He didn't die on the air midbroadcast.
Here's the good news for MSNBC:
Jan. #'s: More Prime Demographic Viewers For MSNBC
"MSNBC continued its ratings surge in January, up more than any other cable network in primetime with a +78% increase over January 2006 in the adult 25-54 demographic (254,000 v. 143,000) and a +74% increase in total viewers (615,000 v. 353,000)," the network says.
Raw numbers: In January, Tucker had 10,000 more demo viewers than last January; Hardball added 60,000; Countdown added 133,000 (up 89 percent); Scarborough delivered 126,000 (up 80 percent) and the documentary block added 91,000 at 10pm and 120,000 at 11pm...
But if the truth be told, ALL the Cable News Networks are the minor leagues. O'Reilly's top ranked cable news 2.3 million total viewers is about 1/3rd of Katie Couric's 3rd ranked broadcast news show.
In total viewers NBC has 9,310,000 viewers, ABC has 9,105,000 and CBS garners 7,553,000.
Couric gets in the prime 25-55 demographic what O'Reilly gets in total viewers.