Ratings are in for the cable news networks’ wall-to-wall coverage of yesterday’s announcement of a new Pope. Fox News averaged the most viewers in both ratings measurements during the heart of coverage between 2-4pmET, drawing 2,232,000 Total Viewers 443,000 in the demo. CNN was second with 1,497,000 Total Viewers and 420,000 A25-54 viewers. HLN was third with 913,000 and 315,000, and MSNBC was fourth with 597,000 and 142,000, respectively.
In the 2pmET hour, which was when the white smoke first appeared, Fox News was on top among Total Viewers and in the adults 25-54 demo. During the 3pmET hour, when Pope Francis I was introduced and spoke for the first time, Fox News won in Total Viewers while CNN led the way in the key demo.
And in a sign that intense interest in the Jodi Arias trial continues, HLN — which covered the Papal announcement and speech but stayed mostly on the trial — came in third for both hours, beating MSNBC. In primetime, HLN came in third in Total Viewers and second in A25-54 viewers. The premiere of “After Dark,” the network’s new show about the Arias trial, won the 10 p.m. timeslot among younger viewers.
2:00-3:00 p.m.:
FNC: 1,901,000 Total Viewers (391,000 A25-54)
CNN: 1,188,000 Total Viewers (325,000 A25-54)
HLN: 896,000 Total Viewers (297,000 A25-54)
MSNBC: 461,000 Total Viewers (108,000 A25-54)
3:00-4:00 p.m.:
FNC: 2,545,000 Total Viewers (495,000 A25-54)
CNN: 1,805,000 Total Viewers (513,000 A25-54)
HLN: 930,000 Total Viewers (334,000 A25-54)
MSNBC : 730,000 Total Viewers (175,000 A25-54)