Tuesday saw The Rachel Maddow Show bring in the most mentions during an hour, while Anderson Cooper won the most mentions throughout the day.
The 7pm to 10pm block was a powerful one for MSNBC, with Twitter mentions starting strong and building from 1918, 2185, to finally 2480 mentions per hour. That block should have gone from 5pm on, as The Ed Show, a frequent best hour winner, pulled in 1931 mentions. But Politics Nation, in the next hour, saw its mentions only come in at 614 — a substantial drop in activity. It appears that there’s an audience that engages with Ed, drifts away with Al, and then comes back with Chris Matthews; there’s an impedance mismatch in the positioning of Politics Nation.
Were I MSNBC, I would think very carefully about whether swapping Ed and Al in the schedule would drive higher engagement and, as well, higher ratings in the evening. This disparity of engagement between these two shows happens almost every week night. After a huge audience masses for Ed on social media, then it dissipates for Al, sputters along during Hardball, and doesn’t resume until Chris Hayes.
Were I in charge (note continuing use of subjunctive), I would go so far as to restructure the line up to be Sharpton at 5, Matthews at 6, Schultz at 7, and then on to Hayes and Maddow — I think that would produce the most seamless transition of audiences in the evening, boost engagement and, ultimately, deliver the highest ratings to MSNBC as a whole.
And were this CNN I’m talking about, I’m sure a schedule realignment would have happened – they play with their schedule all the time. But MSNBC seems to move very slowly (and then erratically, like when Ed was exiled to the weekends or when Baldwin and Bashir were cashiered).
But is MSNBC, to invert the phrase, letting the good be the enemy of the best? Are they happy to be merely contesting for second place?
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 2014-06-03
Top Shows for the day:
| Category | Mentions | Show |
| Most Mentions During Hour | 2480 | MSNBC: The Rachel Maddow Show |
| Most Mentions During Day | 9249 | CNN: Anderson Cooper 360 |
Ratings for individual time slots
Ratings for 12 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | America Tonight | 6 | 63 | 39% | 61% |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 | 365 | 9249 | 38% | 62% |
| Fox News | The Kelly File | 276 | 5042 | 52% | 48% |
| MSNBC | The Rachel Maddow Show | 131 | 4648 | 46% | 54% |
Ratings for 1 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Consider This | 0 | 43 | 72% | 28% |
| CNN | CNN Tonight | 30 | 451 | 53% | 47% |
| Fox News | Hannity | 205 | 7261 | 60% | 40% |
| MSNBC | The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell | 14 | 1838 | 43% | 57% |
Ratings for 2 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Real Money with Ali Velshi | 1 | 104 | 60% | 40% |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 | 96 | 9249 | 38% | 62% |
| Fox News | On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren | 14 | 2720 | 52% | 48% |
| HLN | Nancy Grace | 8 | 988 | 50% | 50% |
| MSNBC | Hardball w/Chris Matthews | 29 | 3688 | 52% | 48% |
Ratings for 3 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 25 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| Al Jazeera | Inside Story | 0 | 27 | 88% | 12% |
| CNN | CNN International | 87 | 3259 | 56% | 44% |
| Fox News | RedEye | 789 | 1747 | 60% | 40% |
| MSNBC | All In w/Chris Hayes | 87 | 7224 | 57% | 43% |
Ratings for 4 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | America Tonight | 0 | 63 | 39% | 61% |
| Al Jazeera | News | 16 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | Early Start | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| Fox News | The Five | 3 | 37 | 75% | 25% |
| MSNBC | The Rachel Maddow Show | 18 | 4648 | 46% | 54% |
Ratings for 5 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 12 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| Al Jazeera | Real Money with Ali Velshi (3:30) | 2 | 104 | 60% | 40% |
| CNN | Early Start | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| Fox News | FoxFriendsFirst | 42 | 86 | 70% | 30% |
| MSNBC | First Look (5-5:30) | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| MSNBC | Way Too Early (5:30-6) | 9 | 84 | 48% | 52% |
Ratings for 6 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 19 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | New Day | 87 | 885 | 55% | 45% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 222 | 2097 | 56% | 44% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 40 | 469 | 45% | 55% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 778 | 4319 | 56% | 44% |
Ratings for 7 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 65 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | New Day | 158 | 885 | 55% | 45% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 316 | 2097 | 56% | 44% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 50 | 469 | 45% | 55% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 1398 | 4319 | 56% | 44% |
Ratings for 8 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 98 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | New Day | 142 | 885 | 55% | 45% |
| Fox News | Fox And Friends | 327 | 2097 | 56% | 44% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 40 | 469 | 45% | 55% |
| MSNBC | Morning Joe | 877 | 4319 | 56% | 44% |
Ratings for 9 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 87 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | News Room | 7 | 73 | 74% | 26% |
| Fox News | America’s Newsroom | 11 | 38 | 75% | 25% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 55 | 469 | 45% | 55% |
| MSNBC | The Daily Run Down | 128 | 1069 | 56% | 44% |
Ratings for 10 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Consider This | 3 | 43 | 72% | 28% |
| CNN | News Room | 11 | 73 | 74% | 26% |
| Fox News | America’s Newsroom | 17 | 38 | 75% | 25% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 44 | 469 | 45% | 55% |
| MSNBC | Jansing & Co. | 67 | 112 | 56% | 44% |
Ratings for 11 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 89 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| Al Jazeera | Inside Story (11:30) | 0 | 27 | 88% | 12% |
| CNN | @This Hour | 24 | 636 | 59% | 41% |
| Fox News | Happening Now | 16 | 43 | 76% | 24% |
| HLN | Morning Express w/Robin Meade | 22 | 469 | 45% | 55% |
| MSNBC | News Nation w/ Tamron Hall | 303 | 576 | 50% | 50% |
Ratings for 12 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 103 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | Legal View w/Banfield | 30 | 38 | 60% | 40% |
| Fox News | Outnumbered | 339 | 2033 | 74% | 26% |
| HLN | HLN Now | 23 | 188 | 27% | 73% |
| MSNBC | Andrea Mitchell Reports | 300 | 741 | 46% | 54% |
Ratings for 1 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 102 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | Wolf | 53 | 406 | 61% | 39% |
| Fox News | Happening Now | 8 | 43 | 76% | 24% |
| HLN | HLN Now | 21 | 188 | 27% | 73% |
| MSNBC | Ronan Farrow Daily | 184 | 1055 | 39% | 61% |
Ratings for 2 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 91 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | News Room | 6 | 73 | 74% | 26% |
| Fox News | The Real Story w/Gretchen Carlson | 119 | 365 | 65% | 35% |
| HLN | HLN Now | 40 | 188 | 27% | 73% |
| MSNBC | The Reid Report | 421 | 1849 | 36% | 64% |
Ratings for 3 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 5 | 73 | 74% | 26% |
| Fox News | Shepard Smith Reporting | 152 | 428 | 54% | 46% |
| HLN | HLN Now | 29 | 188 | 27% | 73% |
| MSNBC | The Cycle | 66 | 233 | 55% | 45% |
| MSNBC | The Cycle (w/ Host Accounts) | 98 | 913 | 54% | 46% |
Ratings for 4 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 67 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | The Lead w/Jake Tapper | 624 | 3367 | 61% | 39% |
| Fox News | Your World | 306 | 1710 | 64% | 36% |
| HLN | HLN Now | 13 | 188 | 27% | 73% |
| MSNBC | Now w/Alex Wagner | 154 | 343 | 62% | 38% |
Ratings for 5 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Inside Story (5-5:30) | 3 | 27 | 88% | 12% |
| CNN | The Situation Room | 103 | 406 | 61% | 39% |
| Fox News | The Five | 14 | 37 | 75% | 25% |
| Fox News | The Five w/Hosts | 749 | 3217 | 65% | 35% |
| MSNBC | The Ed Show | 1931 | 3706 | 56% | 44% |
Ratings for 6 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 88 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | The Situation Room (6 – 6:30) | 45 | 406 | 61% | 39% |
| CNN | Crossfire | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| CNN | Crossfire With Hosts (6:30 – 7) | 510 | 2677 | 68% | 32% |
| Fox News | Special Report w/Bret Baier | 132 | 1474 | 48% | 52% |
| HLN | Dr Drew On Call | 66 | 597 | 33% | 67% |
| MSNBC | PoliticsNation w/ Al Sharpton | 614 | 1680 | 49% | 51% |
Ratings for 7 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Real Money with Ali Velshi | 6 | 104 | 60% | 40% |
| CNN | Out Front w/Erin Burnett | 214 | 785 | 55% | 45% |
| Fox News | On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren | 636 | 2720 | 52% | 48% |
| HLN | Jane Velez-Mitchell | 5 | 21 | 53% | 47% |
| MSNBC | Hardball w/ Chris Matthews | 1918 | 3688 | 52% | 48% |
Ratings for 8 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 54 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 | 1783 | 9249 | 38% | 62% |
| Fox News | The O’Reilly Factor | 552 | 1635 | 60% | 40% |
| HLN | Nancy Grace | 478 | 988 | 50% | 50% |
| MSNBC | All In w/ Chris Hayes | 2185 | 7224 | 57% | 43% |
Ratings for 9 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | America Tonight | 32 | 63 | 39% | 61% |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 | 1254 | 9249 | 38% | 62% |
| Fox News | The Kelly File | 1980 | 5042 | 52% | 48% |
| HLN | Dr Drew On Call | 366 | 597 | 33% | 67% |
| MSNBC | The Rachel Maddow Show | 2480 | 4648 | 46% | 54% |
Ratings for 10 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Consider This | 7 | 43 | 72% | 28% |
| CNN | CNN Tonight | 115 | 451 | 53% | 47% |
| Fox News | Hannity | 1195 | 7261 | 60% | 40% |
| MSNBC | The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell | 665 | 1838 | 43% | 57% |
Ratings for 11 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 21 | 1387 | 62% | 38% |
| CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 | 523 | 9249 | 38% | 62% |
| Comedy Central | The Daily Show (11-11:30) | 357 | 3878 | 56% | 44% |
| Comedy Central | The Colbert Report (11:30-12am) | 278 | 2514 | 68% | 32% |
| Fox News | The O’Reilly Factor | 133 | 1635 | 60% | 40% |
| MSNBC | All In w/Chris Hayes | 398 | 7224 | 57% | 43% |
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.