Here come the numbers.
Fox News topped CNN and MSNBC during the first day of Kennedy coverage. As the TVNewser scoreboard indicates today, Fox won the total day and primetime averages handily. We also have numbers from the initial moments of coverage. Early Wednesday morning, FNC (1:28-2amET) had 864K Total Viewers and 367K in the demo. CNN (1:21-2amET) had 565K Total and 209K in the demo. MSNBC (1:28-2amET) had 282K Total and 79K in the demo. “Fox & Friends” was also the top morning program with 989K Total (390K demo), while “American Morning” averaged 460K (210K) and “Morning Joe” averaged 465K (201K).
In addition, the Kennedy coverage delivered an increase in viewership for CNN, which saw a boost in total day and primetime averages compared to the last two weeks. Yesterday, CNN averaged 770K Total Viewers and 217K in the demo. In primetime, those averages were 1.187M Total and 321K in the demo. Last Wednesday, for example, the Total Viewer averages were 569K total day and 718K prime. The Wednesday before (Aug 12), they were 601K and 805K.
And in the midst of all the Kennedy coverage, TVbytheNumbers points out that Glenn Beck had a huge Wednesday night, pulling in 3.04M Total Viewers and besting Bill O’Reilly in the demo.