First, a word of caution: because of the breaking news in Ferguson, Mo., schedules were thrown out the window as events unfolded. MSNBC’s coverage included on-the-ground reports by Chris Hayes, while CNN’s CNN International team anchored their coverage. Al Jazeera seemed to pop ion and out, and Fox News ignored it more or less. I tried to capture CNN and MSNBC’s impromptu broadcasts as much as possible, but I have undoubtedly missed a large swath of Twitter activity. So take this for what it is.
What I see is roughly the following:
- MSNBC just dominated the coverage in Ferguson. Chris Hayes had, in one hour, more mentions than almost anyone ever gets in an entire day on any network. I appreciate that there were more people on MSNBC’s broadcast, but Chris was the main attraction (e.g. Goldie Taylor got about 1000 mentions in the 11pm hour, although her big surge in mentions came right after midnight and so missed Sunday’s cutoff). Chris’ daily mentions are essentially as many as MSNBC’s (@MSNBC).
- The Melissa Harris-Perry show, which was in the morning, would have easily won best hour and best day if I had not included Chris in the rankings. But her mentions during the broadcast were among the strongest she’s seen.
- Events in Ferguson continued past the midnight ET hour, which is where I end my day. The ratings for Monday will be similarly affected, as we’ll see when I run the stats tomorrow.
Again, with schedules topsy-turvy because of events, I did not capture everything going on, but you can see from what I did capture that Sunday was huge.
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 2014-08-17
Top Shows for the day:
| Category | Mentions | Show |
| Most Mentions During Hour | 12148 | MSNBC: Chris Hayes in Ferguson |
| Most Mentions During Day | 15150 | MSNBC: MSNBC Ferguson Coverage |
Ratings for individual time slots
Ratings for 12 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Consider This | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| CNN | Blackfish | 1682 | 11548 | 23% | 77% |
| Fox News | Huckabee | 1 | 213 | 59% | 41% |
Ratings for 1 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 134 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| Fox News | Judge Jeanine | 47 | 1017 | 57% | 43% |
| Fox News | Fox News Reporting | 0 | 5 | 33% | 67% |
Ratings for 2 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | TechKnow | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| CNN | CNN International | 172 | 4196 | 56% | 44% |
| Fox News | RedEye | 126 | 885 | 66% | 34% |
Ratings for 3 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 37 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | CNN International | 108 | 4196 | 56% | 44% |
| Fox News | Huckabee | 14 | 213 | 59% | 41% |
Ratings for 4 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 32 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | CNN International | 162 | 4196 | 56% | 44% |
| Fox News | Geraldo At Large | 0 | 106 | 64% | 36% |
Ratings for 5 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 28 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | New Day | 43 | 1037 | 48% | 52% |
| Fox News | Huckabee | 4 | 213 | 59% | 41% |
Ratings for 6 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 21 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | New Day | 53 | 1037 | 48% | 52% |
| Fox News | Fox and Friends Weekend | 47 | 512 | 46% | 54% |
Ratings for 7 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 30 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | New Day | 28 | 1037 | 48% | 52% |
| CNN | Sanjay Gupta MD (7:30) | 4 | 126 | 41% | 59% |
| Fox News | Fox and Friends Weekend | 58 | 512 | 46% | 54% |
| HLN | Weekend Express | 6 | 78 | 50% | 50% |
| MSNBC | Your Business (7:30) | 2 | 13 | 29% | 71% |
Ratings for 8 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 64 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | New Day | 145 | 1037 | 48% | 52% |
| CNN | Inside Politics | 3 | 183 | 48% | 52% |
| Fox News | Fox and Friends Weekend | 79 | 512 | 46% | 54% |
| HLN | Weekend Express | 14 | 78 | 50% | 50% |
| MSNBC | Up w/Steve Kornacki | 949 | 3358 | 41% | 59% |
Ratings for 9 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | State of the Union | 617 | 2310 | 52% | 48% |
| Fox News | Fox and Friends Weekend | 139 | 512 | 46% | 54% |
| HLN | Weekend Express | 14 | 78 | 50% | 50% |
| MSNBC | Up w/Steve Kornacki | 1265 | 3358 | 41% | 59% |
Ratings for 10 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | GPS w/Fareed Zakaria | 177 | 706 | 66% | 34% |
| Fox News | Sunday Morning Futures | 125 | 329 | 60% | 40% |
| HLN | Weekend Express | 16 | 78 | 50% | 50% |
| MSNBC | Melissa Harris-Perry Show | 3914 | 11919 | 39% | 61% |
Ratings for 11 am
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 134 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | Reliable Sources | 316 | 575 | 53% | 47% |
| Fox News | #MediaBuzz | 268 | 707 | 72% | 28% |
| HLN | Weekend Express | 7 | 78 | 50% | 50% |
| MSNBC | Melissa Harris-Perry Show | 4478 | 11919 | 39% | 61% |
Ratings for 12 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 139 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | State of the Union w/Candy Crowley | 419 | 2310 | 52% | 48% |
| Fox News | America’s News HQ | 26 | 324 | 65% | 35% |
| Fox News | Sunday Housecall | 2 | 4 | 50% | 50% |
| HLN | Weekend Express | 4 | 78 | 50% | 50% |
| MSNBC | Weekends w/ Alex Witt | 73 | 246 | 53% | 47% |
Ratings for 1 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 102 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | GPS w/Fareed Zakaria | 132 | 706 | 66% | 34% |
| Fox News | America’s News HQ | 90 | 324 | 65% | 35% |
| MSNBC | Weekends w/Alex Witt | 87 | 246 | 53% | 47% |
Ratings for 2 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 66 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | News Room | 6 | 171 | 62% | 38% |
| Fox News | Fox News Sunday | 375 | 3361 | 60% | 40% |
| MSNBC | Meet The Press | 497 | 7285 | 56% | 44% |
Ratings for 3 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | News Room | 2 | 171 | 62% | 38% |
| Fox News | America’s News HQ | 17 | 324 | 65% | 35% |
| Fox News | WSJ Editorial Report (3:00) | 8 | 9 | 100% | 0% |
| MSNBC | MSNBC Live w/Craig Melvin | 0 | 14 | 75% | 25% |
Ratings for 4 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 159 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | News Room | 14 | 171 | 62% | 38% |
| Fox News | A Healthy You w/ Carol Alt (4pm) | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| Fox News | Sunday Housecall (4:30) | 1 | 4 | 50% | 50% |
| MSNBC | MSNBC Ferguson Coverage | 851 | 15150 | 51% | 49% |
Ratings for 5 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | Real Money with Ali Velshi (2:30) | 1 | 48 | 74% | 26% |
| CNN | News Room | 26 | 171 | 62% | 38% |
| Fox News | #MediaBuzz | 128 | 707 | 72% | 28% |
| MSNBC | MSNBC Ferguson Coverage | 1141 | 15150 | 51% | 49% |
Ratings for 6 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 69 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | News Room | 45 | 171 | 62% | 38% |
| Fox News | Fox News Sunday | 85 | 3361 | 60% | 40% |
Ratings for 7 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Fox News | Fox Report Weekend | 1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
Ratings for 8 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 39 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | The Hunt with John Walsh | 20 | 225 | 50% | 50% |
| Fox News | Huckabee | 76 | 213 | 59% | 41% |
Ratings for 9 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| CNN | The Hunt with John Walsh | 34 | 225 | 50% | 50% |
| Fox News | Judge Jeanine | 45 | 1017 | 57% | 43% |
Ratings for 10 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | America Tonight | 19 | 311 | 53% | 47% |
| CNN | The Hunt with John Walsh | 36 | 225 | 50% | 50% |
| CNN | CNNi Ferguson Coverage | 142 | 4196 | 56% | 44% |
| Fox News | Stossel | 44 | 205 | 78% | 22% |
| MSNBC | Chris Hayes in Ferguson | 215 | 15124 | 56% | 44% |
Ratings for 11 pm
| Network | Show | Tweets Hour | Tweets Day | Male | Female |
| Al Jazeera | News | 194 | 2142 | 55% | 45% |
| CNN | The Hunt with John Walsh | 27 | 225 | 50% | 50% |
| CNN | CNNi Ferguson Coverage | 831 | 4196 | 56% | 44% |
| Fox News | Huckabee | 26 | 213 | 59% | 41% |
| MSNBC | Chris Hayes in Ferguson | 12148 | 15124 | 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.