The collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge into the Patapsco River, caused by the ramming of a huge cargo ship, dominated the news shows on Tuesday, Mar. 26. The tragic event which presumably killed six construction workers occurred at approximately 1:30 AM ET in the late night of Mar. 25.
As daybreak arrived and more people were becoming aware of this incident, the morning news programs provided extensive coverage with federal and local authorities addressing the press.
On cable news, it was the usual ranking of outlets in the morning: Fox News in first place, followed by MSNBC and trailing behind was CNN. Expectedly, each news program on those networks increased viewership on the morning of Mar. 26.
From 6-9 AM ET, Fox News’ Fox & Friends delivered 1.316 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. This represents an increase of 18% from its weekday morning performance from Feb. 19 thru Mar. 22.
MSNBC’s Morning Joe drew 1.155 million viewers, only a 6% jump from the same prior 5-week period.
In comparison to its competitors, CNN’s 476,000 viewer average appears paltry. Nonetheless, that is actually up 37% from Feb. 19-Mar. 22.
Fox News added more raw viewers to its morning slate on Mar. 26, while CNN grew the most percentage wise, as the hourly viewer breakdowns show (differences and comparisons based on the respective weekday timeslots from Feb. 19, thru Mar. 22):
6:00 a.m.-7:00 a.m.
- Fox News: 1.007 million (+158,000; +19%)
- MSNBC (6-9 a.m.): 1.155 million (+67,000; +6%)
- CNN: 404,000 (+133,000; +49%)
7:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m.
- Fox News: 1.415 million (+291,000; +26%)
- MSNBC (6-9 a.m.): 1.155 million (+67,000; +6%)
- CNN: 489,000 (+139,000; +40%)
8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
- Fox News: 1.525 million (+165,000; +12%)
- MSNBC (6-9 a.m.): 1.155 million (+67,000; +6%)
- CNN: 535,000 (+114,000; +27%)
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
- Fox News: 1.891 million (+308,000; +19%)
- MSNBC: 1.220 million (+62,000; +5%)
- CNN: 720,000 (+219,000; +44%)
10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
- Fox News: 1.958 million (+313,000; +19%)
- MSNBC: 1.057 million (+186,000; +21%)
- CNN: 813,000 (+218,000; +37%)
11:00 a.m.-noon
- Fox News: 1.837 million (+216,000; +13%)
- MSNBC: 902,000 (+175,000; +24%)
- CNN: 682,000 (+105,000; +18%)
