One of the weaknesses reporting Twitter metrics for Cable News shows is that there’s no bright line between cable news related tweets and those that have nothing to do with cable news.  Such was the case on Wednesday, when Taylor Swift sent this tweet:

That one tweet generated (at the time of writing) 8,800 retweets, which was enough to put Ronan Farrow into first place for both his hour and the whole day.

Is this meaningful? Is this reasonable? Not really, but it’s only a bit worse than Sean Hannity whose hours of radio broadcasts generate tweets that are counted for his Fox News show.

After Farrow, the best hour winners were Kelly, Colbert, Hannity, and Hayes.  After Farrow, the best day winners were CNNi, Kelly, Hannity, and Colbert.

Top 30 shows for the day (by best hour):

Raw data here: 2014-10-08-ShowStats.csv

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 2014-10-08

Top Shows for the day:

Category	Mentions	Show
Most Mentions During Hour	4342	MSNBC: Ronan Farrow Daily
Most Mentions During Day	9130	MSNBC: Ronan Farrow Daily

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	37	0	35	93,116	67%	33%
CNN	Vanished: Flight 370	21	177	21	160	2,528,720	64%	36%
Fox News	The Kelly File	213	6,747	167	3,736	80,314,781	56%	44%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	127	3,441	92	1,789	15,180,793	48%	52%

Ratings for 1 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	1	35	1	22	106,687	75%	25%
CNN	CNN International	160	7,358	136	5,172	108,410,303	55%	45%
Fox News	Hannity	123	6,599	106	4,049	54,371,819	61%	39%
MSNBC	The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell	46	1,447	29	906	5,678,204	50%	50%

Ratings for 2 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Real Money with Ali Velshi	0	34	0	30	177,740	87%	13%
CNN	CNN International	126	7,358	86	5,172	108,410,303	55%	45%
Fox News	On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren	34	3,558	22	2,144	29,969,618	53%	47%
HLN	Nancy Grace	9	599	9	399	498,780	38%	62%
MSNBC	Hardball w/Chris Matthews	12	1,296	10	774	4,219,657	56%	44%

Ratings for 3 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	19	1,367	15	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
Al Jazeera	Inside Story	0	2	0	2	4,950	100%	0%
CNN	CNN International	204	7,358	162	5,172	108,410,303	55%	45%
Fox News	RedEye	820	2,846	135	1,445	10,718,531	66%	34%
MSNBC	All In w/Chris Hayes	33	3,627	26	1,795	38,144,039	55%	45%

Ratings for 4 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	America Tonight	1	37	1	35	93,116	67%	33%
CNN	Early Start	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
Fox News	The Five	0	28	0	23	153,561	63%	38%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	18	3,441	12	1,789	15,180,793	48%	52%

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	34	0	30	177,740	87%	13%
CNN	Early Start	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
Fox News	FoxFriendsFirst	73	185	47	124	3,805,021	71%	29%
MSNBC	First Look (5-5:30)	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
MSNBC	Way Too Early (5:30-6)	13	41	12	33	114,552	65%	35%

Ratings for 6 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	27	1,367	23	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	New Day	292	2,521	245	1,708	68,006,824	49%	51%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	228	1,357	165	858	6,423,964	64%	36%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	19	443	16	304	1,573,859	74%	26%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	1,172	5,324	361	1,931	21,466,434	54%	46%

Ratings for 7 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	37	1,367	29	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	New Day	559	2,521	325	1,708	68,006,824	49%	51%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	302	1,357	220	858	6,423,964	64%	36%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	61	443	41	304	1,573,859	74%	26%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	1,496	5,324	489	1,931	21,466,434	54%	46%

Ratings for 8 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	83	1,367	62	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	New Day	330	2,521	227	1,708	68,006,824	49%	51%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	353	1,357	232	858	6,423,964	64%	36%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	43	443	25	304	1,573,859	74%	26%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	1,076	5,324	467	1,931	21,466,434	54%	46%

Ratings for 9 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	58	1,367	52	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	News Room	13	95	5	25	48,883	93%	7%
Fox News	America’s Newsroom	78	196	58	125	981,919	68%	32%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	95	443	74	304	1,573,859	74%	26%
MSNBC	The Daily Run Down (Melvin)	82	126	55	83	254,207	74%	26%

Ratings for 10 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	0	35	0	22	106,687	75%	25%
CNN	News Room	4	95	3	25	48,883	93%	7%
Fox News	America’s Newsroom	41	196	24	125	981,919	68%	32%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	66	443	62	304	1,573,859	74%	26%
MSNBC	José Díaz-Balart	143	488	64	251	22,625,970	48%	52%

Ratings for 11 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	87	1,367	82	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
Al Jazeera	Inside Story (11:30)	0	2	0	2	4,950	100%	0%
CNN	@This Hour	97	226	76	177	4,773,824	64%	36%
Fox News	Happening Now	29	210	26	169	9,272,378	71%	29%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	39	443	33	304	1,573,859	74%	26%
MSNBC	News Nation w/ Tamron Hall	115	404	59	225	1,746,382	44%	56%

Ratings for 12 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	101	1,367	76	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	Legal View w/Banfield	41	112	32	86	202,573	48%	52%
Fox News	Outnumbered	600	2,201	332	1,346	9,621,148	71%	29%
HLN	HLN Now	15	298	11	78	1,028,259	7%	93%
MSNBC	Andrea Mitchell Reports	175	359	107	221	880,295	52%	48%

Ratings for 1 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	61	1,367	47	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	Wolf	209	2,285	181	1,950	16,603,114	57%	43%
Fox News	Happening Now	28	210	20	169	9,272,378	71%	29%
HLN	HLN Now	15	298	12	78	1,028,259	7%	93%
MSNBC	Ronan Farrow Daily	4,342	9,130	4,028	8,323	66,864,949	24%	76%

Ratings for 2 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	65	1,367	63	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	News Room	12	95	5	25	48,883	93%	7%
Fox News	The Real Story w/Gretchen Carlson	205	624	152	381	2,254,445	60%	40%
HLN	HLN Now	14	298	13	78	1,028,259	7%	93%
MSNBC	The Reid Report	334	704	113	304	1,925,959	40%	60%

Ratings for 3 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
CNN	News Room	8	95	3	25	48,883	93%	7%
Fox News	Shepard Smith Reporting	60	451	54	362	4,880,527	55%	45%
HLN	HLN Now	8	298	8	78	1,028,259	7%	93%
MSNBC	The Cycle	58	176	39	111	764,867	57%	43%
MSNBC	The Cycle (w/ Host Accounts)	81	579	56	443	2,941,026	63%	37%

Ratings for 4 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	79	1,367	68	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	The Lead w/Jake Tapper	684	2,228	577	1,694	21,864,257	57%	43%
Fox News	Your World	64	626	41	500	903,880	63%	37%
HLN	Nancy Grace	25	599	20	399	498,780	38%	62%
MSNBC	Now w/Alex Wagner	62	176	39	125	1,250,641	66%	34%

Ratings for 5 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Inside Story (5-5:30)	1	2	1	2	4,950	100%	0%
Al Jazeera	TechKnow	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
CNN	The Situation Room	196	2,285	144	1,950	16,603,114	57%	43%
Fox News	The Five	15	28	12	23	153,561	63%	38%
Fox News	The Five w/Hosts	991	4,579	614	2,868	34,742,059	66%	34%
MSNBC	The Ed Show	1,108	2,131	366	870	10,378,089	61%	39%

Ratings for 6 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	85	1,367	72	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	The Situation Room (6 – 6:30)	192	2,285	153	1,950	16,603,114	57%	43%
Fox News	Special Report w/Bret Baier	118	755	81	581	4,587,331	58%	42%
MSNBC	PoliticsNation w/ Al Sharpton	36	72	28	50	1,391,137	76%	24%

Ratings for 7 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Real Money with Ali Velshi	1	34	1	30	177,740	87%	13%
CNN	Out Front w/Erin Burnett	280	911	172	656	6,987,552	64%	36%
Fox News	On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren	1,410	3,558	857	2,144	29,969,618	53%	47%
HLN	Jane Velez-Mitchell	0	2	0	2	42	0%	100%
MSNBC	Hardball w/ Chris Matthews	460	1,296	243	774	4,219,657	56%	44%

Ratings for 8 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	68	1,367	58	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	Anderson Cooper 360	702	5,331	549	4,302	36,499,350	53%	47%
Fox News	The O’Reilly Factor	307	2,096	215	1,280	17,941,298	64%	36%
HLN	Nancy Grace	264	599	156	399	498,780	38%	62%
MSNBC	All In w/ Chris Hayes	1,650	3,627	607	1,795	38,144,039	55%	45%

Ratings for 9 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
CNN	Sombody’s Gotta Do It	1,117	3,227	954	2,735	56,785,404	43%	57%
Fox News	The Kelly File	3,825	6,747	1,998	3,736	80,314,781	56%	44%
HLN	Dr Drew On Call	229	581	129	344	14,264,276	31%	69%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	1,204	3,441	521	1,789	15,180,793	48%	52%

Ratings for 10 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	5	35	4	22	106,687	75%	25%
CNN	CNN Tonight w/ Hosts	273	2,643	170	1,869	13,793,981	58%	42%
Fox News	Hannity	1,653	6,599	1,079	4,049	54,371,819	61%	39%
MSNBC	The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell	545	1,447	299	906	5,678,204	50%	50%

Ratings for 11 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	38	1,367	34	1,037	3,810,573	60%	40%
CNN	Anderson Cooper 360	329	5,331	282	4,302	36,499,350	53%	47%
Comedy Central	The Daily Show (11-11:30)	317	2,543	238	2,145	12,902,746	51%	49%
Comedy Central	The Colbert Report (11:30-12am)	2,021	5,338	1,771	4,794	7,413,959	62%	38%
Fox News	The O’Reilly Factor	69	2,096	56	1,280	17,941,298	64%	36%
MSNBC	All In w/Chris Hayes	368	3,627	251	1,795	38,144,039	55%	45%

 

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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.