CNN Wears Sept. Primetime Crown
By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 10/2/2001 5:14:00 PM
With the nation's attention focused on the terrorist attacks and their repercussions for the period's last 20 days, Cable News Network led the way in ratings during primetime and was tied with Nickelodeon in the total-day measurement during September.
CNN averaged a 2.0 in primetime from Aug. 27 through Sept. 30, according to a Turner Entertainment Research analysis of Nielsen Media Research data, a 233 percent jump from a 0.6 in the corresponding period last year.
The other all-news networks also registered significant growth: Fox News Channel was tied for eighth with a 1.5, up 200 percent from a 0.5 in the period spanning Sept. 4 through Oct. 1, 2000. MSNBC recorded a 175 percent leap to a 1.1 from a 0.4 to finish in a tie for 11th, while CNN Headline News improved 150 percent to a 0.5, ending in a tie for 27th overall. CNBC was flat for the month at that ratings level.
On a 24-hour basis, CNN tied perennial leader Nickelodeon with a 1.3 -- averages that reflected a 333 percent surge and a 7 percent falloff, respectively. FNC grew 200 percent to a 0.9 to finish sixth, while MSNBC was ahead 75 percent to a 0.7, landing in a tie for 10th place. Headline, meanwhile, doubled to a 0.4, ending the month in a tie for 18th position.
Rounding out the top 10 in primetime were: Lifetime Television, which ranked second with a 1.9 (flat); TBS Superstation (down 6 percent) and ESPN (off 26 percent) in a third-place dead heat at a 1.7; USA Network (a 6 percent decrease), Nick (up 7 percent) and Cartoon Network (down 16 percent) were tied for fifth at 1.6; Turner Network Television (minus 12 percent) in eighth place with FNC at a 1.5; and A&E Network (down 20 percent) at a 1.2.
During the quarter, Lifetime rode its successful summer performance to claim the primetime crown with a 2.1 average, a 17 percent gain over the 1.8 it recorded in the year-earlier period.
According to the Turner analysis, there was a four-way tie for second among TBS (down 11 percent), USA (off 15 percent), Nick (even) and Cartoon (a 15 percent decrease) at a 1.7 from July 2 through Sept. 30 when measured against the period spanning June 26 through Oct. 1, 2000.
The news networks aside, there wasn't much good news from the Nielsens for the rest of the top 10 during the quarter, as seventh-rated ESPN (down 13 percent to a 1.3), eighth-ranked A&E (down 20 percent to a 1.2) and 10th-place Discovery (down 8 percent to a 1.1) all sustained primetime-ratings erosion.
By way of contrast, CNN, which was tied for eighth at a 1.2, saw its primetime ratings double. FNC, knotted in 10th at 1.1, scored a 120 percent in the third quarter.
MSNBC and Headline also notched gains: up 75 percent to a 0.7 and 50 percent to a 0.3, respectively.
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