Here’s something you don’t see every day: last night the top two cable news channels in the adults 25-54 demo in primetime were CNBC (683K) and HLN (397K). Fox News was third (382K), MSNBC fourth (195K) and CNN fifth (167K). What the heck was going on?
The answer: hockey and Jodi Arias.
CNBC had an NHL Stanley Cup playoff game between the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers, which peaked with over 2 million viewers at 9 PM, and over 1 million adults 25-54. HLN had more on the Jodi Arias trial, with the jury unable to come to a decision on her sentencing. HLN peaked before prime at 7 PM with Jane Velez-Mitchell, who drew over 2 million viewers, but still averaged more than a million viewers during the 8 and 9 PM hours. It was reaonably strong all day in the demo.
In total viewers Fox News still placed first in primetime, followed by CNBC, HLN, MSNBC and CNN. The full scoreboard, which does not include CNBC, can be viewed here.