2010 TVNewser Challenge Results; You Guys Are Smart

By Chris Ariens 

On New Year’s Eve 2009 we trotted out the TVNewser Poll machine and asked you to make some predictions for 2010. We asked:

  • Which cable news network will draw the most viewers for the 2010 State of the Union?

CNN             23%
C-SPAN         2%
Fox News   69%
MSNBC          7%

The vast majority of you were vastly correct. Fox News’ 5.7 million Total Viewers beat the combined numbers of CNN and MSNBC.

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  • How many broadcast network Sunday shows will end the year with a different host than they started?

4.   3%
3.   10%
2.   46%
1.   33%
0.     8%

The majority of you guessed two shows would have new hosts, but it was only one. ABC’s “This Week” changed anchors when Christiane Amanpour left CNN for ABC in the Summer.

  • At the end of 2010, Glenn Beck will be…


in the same time slot         54%
in a different time slot      39%
on a different network        6%

You guessed right. Same time, same channel.

  • Compared to 2009, the combined evening news audience on the 3 broadcast networks will…

increase             11%
decrease             71%
stay the same    17%

Wow, you guys are smart. You guessed the Big 3 would shed viewers in 2009-2010 season, compared to 2008-2009,  and they did.  338,000 fewer viewers watched NBC Nightly News, ABC World News and the CBS Evening News.

  • By the end of next year, Lou Dobbs will be…

on the radio                                     15%
on a business news network      18%
on a cable news network             25%
running for political office          23%
in his living room                           19%

Last month, Lou Dobbs signed a deal with Fox Business that will put him on that business news channel in early 2011. He’s also still on the radio, will be appearing on Fox News, and, presumably, in his living room from time to time.

  • Pick your over/under for the number of documentaries CNBC will premiere in 2010:

5        23%
15     41%
25     20%
35       6%
45      9%

We stopped counting in March, but CNBC tells us they produced 39 original documentaries in 2010.

  • On Friday, we’ll be presenting the TVNewser 2011 Challenge, asking you to make your TV News predictions for the coming year.

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