A slow start and a strong finish fueled by the Casey Anthony trial led to substantial total viewership gains for HLN compared to the same period in 2010. Demo viewers were essentially flat in total day but up slightly in primetime.
Here are HLN’s Q2 2011 averages:
- Total day (Mon-Sun): 355K Total / 127K A25-54
- Prime (Mon-Sun): 541K Total / 167K A25-54
The Casey Anthony trial began in late May, delivering huge ratings for HLN in June. HLN placed second behind only Fox News for the month in both primetime and total day, the best month ever in total viewers for the network. The Anthony trial came late in the quarter however, so overall the network still placed fourth behind Fox News, MSNBC and sister network CNN in both total day and primetime for that period of time.
HLN was up +12% in total viewers and +8% in demo viewers compared to Q2 2010 in primetime, and up +23% in total viewers in total day.
The HLN ratings release is after the jump.
HLN POSTS STRONG YEAR-OVER-YEAR MONTHLY RATINGS GAINS – INCREASING +79% IN PRIME AND +48% IN TOTAL DAY IN THE DEMO
HLN Tops MSNBC in Total Day and Prime, Outperforms FNC at 2p, 3p & 4p in June
Prime and Dayside Programming Posting Best Month Ever; Experiencing Triple and Double Digit Gains vs. Prior Year
JUNE 28, 2011—HLN increased a substantial +86% in P2+ (982k vs. 529k) and +79% in P25-54 (292k vs. 163k) in M-Su prime and +98% in P2+ (601k vs. 303k) and +48% in P25-54 (192k vs. 130k) in total day vs. June 2010, posting its best month ever in both dayparts among total viewers. In addition, HLN topped MSNBC in M-Su prime and total day in P2+ and P25-54, and was #1 in cable news outperforming FNC at 3p and 4p in both demos and at 2p in P25-54.
HLN programming highlights include:
Nancy Grace (8p) grew +85% in P2+ (1.5M vs. 815k) and +87% in P25-54 (452k vs. 242k), marking its best month ever in total viewers and its best since Feb 09 in P25-54, ranking #2 among cable news for the month in both demos at 8p. In addition, Nancy Grace dramatically closed the gap with The O’Reilly Factor in both demos, besting the FNC show by +24% in P18-34, and was the third most watched cable news program in the demo in June.
HLN’s newest hit, Dr. Drew (9p) increased +90% in P2+ (1.2M vs. 622k) and +120% in P25-54 (339k vs. 154k), ranking #2 in both demos at 9p across cable news.
The Joy Behar Show (10p) up +73% in P2+ (862k vs. 497k) and +48% in P25-54 (273k vs. 184k), posting the show’s best month ever and ranking #2 in both demos at 10p across cable news.
Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell (7p) grew +110% in P2+ (991k vs. 471k) and +87% in P25-54 (312k vs. 167k), experiencing its best month ever and ranking #2 in both demos at 7p across cable news.
HLN News at 2p, 3p and 4p ranked #1 in P25-54 among cable news networks, posting triple and double-digit gains: +85% (191k), +254% (322k) and +278% (355k), also ranking #1 at 3p and 4p in P2+: +382% (1.3M) and +456% (1.3M).
Launched on May 2, HLN Special Report, hosted by Vinnie Politan, (5p) posted triple digits gains, up +379% in P2+ (1.1M vs. 229k) and +209% in P25-54 (309k vs. 100k).
Prime News with Vinnie Politan (6p) also posted triple-digit gains, up +242% in P2+ (919k vs. 269k) and up +136% P25-54 (288k vs. 122k), posting its best month ever and ranking #2 in both demos for the hour among cable news.
In Q211, HLN’s M-Su prime increased +12% in P2+ (549k vs. 490k) and +8% in P25-54 (170k vs. 158k), and total day +23% in P2+ (357k vs. 290k) and flat in the demo (128k).
Driven by the Casey Anthony trial, HLN digital properties have also experienced significant gains, including:
· Nancy Grace’s Facebook fan page has more than 634,000 fans, 37,000 of which joined in June.
· Since the Casey Anthony trial began the fan page has experienced:
o More than 49,000 new fans
o 378,000 total likes and comments
o Daily average of 11,000 likes and comments, double the daily average from April 2011
Source: Facebook insights
· As of June 28, key HLN accounts covering news of the Casey Anthony trial had more than 226,000 followers, including (below are follower counts and % increase over April):
o @HLNTV had 30,000 followers up 81%
o @NancyGraceHLN had 58,900 followers up 229%
o @Vinnie Politan had 85,000 followers up 355%
o @TeamNancyHLN had 17,800 followers since it launched on May 10th, the account is up 225% since the trial began
o @Ryansmithtv had more than 6,800 followers up 640%