What a difference a day makes. On her debut night Monday, Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly placed second in the key adults 25-54 demo to her MSNBC competition Rachel Maddow. On Tuesday, Kelly’s ratings skyrocketed, and her demo numbers were the highest on cable news, even topping the reliable leader in that category, Bill O’Reilly.
Kelly averaged 2.76 million total viewers and 623,000 demo viewers. “The O’Reilly Factor” was still tops in total viewers, though not by the significant margin it usually is, averaging 2.98 million total and 578,000 demo viewers. “Hannity” averaged 2.17 million total viewers and 517,000 demo viewers, while “On the Record” averaged 1.81 million total viewers and 317,000 demo viewers at 7 PM. All won their respective timeslots in both categories.
MSNBC still saw a significant ratings bump as coverage of the government shutdown continued, with “Hardball” at 7 PM and Maddow at 9 PM bringing in over one million total viewers, and delivering higher demo viewers than it has seen for much of this year.
So why the discrepancy between Monday and Tuesday nights? A possible culprit is “Monday Night Football,” easily the most popular program on cable TV, which has broad-ranging appeal. NBC’s “The Voice” also draws a large, broad audience.