Iran launched more than 200 explosive drones and fired missiles at Israel late on Saturday, Apr. 13, which left both network and cable news outlets like Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN scrambling to cover the event. The event was made in retaliation for what Iran called an Israeli strike from Apr. 1 on its consulate in Damascus, the capital of Syria, which killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two senior commanders.
With the effect of installed defense measures, Iran’s Apr. 13 salvo merely caused light damage to one Israeli military facility. All this with the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war as the backdrop.
Breaking news of Iran’s attack on Israel arrived in the U.S. at 4 p.m. Eastern on Apr. 13.
CBS briefly interrupted third-round coverage of The Masters golf tournament for the special report. Although their initial news brief was not separately tabulated by Nielsen, the network averaged 6.595 million total viewers including 1.892 million within the 25-54 demographic from 3 p.m. to 7:17 p.m. Eastern, marking CBS as the most-watched outlet in announcing this news. Their report following Masters Day 3’s conclusion, at 7:54-8:01 p.m., drew 2.498 million viewers and 499,000 adults 25-54.
The Saturday edition of NBC Nightly News (4.168 million viewers; 415,000 adults 25-54) did better in total viewers over ABC’s World News Tonight (3.684 million viewers; 451,000 adults 25-54) but ABC’s newscast outperformed NBC’s in the key 25-54 demographic. ABC’s extra half-hour special report at 7:30 p.m. Eastern delivered 2.245 million viewers and 331,000 adults 25-54.
On the following morning (Sunday Apr. 14), the first half-hour of CBS’ Face the Nation (2.554 million viewers; 437,000 adults 25-54) was the morning’s top public affairs program, followed by ABC’s This Week (2.258 million viewers; 370,000 adults 25-54). NBC’s Meet the Press (10 AM to 10:49 AM: 2.173 million viewers; 376,000 adults 25-54) and Fox News Sunday (0.984 million viewers; 219,000 adults 25-54).
The second half-hour of Face the Nation, which is lesser distributed to CBS affiliates, drew 2.007 million viewers and 340,000 adults 25-54.
Back to Apr. 13, Fox News led all cable outlets in extensive breaking news coverage, peaking at the 8-9 p.m. ET hour with 2.488 million viewers including 302,000 adults 25-54.
CNN, which also peaked in audience figures within the 8-9 p.m. ET hour (as the hourly breakdowns below indicate), was relatively even with Fox News in the 25-54 demo, averaging 219,000 within the demo from 4-11 p.m. ET (FNC: 221,000).
CNN (981,000) also managed to best MSNBC (723,000) among total viewers.
As for the news netlets, Newsmax’s 6.5 hours of coverage (373,000 viewers; 28,000 adults 25-54) easily outdelivered NewsNation’s four hours (119,000 viewers; 16,000 adults 25-54).
The following are the hourly breakdowns of each cable network on Apr. 13 from 4-11 p.m. ET:
4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
- Fox News: 1.035 million viewers; 101,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 624,000 viewers; 105,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 583,000 viewers; 66,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax (4:30-11 p.m.): 373,000 viewers; 28,000 adults 25-54
5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
- Fox News: 1.514 million viewers; 165,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 878,000 viewers; 184,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 809,000 viewers; 86,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax (4:30-11 p.m.): 373,000 viewers; 28,000 adults 25-54
6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
- Fox News: 1.702 million viewers; 229,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 985,000 viewers; 235,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 810,000 viewers; 116,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax (4:30-11 p.m.): 373,000 viewers; 28,000 adults 25-54
7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
- Fox News: 2.142 million viewers; 278,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 1.198 million viewers; 262,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC (7-9 p.m.): 846,000 viewers; 118,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax (4:30-11 p.m.): 373,000 viewers; 28,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 161,000 viewers; 26,000 adults 25-54
8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
- Fox News: 2.488 million viewers; 302,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 1.254 million viewers; 264,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC (7-9 p.m.): 846,000 viewers; 118,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax (4:30-11 p.m.): 373,000 viewers; 28,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 116,000 viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
- Fox News: 2.023 million viewers; 250,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 1.083 million viewers; 266,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 627,000 viewers; 59,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax (4:30-11 p.m.): 373,000 viewers; 28,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 113,000 viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.
- Fox News: 1.802 million viewers; 279,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 847,000 viewers; 215,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 545,000 viewers; 62,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax (4:30-11 p.m.): 373,000 viewers; 28,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 85,000 viewers; 10,000 adults 25-54
