we speculated that the Time Warner Cable blackout of CBS could have potentially negative side effects for CBS News. Given the growth “CBS This Morning” has seen this year, it seemed that if any program were to be affected negatively, it would be “CTM.”
Well, with the first full week of post-blackout ratings in, it appears that “CTM” managed to avoid most of the negative consequences from the blackout. “CTM” was up year over year in total viewers with percentages comparable to what it has seen in recent weeks. It is worth noting that this week last year was the Olympics, and “Today” saw very high ratings as a result. Compared to the week before the blackout, “CTM” was down slightly, but so was “Today,” so it is hard to pin down how much effect the blackout had there. In the two largest markets affected by the blackout, “CTM” was up in Los Angeles week to week, and down in New York.
If Time Warner Cable customers did have to find another program, it was most likely ABC’s “Good Morning America,” which was up year over year and week to week. Fox News Channel’s ‘Fox & Friends” also saw growth (+6% in total viewers and +9% in the demo), as did CNN’s “New Day,” (+1% in total viewers and +7% in the demo) which we noted is more or less modeled on “CTM.” It is possible those shows gained some viewers as a result of the blackout too.
CBS’s Sunday morning public affairs show “Face the Nation” also saw a slight decline in viewers week to week, although many of its competitors also saw declines.