Cable TV news viewership increased substantially Monday afternoon as news of the twin bombings at the Boston Marathon came in. Compared to a typical Monday — and yesterday was anything but typical — Fox News, CNN and MSNBC saw viewer growth of anywhere from 100% to 900%.
- 3:07pm (when the news broke ) – 4pm
FNC – 1,961,000 total viewers (542,000 in 25-54)
CNN – 970,000 total viewers (349,000 in 25-54)
MSNBC – 435,000 total viewers (129,000 in 25-54)
- 4pm – 5pm (first full hour)
FNC – 3,072,000 total viewers (874,000 in 25-54)
CNN – 2,446,000 total viewers (868,000 in 25-54)
MSNBC – 708,000 total viewers (217,000 in 25-54)
- The interest grew into Primetime (8-11pmET):
FNC – 3,915,000 total viewers / 1,199,000 in A25-54
CNN – 2,749,000 total viewers / 1,319,000 in A25-54
MSNBC – 1,245,000 total viewers / 461,000 in A25-54
- For the Total Day:
FNC – 1,837,000 total viewers / 516,000 in 25-54
CNN – 1,187,000 total viewers / 501,000 in 25-54
MSNBC – 527,000 total viewers / 182,000 in 25-54