Between having a notorious tweet last week and having Twitter founder Biz Stone on Monday, it’s no surprise that The Colbert Report had the best engagement during its broadcast of any cable news show yesterday.
Apart from Colbert, the Rachel Maddow Show did surprisingly well compared to the normal levels of engagement it receives.
Michael Smerconish’s debut on CNN didn’t generate huge Twitter engagement, but given how poorly the show is promoted, I guess that’s not surprising. What I don’t understand is how cable networks, with huge operating budgets, can fail to do the simple things like build a landing page for a show (even if it’s only on for a week) and not promote the show in social media (no hashtags, now show accounts, no thing). It’s just so sloppy. And CNN wonders why they are lagging in the ratings (absent a missing plane): it’s because they don’t do the foundational work necessary to be successful.
Sharpen your saws, CNN.
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 2014-03-31
Top Shows for the day:
| Category | Mentions | Show |
| Most Mentions During Hour | 3945 | Comedy Central: The Colbert Report (11:30-12am) |
| Most Mentions During Day | 10839 | E: E! News |
Ratings for individual time slots
Ratings for 12 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Fox News | Hannity | 245 | 7143 | 60% | 40% |
Ratings for 1 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Fox News | Stossel | 20 | 136 | 60% | 40% |
Ratings for 2 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 30 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| Fox News | Fox News Sunday | 7 | 265 | 58% | 42% |
Ratings for 3 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 14 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| Al Jazeera | The Stream | 2 | 671 | 66% | 34% |
| Fox News | Huckabee | 9 | 148 | 60% | 40% |
Ratings for 4 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | EarlyStartCNN | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| Fox News | #MediaBuzz | 0 | 93 | 72% | 28% |
Ratings for 5 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 7 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | EarlyStartCNN | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| Fox News | FoxFriendsFirst | 29 | 54 | 75% | 25% |
| MSNBC | First Look (5-5:30) | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| MSNBC | Way Too Early (5:30-6) | 24 | 99 | 61% | 39% |
Ratings for 6 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 19 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | New Day | 124 | 1229 | 53% | 47% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 194 | 1301 | 64% | 36% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 799 | 3301 | 55% | 45% |
Ratings for 7 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 60 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | New Day | 176 | 1229 | 53% | 47% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 252 | 1301 | 64% | 36% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 23 | 338 | 71% | 29% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 869 | 3301 | 55% | 45% |
Ratings for 8 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 101 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | New Day | 129 | 1229 | 53% | 47% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 215 | 1301 | 64% | 36% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 43 | 338 | 71% | 29% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 570 | 3301 | 55% | 45% |
Ratings for 9 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Consider This | 0 | 57 | 75% | 25% |
| CNN | News Room | 4 | 36 | 44% | 56% |
| Fox News | America’s Newsroom | 10 | 81 | 64% | 36% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 49 | 338 | 71% | 29% |
| MSNBC | The Daily Run Down | 281 | 1257 | 57% | 43% |
Ratings for 10 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 77 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | News Room | 1 | 36 | 44% | 56% |
| Fox News | America’s Newsroom | 16 | 81 | 64% | 36% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 19 | 338 | 71% | 29% |
| MSNBC | Jansing & Co. | 231 | 337 | 66% | 34% |
Ratings for 11 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 132 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| Al Jazeera | Inside Story (11:30) | 0 | 18 | 100% | 0% |
| CNN | @This Hour | 29 | 857 | 55% | 45% |
| Fox News | Happening Now | 12 | 62 | 71% | 29% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 8 | 338 | 71% | 29% |
| MSNBC | News Nation w/ Tamron Hall | 32 | 500 | 37% | 63% |
Ratings for 12 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 156 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| Al Jazeera | The Stream (12:30) | 33 | 671 | 66% | 34% |
| CNN | Legal View w/Banfield | 14 | 27 | 74% | 26% |
| E | E! News | 1261 | 10839 | 20% | 80% |
| Fox News | Happening Now | 28 | 62 | 71% | 29% |
| HLN | On The Case | 9 | 123 | 46% | 54% |
| MSNBC | Andrea Mitchell Reports | 103 | 222 | 64% | 36% |
Ratings for 1 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 172 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | Wolf | 71 | 1299 | 70% | 30% |
| Fox News | America’s News HQ | 8 | 44 | 60% | 40% |
| HLN | On The Case | 16 | 123 | 46% | 54% |
| MSNBC | Ronan Farrow Daily | 456 | 3337 | 67% | 33% |
Ratings for 2 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 130 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | News Room | 1 | 36 | 44% | 56% |
| Fox News | The Real Story w/Gretchen Carlson | 151 | 415 | 66% | 34% |
| HLN | On The Case | 8 | 123 | 46% | 54% |
| MSNBC | The Reid Report | 295 | 887 | 48% | 52% |
Ratings for 3 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 5 | 36 | 44% | 56% |
| Fox News | Shepard Smith Reporting | 32 | 65 | 70% | 30% |
| HLN | News Now | 9 | 123 | 46% | 54% |
| MSNBC | The Cycle | 90 | 250 | 55% | 45% |
| MSNBC | The Cycle (w/ Host Accounts) | 117 | 530 | 61% | 39% |
Ratings for 4 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 148 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | The Lead w/Jake Tapper | 136 | 879 | 59% | 41% |
| Fox News | Your World | 236 | 669 | 69% | 31% |
| HLN | News Now | 18 | 123 | 46% | 54% |
| MSNBC | Now w/Alex Wagner | 101 | 392 | 71% | 29% |
Ratings for 5 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Inside Story (5-5:30) | 0 | 18 | 100% | 0% |
| CNN | The Situation Room | 85 | 1299 | 70% | 30% |
| Fox News | The Five | 287 | 607 | 66% | 34% |
| Fox News | The Five w/Hosts | 571 | 2830 | 60% | 40% |
| MSNBC | The Ed Show | 1638 | 3569 | 55% | 45% |
Ratings for 6 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 94 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | The Situation Room (6 – 6:30) | 220 | 1299 | 70% | 30% |
| Fox News | Special Report w/Bret Baier | 332 | 1009 | 63% | 37% |
| MSNBC | PoliticsNation w/ Al Sharpton | 402 | 974 | 47% | 53% |
Ratings for 7 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Real Money with Ali Velshi | 16 | 152 | 74% | 26% |
| Al Jazeera | The Stream (7:30 – 8) | 141 | 671 | 66% | 34% |
| CNN | Out Front w/Erin Burnett | 255 | 529 | 78% | 22% |
| E | E! News | 580 | 10839 | 20% | 80% |
| Fox News | On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren | 247 | 1295 | 52% | 48% |
| HLN | Jane Velez-Mitchell | 44 | 272 | 31% | 69% |
| MSNBC | Hardball w/ Chris Matthews | 389 | 783 | 58% | 42% |
Ratings for 8 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 170 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 | 1016 | 3400 | 51% | 49% |
| Fox News | The O’Reilly Factor | 211 | 909 | 64% | 36% |
| HLN | Nancy Grace | 459 | 788 | 37% | 63% |
| MSNBC | All In w/ Chris Hayes | 1045 | 2349 | 54% | 46% |
Ratings for 9 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | America Tonight | 18 | 215 | 59% | 41% |
| CNN | Smerconish | 227 | 401 | 62% | 38% |
| Fox News | The Kelly File | 1481 | 3076 | 64% | 36% |
| HLN | Dr Drew On Call | 165 | 282 | 37% | 63% |
| MSNBC | The Rachel Maddow Show | 1915 | 4394 | 50% | 50% |
Ratings for 10 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Consider This | 14 | 57 | 75% | 25% |
| CNN | Mystery of Flight 370 | 335 | 1613 | 63% | 37% |
| Fox News | Hannity | 1349 | 7143 | 60% | 40% |
| MSNBC | The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell | 671 | 1560 | 46% | 54% |
Ratings for 11 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 104 | 2408 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | Outfront w/Burnett | 30 | 529 | 78% | 22% |
| Comedy Central | The Daily Show (11-11:30) | 348 | 2139 | 54% | 46% |
| Comedy Central | The Colbert Report (11:30-12am) | 3945 | 4907 | 65% | 35% |
| E | E! News (11:30pm) | 241 | 10839 | 20% | 80% |
| Fox News | The O’Reilly Factor | 195 | 909 | 64% | 36% |
| MSNBC | All In w/Chris Hayes | 111 | 2349 | 54% | 46% |
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.