The Colbert Report exploded on Friday after it’s finale on Thursday (which ended right at midnight EST).  The best hour count was for the 9am rerun, although odds are high that it was just general chatter at that time rather than actual viewers.  The second best hourly count was also The Colbert Report for its 6pm showing; again, this was probably just ongoing conversation rather than viewers of that specific time.  Following Colbert was The Reid Report, Rachel Maddow, and the Ed Show.  Interestingly, the first Fox News show to make the list was at #10 for 7pm’s showing of On The Record.  For all the shows, the evening was very, very quiet:

Raw data for the day: 2014-12-19-ShowStats.csv and 2014-12-19 Schedule.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 2014-12-19

Top Shows for the day:

Category	Mentions	Show
Most Mentions During Hour	3251	Comedy Central: The Colbert Report
Most Mentions During Day	81853	Comedy Central: The Colbert Report

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	28	319	28	299	553,387	37%	63%
CNN	Parts Unknown	32	347	28	235	1,471,237	59%	41%
Fox News	The Kelly File	147	2,195	114	1,535	47,480,867	61%	39%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	144	2,703	106	1,370	12,951,421	51%	49%

Ratings for 1 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	0	3	0	3	246,556	100%	0%
CNN	CNN International	211	5,152	193	3,987	126,192,590	52%	48%
Fox News	Hannity	325	6,327	171	3,737	28,776,507	64%	36%
MSNBC	The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell	45	705	34	539	3,802,747	63%	37%

Ratings for 2 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
CNN	CNN International	245	5,152	227	3,987	126,192,590	52%	48%
Fox News	On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren	33	3,511	30	2,353	22,848,803	61%	39%
HLN	Nancy Grace	31	252	19	172	407,974	44%	56%
MSNBC	Hardball w/Chris Matthews	11	1,013	9	656	7,857,747	60%	40%

Ratings for 3 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	14	1,285	9	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
Al Jazeera	Inside Story	0	24	0	19	283,708	71%	29%
CNN	CNN International	187	5,152	169	3,987	126,192,590	52%	48%
Fox News	RedEye	547	1,982	109	1,036	12,056,745	71%	29%
MSNBC	All In w/Chris Hayes	15	2,113	14	1,043	6,243,760	51%	49%

Ratings for 4 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	America Tonight	2	319	2	299	553,387	37%	63%
CNN	Early Start	11	327	8	250	34,894,904	67%	33%
Fox News	The Five	7	703	3	460	1,958,430	73%	27%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	23	2,703	18	1,370	12,951,421	51%	49%

Ratings for 5 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	20	1,285	20	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
CNN	Early Start	19	327	16	250	34,894,904	67%	33%
Fox News	FoxFriendsFirst	81	171	44	106	382,387	75%	25%
MSNBC	First Look (5-5:30)	0	7	0	5	897	80%	20%
MSNBC	Way Too Early (5:30-6)	5	72	5	54	456,007	52%	48%

Ratings for 6 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	38	1,285	36	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
Al Jazeera	Real Money with Ali Velshi (3:30)	0	19	0	19	235,493	50%	50%
CNN	New Day	162	1,267	111	881	76,506,102	68%	32%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	406	2,741	273	1,713	31,020,639	66%	34%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	8	206	6	157	892,193	66%	34%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	924	5,392	393	2,606	25,200,081	58%	42%

Ratings for 7 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	39	1,285	33	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
CNN	New Day	130	1,267	93	881	76,506,102	68%	32%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	393	2,741	266	1,713	31,020,639	66%	34%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	17	206	17	157	892,193	66%	34%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	936	5,392	406	2,606	25,200,081	58%	42%

Ratings for 8 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	82	1,285	53	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
CNN	New Day	264	1,267	186	881	76,506,102	68%	32%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	499	2,741	344	1,713	31,020,639	66%	34%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	11	206	9	157	892,193	66%	34%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	768	5,392	358	2,606	25,200,081	58%	42%

Ratings for 9 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	63	1,285	59	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
Al Jazeera	Inside Story	0	24	0	19	283,708	71%	29%
CNN	News Room	4	98	2	48	105,031	33%	67%
Comedy Central	The Daily Show	142	2,507	134	2,302	5,226,419	63%	37%
Comedy Central	The Colbert Report	3,251	81,853	2,968	61,045	619,869,973	68%	32%
Fox News	America’s Newsroom	117	219	72	125	1,011,443	88%	12%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	36	206	29	157	892,193	66%	34%
MSNBC	The Rundown w/José Díaz-Balart	127	525	67	311	10,517,380	66%	34%

Ratings for 10 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	74	1,285	72	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
CNN	News Room	12	98	4	48	105,031	33%	67%
Fox News	America’s Newsroom	39	219	26	125	1,011,443	88%	12%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	28	206	23	157	892,193	66%	34%
MSNBC	The Rundown w/José Díaz-Balart	168	525	116	311	10,517,380	66%	34%

Ratings for 11 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	0	3	0	3	246,556	100%	0%
CNN	@This Hour	53	392	41	300	38,217,131	64%	36%
Fox News	Happening Now	26	81	12	60	5,280,485	72%	28%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	13	206	10	157	892,193	66%	34%
MSNBC	News Nation w/ Tamron Hall	88	304	56	222	663,146	60%	40%

Ratings for 12 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	39	1,285	28	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
CNN	Legal View w/Banfield	3	41	3	37	155,978	26%	74%
Fox News	Outnumbered	394	1,191	218	755	7,888,124	80%	20%
HLN	HLN Now	5	59	5	42	889,732	16%	84%
MSNBC	Andrea Mitchell Reports	117	631	79	448	6,363,583	63%	37%

Ratings for 1 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	77	1,285	59	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
CNN	Wolf	60	579	35	419	18,103,968	72%	28%
Fox News	Happening Now	11	81	9	60	5,280,485	72%	28%
HLN	HLN Now	10	59	6	42	889,732	16%	84%
MSNBC	Ronan Farrow Daily	90	601	60	399	5,161,879	59%	41%

Ratings for 2 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	122	1,285	101	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
Al Jazeera	TechKnow	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
CNN	News Room	5	98	2	48	105,031	33%	67%
Fox News	The Real Story w/Gretchen Carlson	167	365	97	227	1,535,508	71%	29%
HLN	HLN Now	5	59	5	42	889,732	16%	84%
MSNBC	The Reid Report	1,333	2,812	737	1,522	13,103,389	40%	60%

Ratings for 3 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
CNN	News Room	5	98	2	48	105,031	33%	67%
Fox News	Shepard Smith Reporting	82	187	68	151	405,961	57%	43%
HLN	HLN Now	0	59	0	42	889,732	16%	84%
MSNBC	The Cycle	73	170	46	109	1,646,398	67%	33%
MSNBC	The Cycle (w/ Host Accounts)	164	1,152	118	822	5,495,500	65%	35%

Ratings for 4 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	55	1,285	47	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
CNN	The Lead w/Jake Tapper	128	1,982	95	1,512	37,750,998	66%	34%
Fox News	Your World	88	753	62	571	8,694,942	63%	37%
HLN	HLN Now	5	59	4	42	889,732	16%	84%
MSNBC	Now w/Alex Wagner	60	278	41	216	598,382	61%	39%

Ratings for 5 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Inside Story (5-5:30)	14	24	9	19	283,708	71%	29%
CNN	The Situation Room	103	579	75	419	18,103,968	72%	28%
Fox News	The Five	403	703	249	460	1,958,430	73%	27%
Fox News	The Five w/Hosts	641	3,134	389	2,022	27,290,334	71%	29%
HLN	What Would You Do?	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
MSNBC	The Ed Show	1,138	2,371	397	942	14,869,066	61%	39%

Ratings for 6 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	69	1,285	58	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
CNN	The Situation Room (6 – 6:30)	71	579	57	419	18,103,968	72%	28%
Comedy Central	The Daily Show	72	2,507	71	2,302	5,226,419	63%	37%
Comedy Central	The Colbert Report	2,065	81,853	1,890	61,045	619,869,973	68%	32%
Fox News	Special Report w/Bret Baier	170	1,115	127	842	10,364,502	60%	40%
MSNBC	PoliticsNation w/ Al Sharpton	22	96	15	57	883,246	59%	41%

Ratings for 7 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Real Money with Ali Velshi	2	19	2	19	235,493	50%	50%
CNN	Out Front w/Erin Burnett	428	1,125	306	786	109,213,005	72%	28%
Fox News	On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren	754	3,511	507	2,353	22,848,803	61%	39%
MSNBC	Hardball w/ Chris Matthews	382	1,013	225	656	7,857,747	60%	40%

Ratings for 8 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	53	1,285	47	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
CNN	Anderson Cooper 360	431	2,294	330	1,731	174,694,788	50%	50%
Fox News	The O’Reilly Factor	313	2,442	172	2,043	2,961,759	71%	29%
MSNBC	All In w/ Chris Hayes	1,129	2,113	413	1,043	6,243,760	51%	49%

Ratings for 9 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
CNN	The Sixties	22	77	10	43	183,944	63%	38%
Fox News	The Kelly File	562	2,195	332	1,535	47,480,867	61%	39%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	1,143	2,703	429	1,370	12,951,421	51%	49%

Ratings for 10 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	1	3	1	3	246,556	100%	0%
CNN	The Sixties	13	77	10	43	183,944	63%	38%
Fox News	Hannity	449	6,327	297	3,737	28,776,507	64%	36%
HBO	Real Time w/Bill Maher	102	3,628	88	3,136	5,717,904	74%	26%

Ratings for 11 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	62	1,285	54	970	4,072,270	63%	37%
CNN	The Sixties	42	77	23	43	183,944	63%	38%
Fox News	The O’Reilly Factor	54	2,442	38	2,043	2,961,759	71%	29%
HBO	Real Time w/Bill Maher (Rerun)	67	3,628	50	3,136	5,717,904	74%	26%

 

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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.