The number one show on all of cable news last night in the A25-54 demo was not The O’Reilly Factor or Countdown with Keith Olbermann or even Larry King Live. Instead, the 10pmET Anderson Cooper 360 placed first.
The CNN program took the rare win not seen since before 2008 April 16, the night of the ABC debate. With the breaking news that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be dropping out of the presidential race, there were some other interesting scoreboard notes as well.
• Countdown on MSNBC took the top spot at 8pmET in the demo, while The O’Reilly Factor was once again the number one show on cable in Total Viewers, beating CNN and MSNBC combined (using Live+SD data — using Live data, FNC won at 8pmET in the demo). The O’Reilly Factor was taped prior to the Clinton announcement, so FNC used lower third graphics to report the breaking news. Countdown has topped the Factor three of the last four nights in the L+SD demo (Thursday, Friday and last night, when they’ve met head-to-head). The O’Reilly Factor continues to win in Total Viewers.
• At 9pmET MSNBC’s Verdict with Dan Abrams placed second in the demo last night, while FNC’s On the Record with Greta Van Susteren Hannity & Colmes took third.
• At 10pmET On The Record came in third in the demo but first in Total Viewers.