Clinton News Network hammered yet again by Fox News
A real American
By Matt Kempner
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
More bad news for CNN. Results released Tuesday show the 20-year-old
all-news network took another big slap in its prime-time ratings battle with
the 4-year-old Fox News Network.
For the first time, CNN lost its perch as the No. 1 news network in the
crucial prime-time period for a full quarter. Fox scored a 0.9 rating
compared with CNN's 0.7 for the January-March quarter, according to Nielsen
Media Research figures analyzed by the networks.
CNN has turned in lower ratings than Fox for certain days and weeks, but the
first-quarter ratings mark the first time CNN came in second for such an
extended period. The two networks tied in ratings for the fourth quarter of
last year.
Ratings measure the percentage of households with access to a network that
actually tune into it.
The trend isn't going CNN's way. The Atlanta-based news network suffered a
13 percent drop in prime-time ratings and a 1 percent fall in household
delivery for the first quarter, compared with the same period a year ago.
Fox, on the other hand, zoomed. Its ratings grew 80 percent, and its
household delivery jumped 121 percent.
CNN points out that more homes were turned to CNN than Fox: 588,000 compared
with 507,000. Fox is available in 20 million fewer homes than CNN, but the
younger network is quickly being added to more cable and satellite systems.
In ratings for the total day, CNN and Fox tied. CNN said that during big
news events it swamped the competition.
CNN has tried to infuse more personality into its evening programming,
launching shows with Greta Van Susteren and Wolf Blitzer, for example. But
Fox continues to draw a fast-growing audience.
CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson said Fox's rise is largely due to one show,
"The O'Reilly Factor" with Bill O'Reilly. "When news occurs, CNN attracts
far more viewers than any other network," she said.
Fox spokesman Robert Zimmerman countered that major breaking news stories
may happen only 25 days a year. "You need to have a good solid core product
that people are going to welcome and watch those other 300 and some odd
days."
Meanwhile, there were bright spots for Turner Broadcasting System, CNN's
parent. The AOL Time Warner unit's TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network all scored
strong ratings in the first quarter.