Kelly, Kelly — It was all Megyn on Tuesday as she won best hour and best day. That’s not really surprising anymore.  But what’s interesting is that it would have been completely surprising a year ago.  What happened?

First, here’s the other top shows for the day (as rated by “best hour”):

Kelly didn’t just win — she’s in a league by herself. So how does she do it? How does she get nearly 3 times the buzz of her time-slot competitor, Rachel Maddow?  Certainly, Kelly’s getting more than 3x the ratings is the main reason.  But if we look at Twitter, we can see that MSNBC’s problem is deeper than that.  A year ago, Rachel Maddow was getting twice the mentions on Twitter that Kelly got. What’s happened in the course of a year?

Let’s look at how Kelly and Fox News worked Twitter on Tuesday:

• Fox News sent out 12 tweets that mention The Kelly File.
• Megyn Kelly sent out 18 tweets herself.

As a result:

• The show had nearly 10K mentions throughout the day.
• More than half (54%) of the show’s mentions are retweets.  That generates a lot of buzz without their fans having to do a lot of work.
• 25 tweets made up over 20% of all tweets (because of retweets).
• Retweets of Megyn Kelly or Fox News made up about 22% of all tweets

Fox News’ strategy is to have Megyn personally and the network corporately drive the conversation about her show non-stop.  This sets off a chain reaction that creates a huge volume of buzz.

Compare this to how Maddow and MSNBC work. On Tuesday:

• MSNBC sent out NO tweets that mentioned her.
• @Maddow sent out NO tweets.  (The Ed Show, by comparison, sent out 50 tweets on Tuesday — but also had no mentions by @MSNBC).
• @MaddowBlog (why does she need a second account if the first is barely used?) sent out 3.
• @MaddowApp (wait, she has a third account because the first two aren’t enough?) sent out 8 tweets.

To be clear, I didn’t just pick an anomalous day.  This is very typical. As a result:

• The show had about 3.7K mentions throughout the day.
• Retweets of @Maddow, @MaddowBlog, and @MaddowApp are about 10% of all tweets.

MSNBC’s Twitter strategy seems to be “talk amongst yourselves”. There’s no match being put to the kindling.  And as a result, for all intents and purposes, Rachel Maddow does not exist on Twitter.

This is symptomatic of a much larger problem at MSNBC.  Let’s look at what each network has been talking about over the past several weeks to see where they put their focus.  Here’s the tag cloud for @FoxNews:

Fox News has been focusing on ISIS, Ebola, and the Kelly File with a little Hannity sprinkled in.  And it’s worked — Kelly and Hannity are doing great.

Here’s what MSNBC’s tag cloud has looked like:

If the Global Citizen Festival were MSNBC’s marquee program,  it could be a disciplined focus on their lineup.  But since GCF was a one-off, all that social media work is useless now.  It’s a sunk cost in a now worthless investment.  In fact, apart from Ferguson, their focus seems to be on their one-off specials. @MSNBC makes essentially no effort to promote its own regular shows.

I would say that MSNBC’s social media strategy is diffuse, unfocused, and a failure, but that’s presuming they have a strategy.  MSNBC needs to learn how to use social media to protect its brand and grow its franchises.  Until then, it will be constantly outrun by its more agile competitor, Fox News.

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 Twitter Ratings for 2014-10-14

Raw data for the day: 2014-10-14-ShowStats.csv

Top Shows for the day:

Category	Mentions	Show
Most Mentions During Hour	5769	Fox News: The Kelly File
Most Mentions During Day	9583	Fox News: The Kelly File

Ratings for individual time slots

Ratings for 12 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	America Tonight	0	86	0	51	160,952	68%	32%
CNN	CNN International	262	4,321	215	3,428	119,208,342	55%	45%
Fox News	The Kelly File	181	9,583	134	4,254	113,894,521	54%	46%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	259	3,675	153	1,920	10,653,742	46%	54%

Ratings for 1 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	10	29	1	12	31,091	50%	50%
CNN	CNN International	173	4,321	134	3,428	119,208,342	55%	45%
Fox News	Hannity	263	7,503	174	4,368	66,103,186	59%	41%
MSNBC	The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell	40	2,085	36	1,295	10,285,366	37%	63%

Ratings for 2 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Real Money with Ali Velshi	1	35	1	26	53,467	56%	44%
CNN	CNN International	264	4,321	216	3,428	119,208,342	55%	45%
Fox News	On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren	22	2,339	19	1,507	7,520,410	56%	44%
HLN	Nancy Grace	8	670	7	432	1,151,974	29%	71%
MSNBC	Hardball w/Chris Matthews	13	1,419	8	770	5,429,648	60%	40%

Ratings for 3 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	5	1,371	5	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
Al Jazeera	Inside Story	0	10	0	5	14,522	33%	67%
CNN	CNN International	305	4,321	282	3,428	119,208,342	55%	45%
Fox News	RedEye	679	2,199	128	1,123	10,261,956	58%	42%
MSNBC	All In w/Chris Hayes	31	4,259	17	2,063	31,437,481	56%	44%

Ratings for 4 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	America Tonight	0	86	0	51	160,952	68%	32%
CNN	Early Start	1	1	1	1	85	100%	0%
Fox News	The Five	0	12	0	10	25,664	100%	0%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	34	3,675	21	1,920	10,653,742	46%	54%

Ratings for 5 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Real Money with Ali Velshi (3:30)	0	35	0	26	53,467	56%	44%
CNN	Early Start	0	1	0	1	85	100%	0%
Fox News	FoxFriendsFirst	68	136	45	89	1,203,808	72%	28%
MSNBC	First Look (5-5:30)	1	1	1	1	52	100%	0%
MSNBC	Way Too Early (5:30-6)	28	90	22	60	128,880	60%	40%

Ratings for 6 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	18	1,371	15	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	New Day	118	4,941	82	4,420	74,930,941	62%	38%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	426	2,093	277	1,332	17,212,218	59%	41%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	19	245	14	173	2,385,490	64%	36%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	879	3,959	287	1,470	16,463,738	57%	43%

Ratings for 7 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	34	1,371	25	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	New Day	233	4,941	168	4,420	74,930,941	62%	38%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	357	2,093	240	1,332	17,212,218	59%	41%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	27	245	22	173	2,385,490	64%	36%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	844	3,959	308	1,470	16,463,738	57%	43%

Ratings for 8 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	49	1,371	44	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	New Day	257	4,941	199	4,420	74,930,941	62%	38%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	300	2,093	205	1,332	17,212,218	59%	41%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	63	245	57	173	2,385,490	64%	36%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	900	3,959	397	1,470	16,463,738	57%	43%

Ratings for 9 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	103	1,371	82	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	News Room	13	123	10	43	139,889	82%	18%
Fox News	America’s Newsroom	21	231	19	185	1,952,456	62%	38%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	47	245	25	173	2,385,490	64%	36%
MSNBC	The Daily Run Down (Melvin)	63	89	42	59	119,643	54%	46%

Ratings for 10 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	0	29	0	12	31,091	50%	50%
CNN	News Room	11	123	6	43	139,889	82%	18%
Fox News	America’s Newsroom	53	231	48	185	1,952,456	62%	38%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	17	245	15	173	2,385,490	64%	36%
MSNBC	José Díaz-Balart	78	352	55	234	7,439,386	50%	50%

Ratings for 11 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	104	1,371	95	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
Al Jazeera	Inside Story (11:30)	0	10	0	5	14,522	33%	67%
CNN	@This Hour	81	3,500	62	3,419	24,309,565	67%	33%
Fox News	Happening Now	24	227	18	159	4,863,538	63%	37%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	10	245	9	173	2,385,490	64%	36%
MSNBC	News Nation w/ Tamron Hall	56	345	39	233	4,371,548	39%	61%

Ratings for 12 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	99	1,371	86	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	Legal View w/Banfield	38	61	21	37	23,089	78%	22%
Fox News	Outnumbered	599	2,185	336	1,344	11,664,716	70%	30%
HLN	HLN Now	21	138	18	108	2,526,292	36%	64%
MSNBC	Andrea Mitchell Reports	339	2,186	233	1,419	10,169,867	61%	39%

Ratings for 1 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	71	1,371	58	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	Wolf	70	1,171	54	946	32,023,335	55%	45%
Fox News	Happening Now	61	227	26	159	4,863,538	63%	37%
HLN	HLN Now	11	138	10	108	2,526,292	36%	64%
MSNBC	Ronan Farrow Daily	147	1,320	107	1,074	11,078,805	54%	46%

Ratings for 2 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	67	1,371	48	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	News Room	6	123	6	43	139,889	82%	18%
Fox News	The Real Story w/Gretchen Carlson	138	515	94	382	6,310,392	60%	40%
HLN	HLN Now	17	138	13	108	2,526,292	36%	64%
MSNBC	The Reid Report	367	1,042	117	490	2,475,520	42%	58%

Ratings for 3 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
CNN	News Room	6	123	4	43	139,889	82%	18%
Fox News	Shepard Smith Reporting	273	486	198	331	1,072,266	52%	48%
HLN	HLN Now	9	138	7	108	2,526,292	36%	64%
MSNBC	The Cycle	161	2,460	90	2,256	7,219,754	34%	66%
MSNBC	The Cycle (w/ Host Accounts)	252	3,094	130	2,664	8,691,387	40%	60%

Ratings for 4 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	43	1,371	40	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	The Lead w/Jake Tapper	152	1,827	113	1,369	8,375,548	59%	41%
Fox News	Your World	103	566	87	417	1,714,151	61%	39%
HLN	HLN Now	12	138	9	108	2,526,292	36%	64%
MSNBC	Now w/Alex Wagner	132	341	80	236	2,963,532	65%	35%

Ratings for 5 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Inside Story (5-5:30)	9	10	5	5	14,522	33%	67%
CNN	The Situation Room	113	1,171	96	946	32,023,335	55%	45%
Fox News	The Five	4	12	4	10	25,664	100%	0%
Fox News	The Five w/Hosts	666	3,639	451	2,312	12,215,431	67%	33%
MSNBC	The Ed Show	1,132	2,607	362	1,017	10,749,819	62%	38%

Ratings for 6 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	55	1,371	50	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	The Situation Room (6 – 6:30)	380	1,171	333	946	32,023,335	55%	45%
Fox News	Special Report w/Bret Baier	172	726	138	550	4,858,573	58%	42%
MSNBC	PoliticsNation w/ Al Sharpton	29	72	26	64	711,679	54%	46%

Ratings for 7 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Real Money with Ali Velshi	6	35	6	26	53,467	56%	44%
CNN	Out Front w/Erin Burnett	322	1,139	194	826	77,450,863	62%	38%
Fox News	On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren	628	2,339	445	1,507	7,520,410	56%	44%
HLN	Jane Velez-Mitchell	0	1	0	1	4	0%	100%
MSNBC	Hardball w/ Chris Matthews	663	1,419	320	770	5,429,648	60%	40%

Ratings for 8 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	85	1,371	76	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	Anderson Cooper 360	1,043	3,966	775	2,964	120,624,294	39%	61%
Fox News	The O’Reilly Factor	310	1,489	217	1,043	6,960,983	61%	39%
HLN	Nancy Grace	354	670	195	432	1,151,974	29%	71%
MSNBC	All In w/ Chris Hayes	1,796	4,259	640	2,063	31,437,481	56%	44%

Ratings for 9 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Fox News	The Kelly File	5,769	9,583	2,292	4,254	113,894,521	54%	46%
HLN	Dr Drew On Call	290	481	128	252	5,655,250	37%	63%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	1,010	3,675	433	1,920	10,653,742	46%	54%

Ratings for 10 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	7	29	2	12	31,091	50%	50%
CNN	CNN Tonight w/ Hosts	685	4,038	476	2,772	77,037,691	51%	49%
Fox News	Hannity	2,116	7,503	1,263	4,368	66,103,186	59%	41%
MSNBC	The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell	880	2,085	451	1,295	10,285,366	37%	63%

Ratings for 11 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	60	1,371	49	1,032	2,757,529	60%	40%
CNN	Anderson Cooper 360	272	3,966	207	2,964	120,624,294	39%	61%
Comedy Central	The Daily Show (11-11:30)	337	3,801	289	2,955	14,789,433	56%	44%
Comedy Central	The Colbert Report (11:30-12am)	299	2,246	270	2,009	12,528,159	55%	45%
Fox News	The O’Reilly Factor	110	1,489	81	1,043	6,960,983	61%	39%
MSNBC	All In w/Chris Hayes	244	4,259	155	2,063	31,437,481	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 (Also labeled ‘UT‘): 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. For individual shows, both the unique tweeters during an hour as well as throughout the day are shown.
• Reach: A measure of the number of impressions a collection of tweets could make. For each tweet that is sent, I add 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. There’s no guarantee that that many people actually see or read the tweet; in fact, it’s probably safe to say a very small fraction do. For individual shows, reach is only calculate on the entire day’s tweets: there’s no point in assuming that people read the tweets in real time.
• 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.