How Fox News defies ratings gravity
Filed under: Media
Forget about political winds and social trends. The dominance of Fox News in the cable ratings race has lasted through wartime and peacetime, boom and recession, Republican and Democrat. It's not a product of circumstance -- it's a law of nature: irresistible, irreducible and seemingly immutable. In the just-ended May ratings period, Fox once again manhandled the competition, posting big gains in both primetime and full-day while MSNBC stumbled and CNN plunged headlong. Fox's primetime audience in the demographic of adults 25-to-54 (the ratings group that ad buys are based on) was up 30 percent versus May 2008; MSNBC's was down 9 percent, while CNN, which seems increasingly out of step with the cable news audience, tumbled a vertiginous 37 percent.
All three networks, to be sure, are down from their levels at the beginning of the year, when the excitement of the Inauguration drove boffo viewership. But as the pie has shrunk, only Fox has managed to grab a bigger slice.
It's tempting to ascribe Fox's surge to the change in administration. There's something to this. Political media outlets, whether print, web or broadcast, tend to flourish in opposition. Certainly that was the case with MSNBC, which rode the crests of Obamamania to new highs last fall, only to settle to earth once campaigning gave way to governing. Even the network's powerhouse, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, was down in May (a 20 percent drop among viewers 25-54), the first time that's happened in almost three years.
But Fox has never fit comfortably into this mold. When George Bush took office, analysts and competitors predicted Fox would fizzle without Bill Clinton to beat up on. Instead, it merely opened up an ever-growing lead on CNN. Just a few months ago, the chin-strokers were thinking that maybe it was actually Bush and his War on Terror that had been propping up Fox and that the dawn of the Obama era would prove Fox's undoing. That's clearly not happening.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
6-03-2009 @ 1:39PM
Iridium said...
The dominance of Fox is due to one thing. The majority of the country is still conservative minded. Also the core group of conservatives follow the news and current events far more than the core group of the Democratic Party.
True liberals only make up around 10% of the total population. The majority of the democrat voting block is made up of minorities who do not follow the news of current events. They only come out every four years to vote for the guy they are told to vote for.
The other major voting block of the democrats is labor unions whose rolls have been shrinking by double digits over the past 20 years. They too only really come out every four years to vote for the guy they are told to vote for.
Before Fox news the majority of viewers had no choice but to tune into CNN and MSNBC. The choice of Fox which was more in line with their views meant that a mass defection would happen.
Die hard liberals like to think that their ideology is followed by the majority. That simply is not true. They are a very small minority in the big ideological picture of the USA. Where the liberals were smart is that they took over media corporations and investment banks. This enabled them to appear as though their ideology and influence spreads much further than reality. When you control the flow of information you control the discussion and therefore can control the perception of reality.
Without the support of GE and other well healed liberals, CNN and MSNBC would have folded years ago. The same is true about talk radio. There simply are not enough true liberals out there to support a business venture.
The real truth is that without the minority voting block, that could really care less about the news, the Democratic Party could never win a single election. They are great to have in your corner when you want to influence an election but not so great for TV ratings.
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6-03-2009 @ 4:07PM
Armando said...
I agree with Iridium. Fox News like the success of talk radio is based upon the conservative trends in this country. In a group people may act more liberal but alone they return to their roots.
Only true liberals think abortion is okay, gay marriage, larger taxes. Plus MSNBC fans are slackers, they could hang on much longer than the elections.
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6-04-2009 @ 12:00PM
mike said...
Look... FOX is #1 & and will always be #1
get over it.....
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6-04-2009 @ 9:04AM
StewartIII said...
FNC Dominance "Not A Product of Circumstance -- It's a Law of Nature"
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/fnc_dominance_not_a_product_of_circumstance_its_a_law_of_nature_118069.asp
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6-03-2009 @ 7:49PM
grant said...
I'm a Democrat and I watch Fox News. Its simply much more entertaining than listening to people who hold my own views. I can't believe people like sitting at home going "yeah your right Hannity". I love watching and saying "wow what a nutjob".
The truth is all the overboard social conservatives aren't allowed to watch anything other than what they believe otherwise they will go to hell. Thats what their half pastor half political radio talk show hosts tell them anyways .
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6-04-2009 @ 10:19AM
Hardrada said...
Fox is on top.
On a related note, the top two most-read books of all time:
1- The King James Bible
2- Chairman Mao's Book of Quotations
Does this speak to the veracity of content in either of these two books?
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6-04-2009 @ 10:19AM
Mats said...
I guess all those years of watching MTV and Hollywood makes liberals less likely to watch hard-core news in CNN, huh?
The Good Book says "whatever a man soweth, the same shall he reap". Liberals have been dumbing down the literacy of americans, and they expect americans to cling to news and nwspapers and that stuff?
COnservatives, on the other hand, are not that keen on fantasy based news. Conservatives seem to be more down to earth, and more interested in real news.
I agree also that without the minority vote (usually blacks who coulnd't care less who is in charge, as long as the welfare checks keep coming, the same blacks the democratic elite wants to keep poor and "angry"), the liberals wouldn't win much elections.
This explains why democrats are so keen in importing so many illegal immigrants. They know, as the liberals in the UK realized in the 80s, that regular americans won't buy the liberal nonsense.
The liberals Brits solved the problem by allowing mass imigration. Now they have a permanent voting base. Obango Hussein Junior, the kenyan living in the White House for free, wants to do the same for the USA.
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6-29-2009 @ 4:54PM
aaron said...
Are you people for real? Seriously? It was Reagan who cut enforcement of immigration. Bush reinforced cuts. Why? By cutting enforcement of immigrants, more illegal immigrants would enter the country. That would squeeze the labor unions and drive down wages, helping corporations increase profits. G.W. Bush did the same thing with taxes, by the way - increasing or maintaining enforcement for middle class, and reducing enforcement for highest brackets. This further helps the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Ignorance is not bliss, people.
6-06-2009 @ 3:32PM
Karl said...
Wow mats what a great way to interject racism into a topi regarding cable news ratings, you must be very proud.
As someone from britain I can say with a certain degree of knowledge that immigration has been happening in our country regardless of the party in charge be it Labour (left wing) or Conservatives (right wing).
As for FOX news, whilst no one can deny its ratings prowess I dont particularly find much use as source of information, more a source of entertainment. The same criticisms can me made of CNN and in particular MSNBC which simply panders to the left wing.
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6-04-2009 @ 10:20AM
MNResident said...
To me, Fox's dominence is due more to a "split opposition" than than a true majority. Fox is the only channel that actually does not play on the "far left field". They have "right field" to themselves, and clean up because of it. If you COMBINE CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc. their combined numbers may surpass Fox. They are all appealing to the same audience, so their demographic is split.
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6-04-2009 @ 3:31PM
MIke said...
So what you are saying is that the MSM really is left wing. Thank you for reinforcing a reality long denied by the left.
7-30-2009 @ 7:11PM
Wait and See said...
"Hardrada said...
On a related note, the top two most-read books of all time:
1- The King James Bible
2- Chairman Mao's Book of Quotations
Does this speak to the veracity of content in either of these
two books?"
The first book you list has been freely chosen by it's readers - the same as the free choice made by Fox viewers - far more than the second book.
So, your analogy is irrelevant to the issue. As long as the government doesn't mandate what the citizenry of this country can and cannot listen to, Fox News will continue to lead and gain. Olbermann will continue to stagnate. There is thankfully a limit to how much left-wing hate the American People will tolerate. They vote with their remote.
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6-04-2009 @ 10:20AM
Randolph said...
The reason is: Fox News actually is more "fair and balanced." That's according to the credible academic studies which have been conducted regarding the balance of favorable vs. unfavorable reports on political candidates during the last election. That the traditional networks were in the tank for one candidate was obvious--so glaringly obvious that some of their people stopped trying to hide the fact. One thing Fox News is not, is conservative. But they are less propagandistic.
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6-08-2009 @ 5:24PM
Bombo said...
What in God's name is Randolph smoking, and how can I get me some?
6-04-2009 @ 10:22AM
MediaReader said...
I'm just really really annoyed that the article didn't even address the question of HOW, which is what I clicked on the story to find out. Not even a little bit.
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6-04-2009 @ 10:32AM
BIstro42 said...
Amazing, the claptrap that's being spouted by most of my predecessors in this thread. Cable news, from all sides, has become a circus. and it would seem that more conservatives enjoy watching their clowns than liberals do their own, possibly because Fox-style conservatives can't get much satisfaction or validation from serious journalism. So Fox will no doubt continue to prosper, barring the long-shot chance that public education in this country improves enough to thin its future viewers' ranks.
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6-04-2009 @ 11:18AM
David Aimone said...
This is just an email to Jeff B. congratulating him on joining DailyFinance.
All the best
Dave Aimone
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6-04-2009 @ 12:33PM
MasterofMeander said...
It might be simpler than that.
People are furious. They've lost too much, believe too little; they're exhausted by prolonged explanations spun one way, then the other, then back. "Objective journalism" feels bloodless; because it's "only" informative, it lacks a convincing message--and hope. At least a lunatic like Rush sounds indignant and presents identified targets--a shooting gallery of red herrings lets you shoot, anyway. Meanwhile, Olbermann, et al get snarky while preaching to a choir of, well, choir-folk, falling silent while waiting on their President Pastor. And waiting. And starting to wonder...now to wander away...
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6-04-2009 @ 12:36PM
Don said...
Now for some perspective. The viewership of Fox News is still a tiny percentage of the number of people who vote. If Fox had any sway on elections, we'd have seen it in the last two ones. Fox, and talk radio in general, have their loyal listeners/viewers. But they pale in number to those who get their "news" from the truncted nightly news on the non-cable networks, and more importantly, just check the number of people who watch the Sunday news shows on ABC, NBC, CBS...where's Fox News? Dead last. Conservatives are more faithful to their sources, they're also more in need of getting consistent reinformcement of their views, and how to shape them, than are the average Americans.
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6-04-2009 @ 3:11PM
Alex said...
>>>COnservatives, on the other hand, are not that keen on fantasy based news. Conservatives seem to be more down to earth, and more interested in real news.
Thanks mats, I laughed so hard I think I peed myself a little. Anyone interested in real news is not going to get it from *any* of the cable news networks.
And good work on the racism too. How'd it sound if I said "the same whites the republican elites want to keep poor and angry"?
It doesn't matter what party we vote for, in the end they all just want us to bend over.
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