Friday marks the anniversary of JFK’s assassination in Dallas, TX, and the networks were full of memorial programming throughout the day. It’s nice to remember the President, but the deluge of programming seemed better suited to slip in between showings of “Pawn Stars” on the (so-called) History Channel.
On Friday, MSBNC’s The Ed Show pulled in some of his best Twitter mentions lately, and easily won the best-hour category. There is no doubt that Ed’s team is consistently the best at using Social Media. What’s at doubt is why the rest of MSNBC doesn’t learn best practices from him.
MSNBC closed out the evening with a variety of programs about the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s murder, although they silently dropped Alec Baldwin’s “very enlightened and well-researched” coverage they had prepared. The ongoing radio-silence of MSNBC about Up Late is reminiscent of the way they mis-treated Ed Schultz earlier this year: taking him off the air with virtually no advance notice and then keeping him in limbo for a long time. Suspending Baldwin’s show supposedly because of a slur he made off the air just reeks of trying to pull a fig leaf over the disappointing ratings: we all know that the real debate at MSNBC is if and how they can generate better ratings for his show. Making matters worse, leaks of complaints against Baldwin by MSNBC just sound like typical corporate CYA trying to shift blame.
It’s hard to fathom why MSNBC treats their talent, staff, and audience with this kind of contempt: the perennially distant-second-place news network has too little good-will to waste on inept office-political machinations.
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 2013-11-22
Top Shows for the day:
| Category | Mentions | Show |
| Most Mentions During Hour | 2673 | MSNBC: The Ed Show |
| Most Mentions During Day | 18674 | CNN: Piers Morgan Live |
Overall ratings by network
| Network | Tweet Count | Unique Tweeters | Reach | Male | Female |
| CNN | 39116 | 27282 | 279943225 | 47 % | 53 % |
| MSNBC | 24381 | 11294 | 118242437 | 57 % | 43 % |
| Fox News | 22866 | 12185 | 98161114 | 63 % | 37 % |
| E | 6769 | 4726 | 95134054 | 22 % | 78 % |
| Comedy Central | 3027 | 2551 | 15307046 | 54 % | 46 % |
| Al Jazeera | 3010 | 2176 | 15246757 | 62 % | 38 % |
| HBO | 2410 | 1616 | 10091425 | 58 % | 42 % |
| HLN | 1133 | 800 | 4061775 | 49 % | 51 % |
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 |
| #1dday | 6045 |
| #blackfish | 5930 |
| #jfk | 4195 |
| #1dday- | 4053 |
| #tcot | 3492 |
| #lnyhbt | 3049 |
| #edshow | 2315 |
| #kellyfile | 1466 |
| #obamacare | 1386 |
| #onedirectionweek | 1254 |
Ratings for individual time slots
Ratings for 12 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Piers Morgan Live | 872 | 18674 | 49% | 51% |
| Fox News | The Kelly File | 350 | 3121 | 53% | 47% |
| HLN | Dr Drew On Call | 26 | 52 | 54% | 46% |
| MSNBC | The Rachel Maddow Show | 129 | 1645 | 54% | 46% |
Ratings for 1 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 | 49 | 1812 | 50% | 50% |
| Fox News | Hannity | 129 | 4583 | 66% | 34% |
| HLN | Nancy Grace | 23 | 273 | 41% | 59% |
| MSNBC | The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell | 97 | 601 | 61% | 39% |
Ratings for 2 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | AC360 Later | 55 | 1812 | 50% | 50% |
| Fox News | On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren | 38 | 1522 | 57% | 43% |
| HLN | ShowBiz Tonight | 0 | 54 | 40% | 60% |
| MSNBC | Hardball w/Chris Matthews | 19 | 540 | 63% | 37% |
Ratings for 3 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Piers Morgan Live | 148 | 18674 | 49% | 51% |
| Fox News | RedEye | 82 | 613 | 75% | 25% |
| MSNBC | All In w/Chris Hayes | 37 | 917 | 61% | 39% |
Ratings for 4 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 | 45 | 1812 | 50% | 50% |
| Fox News | The Five | 6 | 412 | 67% | 33% |
| HLN | ShowBiz Tonight | 0 | 54 | 40% | 60% |
| MSNBC | The Rachel Maddow Show | 62 | 1645 | 54% | 46% |
Ratings for 5 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | EarlyStartCNN | 36 | 58 | 26% | 74% |
| Fox News | FoxFriendsFirst | 52 | 85 | 70% | 30% |
| HLN | Dr Drew On Call | 0 | 52 | 54% | 46% |
| MSNBC | First Look (5-5:30) | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| MSNBC | Way Too Early (5:30-6) | 3 | 21 | 27% | 73% |
Ratings for 6 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | New Day | 154 | 914 | 43% | 57% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 114 | 1033 | 56% | 44% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 47 | 391 | 63% | 37% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 1393 | 4596 | 49% | 51% |
Ratings for 7 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | New Day | 217 | 914 | 43% | 57% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 175 | 1033 | 56% | 44% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 63 | 391 | 63% | 37% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 1304 | 4596 | 49% | 51% |
Ratings for 8 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | New Day | 117 | 914 | 43% | 57% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 264 | 1033 | 56% | 44% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 93 | 391 | 63% | 37% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 922 | 4596 | 49% | 51% |
Ratings for 9 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 7 | 59 | 61% | 39% |
| Fox News | America’s Newsroom | 22 | 65 | 78% | 22% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 45 | 391 | 63% | 37% |
| MSNBC | The Daily Run Down | 302 | 1594 | 69% | 31% |
Ratings for 10 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 10 | 59 | 61% | 39% |
| Fox News | America’s Newsroom | 24 | 65 | 78% | 22% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 37 | 391 | 63% | 37% |
| MSNBC | Jansing & Co. | 119 | 193 | 63% | 37% |
Ratings for 11 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Legal View w/Banfield | 16 | 32 | 55% | 45% |
| Fox News | Happening Now | 72 | 228 | 57% | 43% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 28 | 391 | 63% | 37% |
| MSNBC | MSNBC Live w/ Thomas Roberts | 68 | 100 | 51% | 49% |
Ratings for 12 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Around the World (News Room) | 2 | 59 | 61% | 39% |
| Fox News | Happening Now | 122 | 228 | 57% | 43% |
| HLN | Raising America | 1 | 3 | 67% | 33% |
| MSNBC | Now w/Alex Wagner | 183 | 533 | 66% | 34% |
Ratings for 1 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 6 | 59 | 61% | 39% |
| Fox News | America’s News HQ | 1 | 8 | 100% | 0% |
| HLN | News Now | 0 | 3 | 0% | 100% |
| MSNBC | Andrea Mitchell Reports | 204 | 448 | 48% | 52% |
Ratings for 2 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 2 | 59 | 61% | 39% |
| Fox News | The Real Story w/Gretchen Carlson | 135 | 392 | 64% | 36% |
| HLN | News Now | 1 | 3 | 0% | 100% |
| MSNBC | News Nation w/ Tamron Hall | 83 | 157 | 73% | 27% |
Ratings for 3 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 2 | 59 | 61% | 39% |
| Fox News | Shepard Smith Reporting | 144 | 235 | 68% | 32% |
| HLN | News Now | 0 | 3 | 0% | 100% |
| MSNBC | The Cycle | 130 | 415 | 66% | 34% |
| MSNBC | The Cycle (w/ Host Accounts) | 158 | 1726 | 66% | 34% |
Ratings for 4 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | The Lead w/Jake Tapper | 117 | 1049 | 59% | 41% |
| Fox News | Your World | 54 | 292 | 62% | 38% |
| HLN | Now In America | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| MSNBC | Martin Bashir | 377 | 1311 | 58% | 42% |
Ratings for 5 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Inside Story (5-5:30) | 9 | 29 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | The Situation Room | 103 | 390 | 70% | 30% |
| Fox News | The Five | 198 | 412 | 67% | 33% |
| Fox News | The Five w/Hosts | 586 | 3011 | 70% | 30% |
| MSNBC | The Ed Show | 2673 | 4524 | 52% | 48% |
Ratings for 6 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Crossfire (6:30 – 7) | 4 | 8 | 83% | 17% |
| CNN | The Situation Room (6 – 6:30) | 40 | 390 | 70% | 30% |
| CNN | Crossfire With Hosts (6:30 – 7) | 238 | 999 | 67% | 33% |
| Fox News | Special Report w/Bret Baier | 118 | 398 | 66% | 34% |
| MSNBC | PoliticsNation w/ Al Sharpton | 521 | 2173 | 62% | 38% |
Ratings for 7 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | The Stream (7:30 – 8) | 75 | 312 | 52% | 48% |
| Al Jazeera | Real Money with Ali Velshi (7 – 7:30) | 74 | 185 | 72% | 28% |
| CNN | Out Front w/Erin Burnett | 159 | 346 | 71% | 29% |
| E | E! News | 737 | 6769 | 22% | 78% |
| Fox News | On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren | 325 | 1522 | 57% | 43% |
| HLN | Jane Velez-Mitchell | 38 | 151 | 45% | 55% |
Ratings for 8 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 | 345 | 1812 | 50% | 50% |
| Fox News | The O’Reilly Factor | 99 | 603 | 66% | 34% |
Ratings for 9 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | America Tonight | 30 | 301 | 58% | 42% |
| CNN | Piers Morgan Live | 739 | 18674 | 49% | 51% |
| Fox News | The Kelly File | 1007 | 3121 | 53% | 47% |
Ratings for 10 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Consider This | 22 | 85 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | Assassination of Kennedy | 33 | 1161 | 64% | 36% |
| Fox News | Hannity | 551 | 4583 | 66% | 34% |
| HBO | Real Time w/Bill Maher | 804 | 2018 | 56% | 44% |
Ratings for 11 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | Assassination of Kennedy | 5 | 1161 | 64% | 36% |
| Fox News | The O’Reilly Factor | 20 | 603 | 66% | 34% |
| HBO | Real Time w/Bill Maher (Rerun) | 437 | 2018 | 56% | 44% |
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.