As Congress passed a last ditch bill to avert default and end the government shutdown, millions of people turned to cable news. President Obama spoke during the 8 PM hour, and the successful House voted occurred during the 10 PM hour.
Coverage on Fox News and CNN peaked during the 8 PM hour, while MSNBC’s coverage peaked at 9 and 10 PM. Fox News led the way in total and demo viewers every hour in primetime, with CNN second in the demo at 8 and 11 PM, and MSNBC second at 9 and 10 PM.
8 PM:
FNC: 2.64M total viewers, 530,000 A25-54.
CNN: 1.59M total viewers, 466,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 1.20M total viewers, 275,000 A25-54.
9 PM:
FNC: 2.04M total viewers, 483,000 A25-54.
MSNBC: 1.44M total viewers, 366,000 A25-54
CNN: 1.14M total viewers, 302,000 A25-54
10 PM:
FNC: 1.94M total viewers, 455,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 1.44M total viewers, 373,000 A25-54
CNN: 1.09M total viewers, 356,000 A25-54
11PM:
FNC: 1.53M total viewers, 446,000 A25-54
CNN: 796,000 total viewers, 275,000 A25-54
MSNBC: 788,000 total viewers, 231,000 A25-54