Q3 Ratings: Greta Up 53% Vs. ’04; CNBC Primetime Slips 5%; Cosby Boosts MSNBC

Michele Greppi has a nice summary of the Q3 cable #’s:

“Leading Fox’s record-setting prime-time charge was On the Record With Greta Van Susteren, which averaged 2.41 million viewers for the third quarter, a 53 percent increase over the show’s third quarter 2004 average. The show ended the quarter within whispering distance of Fox stablemate Hannity & Colmes, which averaged 2.44 million viewers (up 25 percent year-to-year). The O’Reilly Factor remained the most-watched cable news show with 2.8 million viewers.” Other highlights:

> “Cable news networks across the board experienced year-to-year viewership boosts in September, except for CNBC’s prime-time lineup, which dropped 5 percent to an average of 126,000 viewers.”

> The bright spot for MSNBC was Rita Cosby: Live and Direct…Cosby boosted the 9 o’clock weeknight time slot launch to date by 15 percent year to year. Compared with the second quarter of 2005, the show is up 71 percent to an average of 488,000 viewers.”