Howie Kurtz’s new show on Fox News Channel went head-to-head with his old show on CNN Sunday morning. In its debut, “MediaBuzz” won in total viewers but lost to “Reliable Sources” in the A25-54 demographic.
“MediaBuzz” was the top cable news show in the 11amET hour in total viewers, but came in third — behind CNN and HLN — in the demo. “Reliable Sources,” hosted this week by Frank Sesno, was second in total viewers and first in the A25-54 demographic.
“MediaBuzz” was down -2% in total viewers and -38% in the demo compared to the same day last year, while “Reliable Sources” was up +18% and +27%, respectively. Compared to the 11amET hour last Sunday, Fox News was down -18% in total viewers and -48% in the demo, while CNN was up +2% and down -7%, respectively.
With Kurtz as host, “Reliable Sources” averaged 464,000 total viewers for this year (ending with his last show on June 30), meaning he saw an +83% jump in his total audience with his switch to Fox News.
- Numbers for the 11amET hour Sunday:
Fox News: 852,000 viewers / 133,000 A25-54
CNN: 516,000 viewers / 164,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 271,000 viewers / 76,000 A25-54
HLN: 223,000 viewers / 145,000 A25-54