The Ed Show manages to bring in the best hour, but Anderson Cooper managed to win the day — a rare, but not unknown win for him. Dennis Rodman was the most popular topic on Cable News Twitter, while #OccupyHamburg is a very rare intrusion of foreign events into the US centric Cable News Twitter…
Category Archives: Media
Apology buzz dies out on Twitter re Melissa Harris-Perry – Cable News Twitter Ratings for January 5, 2014
The Twitter buzz around the Melissa Harris-Perry show subsided on Sunday, as the uproar over the apology about comments on Mitt Romney’s Christmas card began to fade. A quick look at the word cloud shows that while the apology was still in the mix, other subjects like homelessness were more frequently mentioned:
Click to enlarge
Compare that with Saturday’s word cloud
Click to enlarge
And you can see the change in topics a day makes.
Melissa Harris-Perry drives Twitter Buzz in Cable News – Twitter Ratings for January 4, 2014
With the both the right wing and conventional blogosphere on the attack against Melissa Harris-Perry about last week’s commentary about Mitt Romney’s Christmas card, it’s no surprise that her show got the most mentions on Twitter during the show and during the day as a whole. Mentions during the show ran about 3 times normal, while mentions during the day as were about 5 times normal. So far, Sunday looks to be a bit slower as she rotates out of the news, but the buzz has continued pretty much unabated since she made those comments a week ago.
MSNBC Twitter Year in Review
With the start of the new year, I thought I’d take a look at how MSNBC’s year on Twitter has been. Not all of MSNBC, but the primetime (and weekend) shows that have been on the air for the bulk of the year: Hardball, The Ed show, Politics Nation, The Rachel Maddow Show, Last Word, All In, Up with (Chris/Steve), and the Melissa Harris-Perry Show.
Let’s start with the big chart — the mentions each show received, broken down by month:
Click to enlarge – it’s worth it
At a glance you can see some big trends — September saw a spike in conversation and then a drift back towards normal levels.
But inside the data are some interesting tidbits. Let’s start with The Ed Show, which was abruptly taken off the air, then put into a weekend purgatory slot before returning to prime time:
It’s a big chart for Big Ed, so click to see it all.
You can see clearly that April was a lost month for Ed, and then the next three months depressed his mentions while he was stuck in the weekend slot. But upon his return to prime-time, Ed picked up where he left off in terms of Twitter mentions — that’s pretty amazing given how his show was handled.
Of course, when Ed got moved out of the 8pm weekday slot, Chris Hayes moved in, recasting his Up with Chris Hayes show into All-In with Chris Hayes. “Up” was re-hosted with Steve Kornacki and continued without interruption.
But the fans of the show seemed to have moved over with Chris to week days, as the mentions chart show:
Click to enlarge. It’s like the large type edition.
The best of Steve is struggling to catch up to the worst of Chris, while Chris’s mentions look like they’ve continued unaffected by the move.
One last observation: there’s nothing like a whiff of scandal to drive the discussion on Twitter. And at the end of the year, Melissa Harris-Perry’s show held a discussion of the Romney family Christmas card that prompted Ms. Harris-Perry to issue an apology. That produced a huge year-in spike in Twitter mentions for the show:
You probably get the gist of it right here, but go ahead and click to see a bigger version if you like.
That was about a tripling her normal peak mentions, and the buzz blazed right through the end of the year. It will be interesting to see if it all dies down before everybody returns from their holiday haze…
Happy new year to MSNBC, its fans, and its viewers. I wish you all health, wealth, and prosperity. I’ll resume my daily ratings as the networks return to their normal schedules, and I hope you’ll check in from time to time to see how everyone is doing.
Cable News Twitter Ratings for Monday, November 18, 2013 — Kelly File Wins
The Kelly File is proving to be a strong social media participant with another best-in-hour win on Monday. Megyn Kellly’s audience was mostly animated by a discussion about Obama skipping the events for the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, although a discussion about Obamacare was a close second.
I had expected Anderson Cooper to claim the top spot based upon his strong results last week and the ongoing saga in Toronto. But Ms. Kelly managed to drive a (slightly) larger Twitter conversation. Of course, Fox News regularly beats all its competition in the Nielsen ratings, so it has a larger base to start with, but Fox News views do tend to be less active on Twitter.
Piers Morgan returned to his normal spot of best-in-day, even though only about 7% of his mentions occurred during the live broadcast of his show. As usual, the world-wide audience lifted his counts.
I’ll also note the passing of Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell after its sudden cancellation by FXX. It was a great show, but putting it up against Comedy Central’s powerhouse, The Daily Show, was a questionable way to foster an audience. I think if Totally Biased had been dropped into the 10:30 ET slot, instead, it would have flourished. Let’s hope the talented Mr. Bell finds another broadcast outlet for his (and his talented cast’s) wit soon.
Note that all times are US Eastern Time. See notes at end for further explanations. For earlier articles on cable news twitter ratings, please see this.
Cable News Ratings for 2013-11-18
Top Shows for the day:
| Category | Mentions | Show |
| Most Mentions During Hour | 2109 | Fox News: The Kelly File |
| Most Mentions During day | 12475 | CNN: Piers Morgan Live |
Overall ratings by network
| Network | Tweet Count | Unique Tweeters | Reach | Male | Female |
| CNN | 40445 | 29306 | 303051588 | 57 % | 43 % |
| MSNBC | 32722 | 13640 | 122260454 | 54 % | 46 % |
| Fox News | 23204 | 12513 | 90870410 | 61 % | 39 % |
| Comedy Central | 3721 | 3146 | 11216438 | 60 % | 40 % |
| E | 2969 | 2349 | 19817512 | 26 % | 74 % |
| HLN | 1650 | 1005 | 7964405 | 38 % | 62 % |
| HBO | 1209 | 965 | 2299170 | 64 % | 36 % |
| FXX | 331 | 276 | 731785 | 56 % | 44 % |
For networks that are not predominantly news, only news(-like) shows are included. See the detailed listings below for precise shows
Most popular hastags
| Hashtag | Count |
| #blackfish | 3111 |
| #afc | 2786 |
| #tcot | 2480 |
| #lnyhbt | 2295 |
| #maddow | 2001 |
| #kellyfile | 1929 |
| #inners | 1892 |
| #edshow | 1689 |
| #iran | 1483 |
| #obamacare | 1438 |
Ratings for individual time slots
Ratings for Weekdays 12am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Fox News | Hannity | 124 | 3855 | 60% | 40% |
Ratings for Weekdays 1am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Fox News | Stossel | 22 | 288 | 72% | 28% |
Ratings for Weekdays 2am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Fox News | Fox News Sunday | 4 | 63 | 57% | 43% |
Ratings for Weekdays 3am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Fox News | Huckabee | 1 | 75 | 63% | 37% |
Ratings for Weekdays 4am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Fox News | #MediaBuzz | 1 | 561 | 73% | 27% |
Ratings for Weekdays 5am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | EarlyStartCNN | 44 | 122 | 34% | 66% |
| Fox News | FoxFriendsFirst | 48 | 106 | 67% | 33% |
| MSNBC | First Look (5-5:30) | 1 | 1 | 100% | 0% |
| MSNBC | Way Too Early (5:30-6) | 17 | 30 | 36% | 64% |
Ratings for Weekdays 6am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | New Day | 107 | 1547 | 51% | 49% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 111 | 834 | 62% | 38% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 15 | 221 | 66% | 34% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 529 | 3135 | 49% | 51% |
Ratings for Weekdays 7am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | New Day | 390 | 1547 | 51% | 49% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 135 | 834 | 62% | 38% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 18 | 221 | 66% | 34% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 749 | 3135 | 49% | 51% |
Ratings for Weekdays 8am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | New Day | 372 | 1547 | 51% | 49% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 179 | 834 | 62% | 38% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 16 | 221 | 66% | 34% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 742 | 3135 | 49% | 51% |
Ratings for Weekdays 9am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 13 | 42 | 45% | 55% |
| Fox News | America’s Newsroom | 18 | 60 | 66% | 34% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 35 | 221 | 66% | 34% |
| MSNBC | The Daily Run Down | 557 | 1354 | 54% | 46% |
Ratings for Weekdays 10am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 6 | 42 | 45% | 55% |
| Fox News | America’s Newsroom | 21 | 60 | 66% | 34% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 3 | 221 | 66% | 34% |
| MSNBC | Jansing & Co. | 155 | 245 | 64% | 36% |
Ratings for Weekdays 11am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Legal View w/Banfield | 20 | 32 | 58% | 42% |
| Fox News | Happening Now | 9 | 68 | 81% | 19% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 13 | 221 | 66% | 34% |
| MSNBC | MSNBC Live w/ Thomas Roberts | 236 | 330 | 50% | 50% |
Ratings for Weekdays 12pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Around the World (News Room) | 0 | 42 | 45% | 55% |
| Fox News | Happening Now | 20 | 68 | 81% | 19% |
| HLN | Raising America | 0 | 2 | 0% | 100% |
| MSNBC | Now w/Alex Wagner | 294 | 1017 | 62% | 38% |
Ratings for Weekdays 1pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 2 | 42 | 45% | 55% |
| Fox News | America’s News HQ | 7 | 13 | 73% | 27% |
| HLN | News Now | 0 | 6 | 33% | 67% |
| MSNBC | Andrea Mitchell Reports | 83 | 331 | 52% | 48% |
Ratings for Weekdays 2pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 1 | 42 | 45% | 55% |
| Fox News | The Real Story w/Gretchen Carlson | 139 | 282 | 65% | 35% |
| HLN | News Now | 0 | 6 | 33% | 67% |
| MSNBC | News Nation w/ Tamron Hall | 122 | 273 | 54% | 46% |
Ratings for Weekdays 3pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 2 | 42 | 45% | 55% |
| Fox News | Shepard Smith Reporting | 28 | 136 | 56% | 44% |
| HLN | News Now | 0 | 6 | 33% | 67% |
| MSNBC | The Cycle | 233 | 515 | 55% | 45% |
| MSNBC | The Cycle (w/ Host Accounts) | 299 | 1266 | 58% | 42% |
Ratings for Weekdays 4pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | The Lead w/Jake Tapper | 125 | 1040 | 69% | 31% |
| Fox News | Your World | 109 | 328 | 63% | 37% |
| HLN | Now In America | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| MSNBC | Martin Bashir | 1661 | 4543 | 56% | 44% |
Ratings for Weekdays 5pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | The Situation Room | 11 | 274 | 58% | 42% |
| Fox News | The Five | 285 | 409 | 66% | 34% |
| Fox News | The Five w/Hosts | 845 | 2633 | 68% | 32% |
| HLN | Evening Express | 0 | 3 | 67% | 33% |
| MSNBC | The Ed Show | 2030 | 4007 | 48% | 52% |
Ratings for Weekdays 6pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Crossfire (6:30 – 7) | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| CNN | The Situation Room (6 – 6:30) | 12 | 274 | 58% | 42% |
| CNN | Crossfire With Hosts (6:30 – 7) | 298 | 1281 | 71% | 29% |
| Fox News | Special Report w/Bret Baier | 331 | 1056 | 64% | 36% |
| HLN | Evening Express | 0 | 3 | 67% | 33% |
| MSNBC | PoliticsNation w/ Al Sharpton | 443 | 1906 | 57% | 43% |
Ratings for Weekdays 7pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Out Front w/Erin Burnett | 286 | 474 | 70% | 30% |
| E | E! News | 337 | 2969 | 26% | 74% |
| Fox News | On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren | 413 | 1334 | 58% | 42% |
| HLN | Jane Velez-Mitchell | 73 | 193 | 38% | 62% |
| MSNBC | Hardball w/ Chris Matthews | 479 | 955 | 62% | 38% |
Ratings for Weekdays 8pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 | 1834 | 8144 | 46% | 54% |
| Fox News | The O’Reilly Factor | 461 | 1089 | 54% | 46% |
| HLN | Nancy Grace | 296 | 485 | 28% | 72% |
| MSNBC | All In w/ Chris Hayes | 1721 | 4355 | 61% | 39% |
Ratings for Weekdays 9pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Piers Morgan Live | 832 | 12475 | 70% | 30% |
| Fox News | The Kelly File | 2109 | 3997 | 53% | 47% |
| HLN | Dr Drew On Call | 150 | 351 | 29% | 71% |
| MSNBC | The Rachel Maddow Show | 1670 | 2995 | 48% | 52% |
Ratings for Weekdays 10pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | AC360 Later | 1026 | 8144 | 46% | 54% |
| HLN | HLN After Dark | 60 | 102 | 30% | 70% |
| MSNBC | The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell | 858 | 1809 | 43% | 57% |
Ratings for Weekdays 11pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Outfront w/Burnett (11-11:30pm) | 35 | 474 | 70% | 30% |
| CNN | Crossfire (11:30p – 12a) | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| CNN | Crossfire With Hosts (11:30p – 12a) | 52 | 1281 | 71% | 29% |
| Comedy Central | The Daily Show (11-11:30) | 256 | 1466 | 61% | 39% |
| Comedy Central | The Colbert Report (11:30-12am) | 482 | 2287 | 60% | 40% |
| Fox News | The O’Reilly Factor | 161 | 1089 | 54% | 46% |
| HLN | ShowBiz Tonight | 3 | 92 | 55% | 45% |
| MSNBC | All In w/Chris Hayes | 882 | 4355 | 61% | 39% |
Definition of terms used in this report:
- Network: For the purposes of total network mentions, the count is the total unique tweets that mention any of the shows tracked on the network or the network’s general Twitter account (e.g., @CNN).
- Mentions During Hour or Tweets Hour: The number of tweets that mention the show during the hour specified. For shows that are repeat later in the day, the first (and often live) showing usually garners the most mentions by a significant margin.
- Mentions During day or Tweets Day: The total number of mentions a show received from midnight to midnight, eastern time.
- Tweet Count: The number of tweets (including retweets) that mention a show.
- Unique Tweeters: The number of Twitter users who have sent one or more tweets mentioning a show. If a user sends more than one tweet, they still only count once.
- Reach: A measure of the number of impressions a collection of tweets will make. For each tweet that is sent, it adds up how many people follow the person tweeting it — how many timelines that tweet will show up in. Thus, if network A has 10,000 mentions from people with an average of 10 followers, the reach will be 100,000. On the other hand, if network B has 10,000 mentions from people with an average of 100 followers, the reach will be 1,000,000. So network B has much greater reach: tweets mentioning network B will potentially be seen 10 times as often as tweets about network A.
- Male / Female: An estimate of the demographics of a show’s audience. Note that this number is an imprecise estimate.
Cable News Twitter Ratings are still experimental. If you have any suggestions, find any errors, or have any questions, please feel free to contact me at admin@socialseer.com
For further discussion of how these stats are calculated, please see this blog post. Especially the part about how I determine the gender of Twitter users.