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Top Sports Ratings Moments of 2021

The following list counts down the biggest sports ratings highlights within the past twelve months, based on its impact on the sports television spectrum.

Doug Pucci

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During the year 2021, sports were approaching some sense of normalcy. Thanks to the available vaccines, fans returned to fill arenas and stadiums, while those at homes or elsewhere were gradually flocking back to their TV sets or mobile viewing devices. But as the calendar transitioned from 2021 to 2022, the pandemic remained a concern, with a continued impact upon the sports world.

The following list counts down the biggest sports ratings highlights within the past twelve months, based on its impact on the sports television spectrum as we all attempt to come out of the pandemic. America’s four major sports are represented, as are the WNBA, MLS, and PGA golf.

10. NHL Sees Immediate Gains Upon Returns to ESPN and ABC

After a 17-year absence, the National Hockey League returned to the cable network where it found its footing in the ’80s and ’90s, ESPN. Bolstered by its frequent mentions in ads and features throughout its studio shows (most notably, “SportsCenter”), the start of the season with marquee team Pittsburgh Penguins at defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning drew just shy of one million viewers. That was enough to have delivered the largest NHL opening night audience on cable on record (since 1993)

This is the first of three sports ratings moments on this list to have taken place at or surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday. ABC’s telecast of New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins on Nov. 26 averaged 1.23 million viewers (with a peak of 1.57 million), marking the most-watched NHL Black Friday Gams since 2016.

9. Continued Growth for WNBA Finals

When the stars come out to play, fans will follow. This year’s WNBA Finals featured several notable names: Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, and Skylar Diggins-Smith. The series’ peak viewership came on Oct. 12 for the Phoenix Mercury’s Game 2 overtime win (their lone Finals victory) over the Chicago Sky. It delivered 763,000 viewers, having aired on ESPN — the most-watched WNBA Finals game on any network, including ABC, in four years. That figure lifted the Finals’ average to 548,000 viewers across its four games which is the championship series’ largest since 2017.

The Finals have steadily increased in consecutive years (2019-21) for the first time since 2004-07.

8. MLS Has a Postseason to Remember

It was, no doubt, assisted by its NFL lead-in, but Major League Soccer gladly accepted the viewer boost on Thanksgiving Day. The playoffs were already in full swing, and one of its important matches featured the Colorado Rapids versus the Portland Timbers. Taking place after NFL Bears-Lions, almost 1.9 million watched MLS action — the largest audience for the league since the 2016 MLS Cup, which aired on Fox and Spanish-language broadcaster UniMas. The mark was MLS’ largest on a single network since 2004.

Adding to its banner postseason, the No. 1 TV market in the nation became home to the MLS Cup champions, NYCFC. An average of 1.1 million had watched NYCFC’s victory over Portland, the most-watched single-network MLS Cup viewership since 2018.

7. NBA Gives Its Playoffs a Jolt with Play-In Action

Emerging from a season following one that was thrown into flux in 2020, the NBA devised a new look to their playoff format. There would still be eight top seeds in each conference to qualify for the postseason, but the determinations of the 7th and 8th seeds changed. In addition, a mini-tournament that also involved the 9th and 10th seeded teams provided a Wild Card-Esque feel that the NFL, MLB, and college basketball already implement.

Of the six available Play-In games, one was the clear must-see matchup: no. 8 seed Golden State Warriors at no. 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers. It was the first meaningful game between longtime rivals LeBron James and Stephen Curry in three years.

James had previously voiced his dissatisfaction with the new playoff setup. The NBA, on the other hand, could not have been more ecstatic by the monster ratings results from Warriors-Lakers. 5.6 million tuned in on May 19, cable’s top viewer mark for an NBA telecast (excluding playoffs and All-Star Games) since Christmas Day 2011.

6. The Manning Brothers Become NFL’s Newest Star Commentators

Since his retirement, TV networks have vied for Peyton Manning — a popular spokesperson for several products and companies throughout his Hall of Fame career — to join their team as a color analyst.

ESPN had especially eyed him for “Monday Night Football.” In 2021, they finally got him… but not in a conventional capacity: Peyton and his younger brother, fellow two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning as commentators on an alternate “MNF” broadcast for ESPN2.

The ManningCast caused an immediate stir. Its premiere attracted 800,000 viewers; it more than doubled to 1.9 million viewers by week two.

Their eye-opening nuts-and-bolts football talk, along with being joined by celebrities of all types like Charles Barkley, Phil Mickelson, Condoleeza Rice, and David Letterman, delivered much buzz for the casual sports fan. It even birthed a new player curse — the active football stars who made guest appearances on it wound up on the losing end of their subsequent games.

5. MLB Wild Card Sets New Milestones

At the publication time of this list, baseball owners locked out the players amidst negotiating terms for a new financial agreement. Among the ideas proposed during negotiations was an expansion of the MLB postseason to either a 12-team or 14-team format. That would lead to a larger Wild Card round, akin to the best-of-three first-round playoff structure tested out in the fall of 2020. Precipitating these discussions are the recently-agreed-to extended deals with ESPN, TBS, and Fox — the thought being that more playoff games will result in more revenue. Nonetheless, if 2021 was any indication, the higher-ups might be tempted to leave well enough alone.

The starting games of the postseason outdrawing almost every subsequent Division Series and League Championship Series game is nothing new. But in this past year, both single-game Wild Card eliminations achieved significant milestones. Of course, it helped that all four Wild Card participants were familiar teams with big fan bases.

The New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox on Oct. 5 — another chapter in their storied rivalry — averaged 7.69 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2. It was the best viewer figure recorded by Nielsen Media Research for an MLB game on ESPN platforms since covering Mark McGwire’s now-controversial 61st home run (tying Roger Maris’ mark of 1961) back on Sep. 7, 1998.

On the following night (Oct. 6), the St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers, which concluded with a walk-off win for LA, averaged 6.67 million viewers. It was the second most-watched MLB Wild Card game in TBS history; only Cubs-Pirates from 2015 had drawn more.

4. NFL Dominates the Holidays

We’ve already mentioned Thanksgiving for the NHL and MLS on this list. But when you think of the holiday, you think of the NFL and “America’s Team,” the Dallas Cowboys. Add into the mix the Raiders who triumphed over the Cowboys in overtime, and, with nearly 38 million viewers, you’ve got the biggest NFL regular-season telecast since the infamous 1993 Thanksgiving Dolphins-Cowboys matchup (the Leon Lett game).

Thanksgiving was not the only holiday the NFL flexed its ratings muscles. The league was the figurative bull in a china shop on Christmas Day, the perennial bastion for the NBA, with its doubleheader of Browns-Packers and Colts-Cardinals. Almost 29 million across Fox and NFL Network saw Green Bay’s close win over Cleveland from Lambeau Field, achieving the second most-watched multi-platform “Thursday Night Football” game on record (only the 3-network telecast of Patriots-Giants in 2007 when New England accomplished an undefeated regular season drew more).

3. Baseball Became a Field of Dreams Once Again

Kevin Costner was one of the biggest movie stars of the ’80s and ’90s. During the past decade, he’s been the king of the small screen from his Emmy-winning turn in the blockbuster miniseries “Hatfields & McCoys” to starring in TV’s No. 1 scripted series, the cable sudser “Yellowstone.” In August 2021, Costner achieved another massive TV audience courtesy of revisiting his 1989 film classic “Field of Dreams.” MLB and the Fox network turned the magic of Hollywood into reality in the small town of Dyersville, Iowa, for a game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox.

The backdrop of the cornfields over the outfield wall, the players’ vintage uniforms, and the game concluding with a walk-off home run by the White Sox all combined for a special night to remember. 5.9 million viewers watched the contest, posting the largest amount for an MLB regular-season game on any network since 2005.

2. The Majesty of the Olympics Loses Some of Its TV Luster

The world came together once more in the spirit of competition this past summer in Tokyo, Japan.

The figurative pandemic clouds still hovered over the proceedings, from athletes disqualified by testing positive for the coronavirus to the empty arenas where events like the Opening Ceremony took place. Overall, it was an antiseptic atmosphere that we American sports fans became undesirably accustomed to in the latter half of 2020.

Nonetheless, this was, after all, the Summer Olympics. It has long been a rating juggernaut, and it always outdrew its winter Games.

But those notions got debunked in 2021, having encountered the modern trends of home viewing. We probably should have known an Olympics still labeled as “Tokyo 2020” for marketing purposes was a bad omen for business at the very start.

Relative to what else is airing on TV, the Tokyo Olympics averaging 16 million viewers per night, is a solid achievement. But the Summer Games had never before dipped below 20 million/night, on record. The Sochi Games in Feb. 2018 did 19.8 million, so surely, NBCUniversal would have sold Tokyo as better than that to advertisers. Make-goods to those same advertisers were abounded, as a result.

Just five years earlier from Rio de Janeiro did the Olympics draw 27 million in prime time. The minimal time zone difference was an important aspect to the more robust number — Rio just one hour ahead of Eastern time; Tokyo ahead by 13 hours. But another factor has majorly affected the state of television since 2016. Audiences for linear offerings have massively eroded. Younger generations have sought other entertainment options, especially streaming services. NBC’s Peacock platform was established as a vital centerpiece for its Olympic coverage. Still, the nascent outlet has a long road ahead to be a go-to streaming option like Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney+, or even HBO Max.

NBCUniversal may be bracing for another alarming dip for its upcoming Winter Olympics from, of all places, China.

1. Super Bowl Sets Off Domino Effect

The 2020 NFL season was a tumultuous one. The vaccine had yet to be widely available then, and multiple game postponements were a frequent occurrence. However, it all concluded on time, as Super Bowl LV was held on Feb. 7. And as a bonus, it was a battle between newfound superstar Patrick Mahomes and the GOAT himself, Tom Brady, in Brady’s first non-Patriots season of his career. With big names and known teams involved, CBS was bound for phenomenal ratings.

Or so we thought.

The following morning arrived, and no ratings were released. For what is the year’s biggest TV event since the 1970s, it was certainly an oddity that there was no early indication of how the Big Game performed. The longer the absence of such rating news, the presumption that it received not-so-great results had grown. By the morning of Feb. 9, the data was finally published, confirming the previous day’s concerns: the Big Game underwhelmed.

With over 96 million viewers (including almost 6 million on streaming platforms), the Big Game dipped to a 14-year low. It was also the lowest-rated in households since Joe Namath led the Jets to an upset win over the Colts in 1969; and the lowest adults 18-49 delivery since Washington’s win over Buffalo in 1992.

The results set the tone for the TV industry in the weeks and months that followed. NBC — despite its marquee events that were then-upcoming like the Golden Globe Awards, two Olympics, and an NFL season that culminated in their broadcast of the next Super Bowl — joined their public relations brethren of ABC, Fox, and The CW in ceasing publications of daily ratings releases.

And, in an unprecedented move, the Fox network, the broadcast home of Super Bowl LVII in Feb. 2023, began selling commercial time for that Big Game this past year to guard against any potential championship audience declines.

As 2021 came to a close, the NFL not only remained a ratings behemoth but — as noted on this very list — achieved some multi-decade highs. Perhaps the notion of erosion for the country’s biggest sport may be quickly fleeting. For the league and its TV partners, they sure hope those worries are short-lived.

Lastly, an honorary mention:

  • Mickelson’s Historic Win Lifts PGA Championship

Phil Mickelson was already among the legendary golfers of the 21st century. Back on May 23, he transcended his career even further by winning the PGA Championship. At the age of 50, he became the oldest to ever win a golf major, beating the previous mark by two years. The tournament’s final round averaged 6.6 million viewers — the largest amount in three years. A peak of 13 million was tuned in to CBS in the moments Mickelson had clinched his win. With the exception of The Masters one month prior, it delivered the largest PGA Tour golf audience since the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.

Note: ratings were tabulated by Nielsen Media Research, and most of their provided context was originally complied and mentioned by Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch at sportsmediawatch.com.

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BNM Writers

Cristina Mendonsa Left Television For Radio When Her Star Was Shining Brightest

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Mozart completed his first piece of music when he was five years-old. Doogie Howser was a licensed doctor at 14 years of age. Cristina Mendonsa was working at a newspaper when she was 15 years-old. Perhaps it’s not as stunning as the other two, but Mendonsa was on a career path early.

“I was a columnist on youth issues for a local paper,” Mendonsa said. “I started working in radio before I was 17 years old.”

Then it was an internship at a television station, where Mendonsa baked a lot of cookies for people who helped her learn how to edit.

“I was a television writer when I was 19 years old. Got my first on-air job when I was 20 at KRCR-TV. I was at the CBS affiliate in Sacramento and then hired for a job at KUSA in Denver before I was 21, and I barely knew where Denver was on a map.”

C’mon, Cristina. Now you’re just showing off.

“Every radio station had some form of newsroom back then. All stations, including rock. Then there became fewer and fewer, especially at music stations. I bounced around in radio for three years.”

It took her a while to finish college, taking a class here and there.

“I started my classes at the same time I was working in broadcasting,” Mendonsa said. “I was moving around in radio, and I had to drop out of school when I made a move for my job. It took me nine years to earn the degree. I was going to school so I could afford to pay tuition.”

Mendonsa believes being a reporter made her a better student. Mendonsa was taking journalism classes with younger students who probably had no idea she was on the air locally. She went to eight different colleges and finished at Sacramento State.

“I earned a masters in communications and leadership at Gonzaga University,” Mendonsa said. “I decided if I was going to have a life after television, more schooling was in order. My choices were between Notre Dame, USC, and Gonzaga. I had dated a guy on the Gonzaga basketball team many years earlier, so I imagine that helped me decide. Gonzaga was a good Jesuit school and had a moral aspect to instruction. Turned out to be a great program.”

In early radio jobs, she had tough editors looking over her copy, brutal with their edits. Brutal in their criticism of Mendonsa’s on-air performance.

“I’ll always have a huge amount of respect for them. They helped me immensely.”

Mendonsa is an anchor on 93.1 KFBK in Sacramento and has been with iHeart nearly five years after serving 27 years as a television anchor.

Born in Oakland, California, her mother raised the family and taught genealogy classes. Mendonsa said her mother was a great writer, compiling books of the family’s history going back generations.

“My father was part of the dignitary protection services in California all the way back to when Ronald Reagan was sworn in as Governor. I spent a lot of time at the Capitol. Dad would have family and friends come and tour the Capitol, usually entering from backdoors.”

She hung out at the Capitol a lot. Listened to political conversations while waiting for her father to get off work.

“Our dinner conversations had a lot to do with classic California politics,” Mendonsa said. “I remember going to a couple of events, standing with my mom on the Capitol steps when Reagan was addressing a crowd. Governor Brown would hold a Christmas party every year. Governor Deukmejian did too.”

When Brown first took office Mendonsa said she was surprised at how austere his office was. Definitely not what you’d expect a higher level politicians’ office to look like.

“That’s what struck me when I was a kid doing homework in Governor Brown’s office.”

Mendonsa’s father had a profound influence on her life, and people who knew him. “I run into people all the time who remember him, his integrity,” she said. “My father had a strong sense of loyalty and justice. He was a good man. Ethical, hard working. I’d like to think I took on some of those traits and passed them on to my children.”

She said as a television anchorwoman in her late 40s, she considered herself an endangered species in television.

“I started to think about some options, considered teaching,” Mendonsa explained. “I was impressed with the concept of leadership and entrepreneurship, but I also knew I had to up my skill sets.”

Sacramento is her hometown and a place she said is beautiful. Mendonsa said a lot of places call themselves the ‘City of Trees,’ but Saramento certainly lives up to that.

“We have two rivers that come together, the American River and the Sacramento River. That’s also why we have similar flooding risks of New Orleans. People describe Sacramento as the Midwest of California. We have very friendly people.”

Mendonsa said it was an idyllic place to grow up, but Sacramento does have its issues. She said Sacramento has more homeless people than San Francisco.

“I remember taking a helicopter tour over the river and was stunned at how many there were. There’s a lot of pressure from businesses to get things straightened out. California has 30 percent of the homeless in the country. We’ve thrown a ton of money at it, and they’ll throw more. It doesn’t seem to make much of a dent.”

She said Sacramento simply doesn’t have enough housing.

“A small percentage of the homeless work regular jobs but live in their car. The majority of homeless have mental health issues or are drug abusers. It’s easier to be homeless in California because there are so many assistance programs.

Mendonsa once spoke to an advocate who said when someone has mental illness it doesn’t mean they are violent. If someone is a drug abuser, it doesn’t mean they are violent. But when you get a mentally ill person who is also a drug addict, you’ll see some serious problems.

‘It’s harder for cities to find police officers all over the country,” Mendonsa explained. “We’re constantly trying to train more. People don’t want to be police officers any more.”

Mendonsa said she was talking with her co-anchor and discussed a poll citing Donald Trump’s popularity has gone up in the past few days.

“Our station is news/talk, and we love political stories like that,” she said. “Trump has his ardent followers. He has tapped into a discontent and for many people, they believe his first presidency was a better time for them and the country, so they’re sticking with him”.

Mendonsa also knows people who feel betrayed by Trump. Abandoned by the ex-president.

“They are tired of his mean tweets. Trump is at his best when he’s focused on other people. He’s at his worst when he’s complaining how the world is against him. I swear if he ever gets arrested, he’s going to make T-shirts with his mugshot and sell them. They’ll do great.”

As a kid she’d help her mom when she researched at libraries. She loved writing and talking.

“I was always bending my mother’s ear,” Mendonsa explained. “She’d say to me, ‘You talk so much I think you should get a job where you could do that for a living.”

Message received.

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BNM Writers

Leading Local Is Convenient, Except For When It’s Not

Everybody comes from somewhere and everyone certainly has people in other places. Calamity and misfortune happen everywhere.

Bill Zito

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ABC’s World News Tonight obviously had other plans in place for the evening newscast Monday. David Muir had the tornado devastated Mississippi city of Rolling Fork in the background as the show began, an umbrella lead later there was a switch and toss to the latest in the nation’s school shooting tragedies.

The shuffling of course was successful because the networks have a different focus and generally possess the ability to overcome the challenges of breaking and shifting national topics.

For the local markets there is often a tug of war between news operations and administrations over the push to lead local. The tried, true, and often tired philosophy of giving the neighborhood’s news first in favor of the broader national interest because — once again — people behind desks are sure they know what the audience wants.

For the radio folk, there is the often-available luxury of leading with the network newscast at the top of the hour — and the bottom as well, in desperate times — which leaves the responsibility for national news to someone else.

A community devastated by a weather event like an EF4 tornado in Mississippi or horrific violence like the Nashville school shooting are already all consumed by the tragedies. It is a local story that has become national by its sheer magnitude.

In other words, there is no justification needed to bring it to the top of the news block nationally so why are there even discussions about doing the same outside of where it happened. Community is community, there is no requirement that it happen here first for us to care, to be engaged.

I’ve encountered an arrogance often associated with local content that seems to set aside or even ignore the degree of those happenings outside the individual broadcast area. As if for some reason, our targets were not going to care about Russia and Ukraine until the local hook could be identified. Storms and shootings have pretty much happened everywhere so how hard is it to relate, even be transfixed when we’re given the particulars on something that’s not unfolding in our backyard?

Looking back at that arrogance I referred to, I think it also could link it to a level of insecurity, even in ignorance, in programming and direction. Not knowing or caring about what your followers think or want.

On the ignorance front, is it a simple lack of familiarity? Perhaps.

Get a room of journalists together in a room — I’m talking about members of the press, all platforms — with no caveats, no consequences.

What would they say? Leadership, management, or corporate philosophy come to mind?

There is of course a natural development to the equation, which supersedes pretty much everything. Impact.

Will Tacoma’s new downtown parking regulations top an earthquake and typhoon in Indonesia?

Don’t be so quick to answer.

What happens in Jerusalem, Gaza, and Tel Aviv carries a hell of a lot of weight in New York, L.A., and Miami. Span Texas to Southern California and they’re caring about more than just border crossings.

Everybody comes from somewhere and everyone certainly has people in other places. Calamity and misfortune happen everywhere.

And most people don’t care about where and when they see your sweeps story or your 5-part series on Parks Department Overtime when humanity is crashing someplace else.

Tease it, promote it, and move it down to the B-block.

Leading local is a reasonable coverage plan, except when it’s not.

Your brand-new News Director who just arrived from Cincinnati may not know that yet.

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BNM Writers

Tucker Carlson Sees Ratings Surge With January 6th Videos

The Mar. 7th edition (4.165 million) topped all cable telecasts in total viewers that week.

Doug Pucci

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Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tonight has featured the host’s many polarizing claims. The ones made on the Mar. 6th and 7th editions of his show could be labeled as among the most controversial.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had granted Carlson exclusive access to over 40,000 hours of January 6th security camera footage. On his FNC show across those two aforementioned evenings, Carlson denied an insurrection had taken place at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; instead, it was “mostly peaceful chaos”, most who were there were mere “sightseers”, and that the footage provided “conclusive” evidence “proving” Democrats “lied” about the events of that day.

On the Senate floor on the morning of Mar. 7, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called Carlson’s Mar. 6th show “one of the most shameful hours we have ever seen on cable television.”

The immense reach that Carlson’s rhetoric regularly attracts justified the high concern and swiftness of the condemnation and backlash. One glance at the ranks of the week’s top cable news programs at the end of this article, or any of this site’s past weekly news ratings items, can glean how highly popular Carlson is in, not only the cable news world, but also, the entire television landscape.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the Mar. 7th edition (4.165 million) topped all cable telecasts in total viewers that week and matched the live plus same-day total viewing figures for the 17th-ranked broadcast network show of the week ending Mar. 12, the CBS procedural East New York.

Carlson also took the week’s No. 2 and No. 3 spots on cable in total viewers; within the key 25-54 demographic, its Mar. 6th and 7th editions were tops for non-sports cable programs (it ranked 17th and 18th, respectively, in the demo with sports included, mostly from men’s college basketball conference tournament coverage on various outlets).

For Mar. 6-10, Tucker Carlson Tonight averaged 3.568 million total viewers, 469,000 with adults 25-54 and 312,000 with adults 18-49 — the program’s highest-rated week in all metrics since the week of the 2022 midterm elections (Nov. 7-11, 2022).

As a backdrop to all of this, it was revealed on Mar. 7 — due to the legal filings made public as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News — that Carlson privately messaged colleagues he loathed Donald Trump and his presidency. (The release of that communication received no coverage at FNC.)

Cable news averages for March 6-12, 2023:

Total Day (Mar. 6-12 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.359 million viewers; 172,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.673 million viewers; 71,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.408 million viewers; 81,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.155 million viewers; 41,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.111 million viewers; 27,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.104 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.101 million viewers; 18,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.083 million viewers; 7,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (Mar. 6-11 @ 8-11 p.m.; Mar. 12 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 2.237 million viewers; 274,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 1.088 million viewers; 108,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.443 million viewers; 95,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.199 million viewers; 53,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.145 million viewers; 36,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.131 million viewers; 21,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.094 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
  • NewsNation: 0.087 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.058 million viewers; 10,000 adults 25-54

Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:

1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 3/7/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.136 million viewers

2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 3/6/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.695 million viewers

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 3/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.622 million viewers

4. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 3/7/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.300 million viewers

5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 3/9/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.289 million viewers

6. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 3/8/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.187 million viewers

7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 3/10/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.099 million viewers

8. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 3/6/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.004 million viewers

9. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 3/9/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.982 million viewers

10. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 3/10/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.911 million viewers

24. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 3/6/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.253 million viewers

170. Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO, Fri. 3/10/2023 10:01 PM, 58 min.) 0.765 million viewers

178. Erin Burnett Outfront (CNN, Tue. 3/7/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.698 million viewers

334. The Daily Show “Mar 8, 23 – Marlon Wayans” (CMDY, Wed. 3/8/2023 11:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.408 viewers

359. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 3/12/2023 11:05 PM, 34 min.) 0.348 million viewers 

388. Varney & Company (FBN, Fri. 3/10/2023 10:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.297 million viewers

392. Forensic Files (HLN, late Fri. 3/10/2023 12:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.290 million viewers

441. Fast Money Halftime Report (CNBC, Mon. 3/6/2023 12:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.241 million viewers

478. Heavy Rescue: 401 “(511) No Other Choice” (TWC, Sat. 3/11/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.221 million viewers

492. Newsnation: Rush Hour (NWSN, Mon. 3/6/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.215 million viewers

Top 10 cable news programs (and the top  programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:

1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 3/6/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.565 million adults 25-54

2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 3/7/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.556 million adults 25-54

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 3/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.467 million adults 25-54

4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 3/9/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.395 million adults 25-54

5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 3/10/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.365 million adults 25-54

6. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 3/7/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.363 million adults 25-54

7. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 3/7/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.361 million adults 25-54

8. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 3/9/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.341 million adults 25-54

9. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 3/8/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.340 million adults 25-54

10. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Tue. 3/7/2023 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.330 million adults 25-54

39. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 3/6/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.219 million adults 25-54

74. The Daily Show “Mar 8, 23 – Marlon Wayans” (CMDY, Wed. 3/8/2023 11:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.179 million adults 25-54

102. Low Country: Murdaugh Dynasty “2. Something In The Road” (CNN, Sat. 3/11/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.152 million adults 25-54

165. Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO, Fri. 3/10/2023 10:01 PM, 58 min.) 0.115 million adults 25-54

195. Forensic Files (HLN, late Fri. 3/10/2023 1:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.105 million adults 25-54

222. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 3/12/2023 11:05 PM, 34 min.) 0.097 million adults 25-54

344. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1102” (CNBC, Mon. 3/6/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.070 million adults 25-54

498. Heavy Rescue: 401 “(508) This Aint Gonna Be Pretty” (TWC, Sat. 3/11/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.047 million adults 25-54

505. Kudlow (FBN, Fri. 3/10/2023 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.045 million adults 25-54

552. Newsnation Prime (NWSN, Sun. 3/12/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.039 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

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