After three days fully covering the Judge Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings, there have been some changes among the cable news networks. As of 11amET this morning, Fox News and MSNBC have broken from constant live Sotomayor coverage in favor of regular weekday reporting with some dip-ins. CNN maintained its full coverage this morning.
We previously noted that on Monday, while the coverage was comprehensive, the viewership wasn’t. The first day, we heard little from Judge Sotomayor, a fact that could have contributed to the lackluster numbers. Tuesday’s ratings show an increase overall in viewers, particularly for Fox News whose lead extended Monday’s large margin. The increase also happens to coincide with Sotomayor’s first day of Q&A.
Tuesday’s numbers
9am-3pmET A25-54 / Total Viewers
FNC — 243K / 977K
CNN — 112K / 580K
MSNBC — 53K / 328K
As compared to Monday:
10am-3pmET A25-54 / Total Viewers
FNC — 153K / 788K
CNN — 104K / 576K
MSNBC — 47K / 366K