Rita Boosts MSNBC’s Ratings, But CNN Loses Some Afternoon Ratings Ground

TV Week’s headline sums up the ratings for yesterday’s cable news premieres: “‘Cosby’ Debut Promising; ‘Situation Room’ Struggles.” Michelle Greppi offers some monthly and yearly comparisons:

> Rita Cosby: Live & Direct: “In the key news demographic of 25- to 54-year-olds, ‘Rita Cosby’ averaged 245,000 viewers, up 206 percent compared with July and only about 20,000 viewers shy of MSNBC’s total-viewer average for its entire prime-time lineup last week.”

> The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer: “CNN lost some ratings ground from 3-6 p.m. with the debut of ‘The Situation Room.’ For the three hours, CNN averaged 410,000 viewers, down 15 percent from the previous Monday, down 6 percent compared with July and flat compared with the comparable day in 2004.”

Here’s the full story…