The breaking news of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the age of 87 rolled in at approximately 7:40 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Sep. 18, 2020. Friday is normally the least-watched weeknight on television but on that particular night, as the public became aware of Ginsburg’s death, more tuned in to the major news stations than usual.
Most notable was the 8 p.m. hour, where its newscasts on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News each gained by double-digit percentages from the previous Friday night (Sep. 11, 2020); the 8 p.m. edition of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” almost doubled its key demo output. The following is the viewer breakdown of cable news telecasts on the night, compared to one week ago:
Erin Burnett Outfront (CNN, 9/18/20 7:00 PM) 1.358m viewers; 0.349m A25-54
Erin Burnett Outfront (CNN, 9/11/20 7:00 PM) 1.253m viewers; 0.292m A25-54
Difference: +8% (viewers); +20% (demo)
Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, 9/18/20 8:00 PM) 1.950m viewers; 0.588m A25-54
Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, 9/11/20 8:00 PM) 1.460m viewers; 0.319m A25-54
Difference: +34% (viewers); +84% (demo)
Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, 9/18/20 9:00 PM) 1.595m viewers; 0.420m A25-54
Cuomo Prime Time (CNN, 9/11/20 9:00 PM) 1.414m viewers; 0.269m A25-54
Difference: +13% (viewers); +56% (demo)
CNN Tonight (CNN, 9/18/20 10:00 PM) 1.231m viewers; 0.321m A25-54
CNN Tonight (CNN, 9/11/20 10:00 PM) 1.115m viewers; 0.243m A25-54
Difference: +10% (viewers); +32% (demo)
CNN Tonight (CNN, 9/18/20 11:00 PM) 0.894m viewers; 0.248m A25-54
CNN Tonight (CNN, 9/11/20 11:00 PM) 0.804m viewers; 0.187m A25-54
Difference: +11% (viewers); +33% (demo)
The Story (FOXNC, 9/18/20 7:00 PM) 2.710m viewers; 0.478m A25-54
The Story (FOXNC, 9/11/20 7:00 PM) 2.268m viewers; 0.364m A25-54
Difference: +19% (viewers); +31% (demo)
Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, 9/18/20 8:00 PM) 4.631m viewers; 0.807m A25-54
Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, 9/11/20 8:00 PM) 4.065m viewers; 0.677m A25-54
Difference: +14% (viewers); +19% (demo)
Hannity (FOXNC, 9/18/20 9:00 PM) 4.152m viewers; 0.710m A25-54
Hannity Special (FOXNC, 9/11/20 9:00 PM) 3.849m viewers; 0.548m A25-54
Difference: +8% (viewers); +30% (demo)
The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, 9/18/20 10:00 PM) 3.171m viewers; 0.564m A25-54
The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, 9/11/20 10:00 PM) 3.056m viewers; 0.511m A25-54
Difference: +4% (viewers); +10% (demo)
Fox News At Night (FOXNC, 9/18/20 11:00 PM) 1.844m viewers; 0.406m A25-54
Fox News At Night (FOXNC, 9/11/20 11:00 PM) 1.837m viewers; 0.324m A25-54
Difference: +0% (viewers); +25% (demo)
The Reidout (MSNBC, 9/18/20 7:00 PM) 2.186m viewers; 0.339m A25-54
The Reidout (MSNBC, 9/11/20 7:00 PM) 1.716m viewers; 0.250m A25-54
Difference: +27% (viewers); +36% (demo)
All In with Chris Hayes (MSNBC, 9/18/20 8:00 PM) 2.559m viewers; 0.423m A25-54
All In with Chris Hayes (MSNBC, 9/11/20 8:00 PM) 1.926m viewers; 0.272m A25-54
Difference: +33% (viewers); +56% (demo)
Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, 9/18/20 9:00 PM) 3.325m viewers; 0.599m A25-54
Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, 9/11/20 9:00 PM) 3.180m viewers; 0.441m A25-54
Difference: +5% (viewers); +36% (demo)
Rachel Maddow Special (MSNBC, 9/18/20 10:00 PM) 2.240m viewers; 0.357m A25-54
Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (MSNBC, 9/11/20 10:00 PM) 1.975m viewers; 0.235m A25-54
Difference: +13% (viewers); +52% (demo)
11th Hour with Brian Williams (MSNBC, 9/18/20 11:00 PM) 1.732m viewers; 0.329m A25-54
11th Hour with Brian Williams (MSNBC, 9/11/20 11:00 PM) 1.655m viewers; 0.184m A25-54
Difference: +5% (viewers); +79% (demo)
MSNBC Special Programming (MSNBC, 9/18/20 12:00 AM) 1.040m viewers; 0.175m A25-54
Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, 9/11/20 12:00 AM) 1.031m viewers; 0.134m A25-54
Difference: +1% (viewers); +31% (demo)
WGN America’s newly-launched “NewsNation” also experienced a slight uptick on its first two hours of the night (from 8-10 p.m. ET):
NewsNation (WGNA, 9/18/20 8:00 PM) 0.119m viewers; 0.028m A25-54
NewsNation (WGNA, 9/11/20 8:00 PM) 0.119m viewers; 0.023m A25-54
Difference: +0% (viewers); +22% (demo)
NewsNation (WGNA, 9/18/20 9:00 PM) 0.091m viewers; 0.025m A25-54
NewsNation (WGNA, 9/11/20 9:00 PM) 0.085m viewers; 0.020m A25-54
Difference: +7% (viewers); +25% (demo)
NewsNation (WGNA, 9/18/20 10:00 PM) 0.039m viewers; 0.010m A25-54
NewsNation (WGNA, 9/11/20 10:00 PM) 0.055m viewers; 0.008m A25-54
Difference: -29% (viewers); +25% (demo)
As those who flocked to the news offerings on basic cable for Ginsburg coverage, HBO’s weekly talk show “Real Time with Bill Maher” at 10 p.m. drew a slightly lesser crowd as a result. The episode, which had been taped earlier in the evening, addressed the Ginsburg news for only a brief moment midway through.
Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, 9/18/20 10:00 PM) 0.980m viewers; 0.243m A25-54
Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, 9/11/20 10:01 PM) 1.097m viewers; 0.275m A25-54
Difference: -11% (viewers); -12% (demo)
Earlier in the week, both POTUS candidates each held televised town halls. On Tuesday, Sep. 16, Donald Trump on the ABC broadcast network delivered an average of 3.967 million viewers (1.16 million of them aged 25-54)
The initial live airing of Joe Biden’s town hall on CNN on Thursday, Sep. 18 (and opposite NFL Network’s Bengals-Browns matchup) drew 3.445 million viewers (745,000 in adults 25-54); its repeat telecast at midnight drew 929,009 viewers (219,000 in adults 25-54).
For the week ending Sep. 20, 2020 in total day data (from 6 a.m. to 5:59 a.m. each day), Fox News Channel led the cable news networks in viewers (1.85 million) and adults 25-54 (318,000). As for the other news outlets:
• MSNBC: 1.19 million viewers; 177,000 adults 25-54
• CNN: 915,000 viewers; 210,000 adults 25-54
Updating on the newscast we profiled two weeks ago — WGN America’s “NewsNation”, it averaged 65,000 viewers and 16,000 adults 25-54 for Sep. 14-20 in prime time (8-11 p.m.). Even with the aforementioned Sep. 18 data, the total viewership for “NewsNation” has fallen by nearly one-third from its premiere week while its key adults 25-54 demo delivery has remained consistently even throughout.
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top MSNBC and CNN programs with associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 9/15/2020 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.836 million viewers
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 9/17/2020 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.723 million viewers
3. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 9/17/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.716 million viewers
4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 9/14/2020 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.634 million viewers
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 9/18/2020 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.631 million viewers
6. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 9/16/2020 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.624 million viewers
7. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 9/15/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.542 million viewers
8. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 9/16/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.464 million viewers
9. Hannity (FOXNC, Fri. 9/18/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.152 million viewers
10. Hannity (FOXNC, Mon. 9/14/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.116 million viewers
17. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Wed. 9/16/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.566 million viewers
19. CNN Town Hall: Joe Biden (CNN, Thu. 9/17/2020 7:59 PM, 76 min.) 3.445 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top MSNBC program with associated rank) among adults 25-54:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 9/14/2020 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.891 million adults 25-54
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 9/15/2020 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.886 million adults 25-54
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 9/16/2020 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.827 million adults 25-54
4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 9/17/2020 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.808 million adults 25-54
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 9/18/2020 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.807 million adults 25-54
6. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 9/17/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.781 million adults 25-54
7. Hannity (FOXNC, Mon. 9/14/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.754 million adults 25-54
8. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 9/15/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.746 million adults 25-54
9. CNN Town Hall: Joe Biden (CNN, Thu. 9/17/2020 7:59 PM, 76 min.) 0.742 million adults 25-54
10. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 9/16/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.720 million adults 25-54
16. Rachel Maddow Show (RBG’s passing) (MSNBC, Fri. 9/18/2020 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.599 million adults 25-54
