There can be no doubt about it: Fox News’ coverage of the State of the Union speech blew out MSNBC and CNN’s coverage on Twitter. I expected it to be hard to tell, given that so many SOTU tweets were not specifically labeled with a network, but when you see the ones that I could associate with a network the numbers are impressive:

MSNBC barely beat out CNN for second place but, given the caveats about how hard it was to accurately associate tweets with networks, the differences in their respective counts are not meaningful.

(If you’re interested in my methodology, I basically tracked the hosts for each network’s coverage independently and, if the network had a network-specific hashtag, I tracked that too).

Raw data for the day: 2015-01-20-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 2015-01-20

Top Shows for the day:

Category	Mentions	Show
Most Mentions During Hour	18948	Fox News: Fox SOTU
Most Mentions During Day	45582	Fox News: Fox SOTU

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	76	0	74	592,944	48%	52%
CNN	CNN International	138	6,677	122	5,393	339,533,143	59%	41%
Fox News	The Kelly File	233	10,293	197	6,060	198,371,327	62%	38%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	163	8,542	73	3,767	24,306,646	50%	50%

Ratings for 1 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	0	13	0	13	6,565	50%	50%
CNN	CNN International	88	6,677	66	5,393	339,533,143	59%	41%
Comedy Central	The Daily Show	81	2,718	72	2,271	7,248,483	57%	43%
Comedy Central	The Nightly Show	307	6,622	246	4,693	101,406,993	60%	40%
Fox News	Hannity	417	11,592	308	7,250	60,953,375	62%	38%
MSNBC	The Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell	47	568	32	405	987,747	52%	48%

Ratings for 2 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
CNN	CNN International	240	6,677	223	5,393	339,533,143	59%	41%
Fox News	On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren	70	3,009	56	1,928	39,434,110	58%	42%
HLN	Nancy Grace	25	889	24	721	5,461,738	57%	43%
MSNBC	Hardball w/Chris Matthews	16	2,604	11	1,677	5,835,736	53%	47%

Ratings for 3 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	21	1,985	11	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
Al Jazeera	Inside Story	0	12	0	10	28,146	86%	14%
CNN	CNN International	395	6,677	346	5,393	339,533,143	59%	41%
Fox News	RedEye	644	13,504	114	7,525	28,230,861	66%	34%
MSNBC	All In w/Chris Hayes	27	5,802	17	3,552	49,591,313	57%	43%

Ratings for 4 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	America Tonight	0	76	0	74	592,944	48%	52%
CNN	Early Start	121	1,015	102	840	66,707,536	61%	39%
Fox News	The Five	19	3,899	13	2,635	40,026,691	64%	36%
MSNBC	The Rachel Maddow Show	29	8,542	15	3,767	24,306,646	50%	50%

Ratings for 5 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	11	1,985	10	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	Early Start	102	1,015	96	840	66,707,536	61%	39%
Fox News	FoxFriendsFirst	85	236	51	167	760,171	58%	42%
MSNBC	First Look	1	15	1	15	20,547	86%	14%
MSNBC	Way Too Early (5:30-6)	14	89	9	73	230,825	54%	46%

Ratings for 6 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	33	1,985	23	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
Al Jazeera	Real Money with Ali Velshi (3:30)	7	120	7	95	2,525,957	53%	47%
CNN	New Day	377	3,002	309	2,430	117,138,955	57%	43%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	549	4,190	359	2,788	23,924,966	60%	40%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	27	243	23	201	235,320	59%	41%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	782	4,173	239	1,462	14,594,724	52%	48%

Ratings for 7 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	19	1,985	19	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	New Day	559	3,002	495	2,430	117,138,955	57%	43%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	628	4,190	460	2,788	23,924,966	60%	40%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	37	243	31	201	235,320	59%	41%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	1,537	4,173	505	1,462	14,594,724	52%	48%

Ratings for 8 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	41	1,985	30	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	New Day	557	3,002	471	2,430	117,138,955	57%	43%
Fox News	Fox And Friends	725	4,190	485	2,788	23,924,966	60%	40%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	29	243	28	201	235,320	59%	41%
MSNBC	Morning Joe	792	4,173	356	1,462	14,594,724	52%	48%

Ratings for 9 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	80	1,985	55	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
Al Jazeera	Inside Story	0	12	0	10	28,146	86%	14%
CNN	News Room	12	76	11	43	136,379	67%	33%
Comedy Central	The Daily Show	156	2,718	148	2,271	7,248,483	57%	43%
Fox News	America’s Newsroom	108	355	66	221	3,032,292	72%	28%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	28	243	24	201	235,320	59%	41%
MSNBC	The Rundown w/José Díaz-Balart	141	589	81	321	12,194,858	50%	50%

Ratings for 10 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	107	1,985	93	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	News Room	4	76	4	43	136,379	67%	33%
Comedy Central	The Nightly Show	262	6,622	233	4,693	101,406,993	60%	40%
Fox News	America’s Newsroom	97	355	58	221	3,032,292	72%	28%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	27	243	23	201	235,320	59%	41%
MSNBC	The Rundown w/José Díaz-Balart	144	589	83	321	12,194,858	50%	50%

Ratings for 11 am

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	1	13	1	13	6,565	50%	50%
CNN	@This Hour	66	425	52	313	23,401,208	48%	52%
Fox News	Happening Now	33	166	26	115	1,514,874	66%	34%
HLN	Morning Express w/Robin Meade	17	243	14	201	235,320	59%	41%
MSNBC	News Nation w/ Tamron Hall	116	674	78	536	5,699,419	44%	56%

Ratings for 12 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	95	1,985	75	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	Legal View w/Banfield	61	131	46	101	709,666	53%	47%
Fox News	Outnumbered	493	9,652	299	5,719	54,339,490	66%	34%
HLN	The Daily Share	22	142	12	114	340,936	49%	51%
MSNBC	Andrea Mitchell Reports	594	2,730	366	1,988	21,184,719	52%	48%

Ratings for 1 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	81	1,985	71	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	Wolf	72	2,591	65	1,982	218,026,938	63%	37%
Fox News	Happening Now	30	166	23	115	1,514,874	66%	34%
HLN	The Daily Share	13	142	8	114	340,936	49%	51%
MSNBC	Ronan Farrow Daily	103	6,018	62	3,843	11,041,146	40%	60%

Ratings for 2 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	64	1,985	54	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	News Room	7	76	5	43	136,379	67%	33%
Fox News	The Real Story w/Gretchen Carlson	125	1,783	79	1,415	11,695,626	60%	40%
HLN	The Daily Share	4	142	4	114	340,936	49%	51%
MSNBC	The Reid Report	331	5,915	115	3,761	11,160,754	35%	65%

Ratings for 3 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
CNN	News Room	5	76	5	43	136,379	67%	33%
Fox News	Shepard Smith Reporting	220	1,237	174	927	10,700,263	61%	39%
HLN	The Daily Share	7	142	7	114	340,936	49%	51%
MSNBC	The Cycle	83	471	50	366	3,492,196	53%	47%
MSNBC	The Cycle (w/ Host Accounts)	114	3,964	72	2,774	11,776,599	58%	42%

Ratings for 4 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	75	1,985	68	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	The Lead w/Jake Tapper	157	6,000	122	4,830	167,918,305	57%	43%
Fox News	Your World	280	2,330	189	1,649	20,414,301	62%	38%
HLN	The Daily Share	4	142	3	114	340,936	49%	51%
MSNBC	NOW with Alex Wagner	72	1,870	40	1,418	4,656,249	56%	44%

Ratings for 5 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Inside Story (5-5:30)	0	12	0	10	28,146	86%	14%
CNN	The Situation Room	303	2,591	244	1,982	218,026,938	63%	37%
Fox News	The Five	1,045	3,899	703	2,635	40,026,691	64%	36%
Fox News	The Five w/Hosts	1,987	29,715	1,233	14,223	141,847,324	63%	37%
HLN	What Would You Do?	0	1	0	1	3,240	0%	100%
MSNBC	The Ed Show	1,419	3,992	498	1,900	18,706,296	58%	42%

Ratings for 6 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	69	1,985	59	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	The Situation Room (6 – 6:30)	359	2,591	311	1,982	218,026,938	63%	37%
Comedy Central	The Daily Show	116	2,718	109	2,271	7,248,483	57%	43%
Comedy Central	The Nightly Show	275	6,622	245	4,693	101,406,993	60%	40%
Fox News	Special Report w/Bret Baier	222	4,394	161	2,867	37,498,685	60%	40%
MSNBC	PoliticsNation w/ Al Sharpton	24	59	22	51	2,001,594	58%	42%

Ratings for 7 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Real Money with Ali Velshi	24	120	21	95	2,525,957	53%	47%
CNN	Out Front w/Erin Burnett	954	1,953	797	1,539	155,286,377	68%	32%
Fox News	On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren	917	3,009	642	1,928	39,434,110	58%	42%
MSNBC	Hardball w/ Chris Matthews	446	2,604	268	1,677	5,835,736	53%	47%

Ratings for 8 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	111	1,985	85	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	Anderson Cooper 360	274	2,215	227	1,735	91,232,804	53%	47%
Fox News	The O’Reilly Factor	544	1,731	392	1,254	7,212,252	65%	35%
MSNBC	MSNBC SOTU	948	10,797	665	7,035	33,822,812	56%	44%

Ratings for 9 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
CNN	CNN SOTU	969	9,683	856	7,315	409,723,993	59%	41%
Fox News	Fox SOTU	18,948	45,582	8,547	18,812	519,650,515	59%	41%
MSNBC	MSNBC SOTU	1,943	10,797	1,566	7,035	33,822,812	56%	44%

Ratings for 10 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	Consider This	0	13	0	13	6,565	50%	50%
CNN	CNN SOTU	2,233	9,683	2,004	7,315	409,723,993	59%	41%
Fox News	Fox SOTU	13,284	45,582	7,388	18,812	519,650,515	59%	41%
MSNBC	MSNBC SOTU	2,630	10,797	2,000	7,035	33,822,812	56%	44%

Ratings for 11 pm

Network	Show	Twts Hour	Twts Day	UT Hour	UT Day	Reach	Male	Female
Al Jazeera	News	105	1,985	84	1,381	9,114,282	58%	42%
CNN	Anderson Cooper 360	161	2,215	128	1,735	91,232,804	53%	47%
Comedy Central	The Daily Show	319	2,718	264	2,271	7,248,483	57%	43%
Comedy Central	The Nightly Show	946	6,622	628	4,693	101,406,993	60%	40%
Fox News	The Kelly File SOTU	3,872	10,293	2,182	6,060	198,371,327	62%	38%
MSNBC	MSNBC SOTU	1,317	10,797	891	7,035	33,822,812	56%	44%

 

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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 00,000. 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.