Headline News topped all cable news competitors during the 6pmET hour Tuesday night. While FNC, CNN and MSNBC continued with regular programming, HLN stayed with the breaking news of the death of Heath Ledger.
HLN’s Prime News won the demo with 481,000 viewers at 6pmET, beating second place Special Report on FNC by 131,000 viewers. In total viewers, HLN finished second to FNC for the hour.
While CNN had periodic updates during The Situation Room, FNC and MSNBC stayed with their regularly scheduled politically-themed programming at 6pmET. On Fox News, Shepard Smith offered one mention of the death during his preview of Fox Report during Special Report. MSNBC reported the story in a news update during Tucker.
An HLN spokesperson tells TVNewser, “Tuesday evening’s ratings showed the strength of the complementary programming strategy between our two networks. CNN continues to dominate political coverage, and Tuesday night was no different. At the same time, Headline News was able to report in-depth on developments in the Ledger tragedy. As a result, we were able to use our two networks to offer viewers more choices, and meet the news needs of more people.”