Networks outFoxed yet again

New York Daily News ^ | 9/04/04 | RICHARD HUFF

[kattracks]

President Bush spoke Thursday night and millions listened - especially on the Fox News Channel.

For the third straight night, the cable news network drew more viewers for its 10 p.m. coverage of the Republican National Convention than any other network, broadcast or cable.

"I think the last eight years of working hard and putting out a good product paid off," said Bill Shine, the channel's vice president of production. "It also shows the tide is turning and Americans are turning to the 24-hour news channels for news."

Fox News Channel averaged 7.3 million viewers to lead the pack in what was the most-watched night of the RNC. Runnerup NBC averaged 5.8 million viewers for its 10 p.m. coverage.

"This is a very important election," Shine said. "The broadcast networks devoted three hours to it; we devote three hours a day."

For the night, the six network coverage of Bush's speech - ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN - averaged 27.5 million viewers, more than any other night of the four-night convention.

And, for those four nights, the convention averaged 22.62 million viewers over those networks.

The figures do not account for coverage on C-SPAN or PBS.

Originally published on September 4, 2004

[coconutt2000]

I watched CSPAN. I didn't want to risk an overzealous commentator cutting into any of the speeches.

[conservative in nyc]

Kerry's speech drew 3 million fewer viewers than Bush on those 6 networks. For some reason, PBS ratings WERE available for the DNC, though. If PBS is included, 200,000 more people watched Kerry at the DNC. Expect this "fact" to be printed by sloppy reporters.

From the Knight Ridder Newspapers on 7/31:

Democratic convention draws strong ratings

BY WILLIAM LAMB

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Last week's Democratic National Convention drew surprisingly strong television ratings, at least compared to the last one.

Overall viewership for the four-day affair was up slightly from the Democratic convention four years ago. There was an unexpected spike for the convention's Thursday night finale, when an estimated 24.4 million viewers tuned in to watch Sen. John Kerry accept the party's nomination.

That figure rose to 27.7 million people when PBS viewers were added to the mix - an increase of nearly 16 percent over the estimated 23.9 million viewers who watched Al Gore's acceptance speech in 2000.

---Snip---

[Political Junkie Too]

I watched CSPAN. But I had Fox News on the picture-in-picture.

-PJ

[Taiwan Bocks]

I urge everybody to pay more attention to CNN international.

They are so over-the-top pro Kerry it is ridiculous.

And the audience numbers internationally are very relevant.

If anyone complains it has to be from America, not from here in Taiwan.

[stands2reason]

I watched CSPAN.

Bump to that. I like to see and hear what the delegates see and hear without having others "reinterpreting" everything for me. I'm a big girl and a native English speaker. I think I can follow what's going on without Big Media holding my hand. I like to just sit back and enjoy the convention without having to yell at the TV.

[jocon307]

"I watched CSPAN."

We did too. I turned hubby onto CSPAN during the dim convention, after the talking heads started talking over the singer, and hubby said, hey! I want to hear the Diva finish. I told him, go to CSPAN! He didn't get it, but then he did!

CSPAN rules, it is really the ONLY way to watch any event like a convention. They were even showing the "midnight whine" yesterday. And hubby was very much enjoying CSPAN 2 which was showing old conventions. Nixon, Reagan, we watched them also.

With that said, it is GREAT that Fox got such good ratings.

[BunnySlippers]

Good post, thank you. :)

[HennepinPrisoner]

Yup....I always watch C-SPAN during the conventions. They show every speaker and I don't have to listen to Judy Woodruff tell me how evil Republicans are.

[HennepinPrisoner]

Yup....I always watch C-SPAN during the conventions. They show every speaker and I don't have to listen to Judy Woodruff tell me how evil Republicans are.

[capt. norm]

I wish that Fox would start a nightly newscast on the regular Fox broadcast stations and go head to head with the alphabet networks.

The way things are going it certainly wouldn't take long for them to be number one.

[BillyCrockett]

Congratulations FOX!!!

[CaraM]

I watched CSPAN. I didn't want to risk an overzealous commentator cutting into any of the speeches.

Same here, and I taped everything. I did not want to miss anything. After each convention day ended, I looked at the various other channels to see what everybody had to say.

[coconutt2000]

Exactly what I did.. Including the taping.

I just loaned out my tape of the first day. She better give it back to me on Wednesday.

[opinion8r]

Amen and amen!!!

[sonofatpatcher2]

"The figures do not account for coverage on C-SPAN or PBS," eh? Well, we must assume C-SPAN & PBS ate Fox's lunch...

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