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Fox News Leads Broadcast and Cable TV During 2024 Election Night Coverage

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The 2024 election was one of the more hotly contested races in recent memory, and that led to high TV viewership during the election night coverage, with Fox News taking the top spot in early returns.

According to the fast national numbers from Nielsen, nearly 10 million viewers tuned into coverage on Fox News between 8-11 PM ET. In total, 9.8 million watched as Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum anchored the network’s election evening program. Nielsen data also shows Fox News was the most-watched network in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

MSNBC — with coverage led by Rachel Maddow — averaged 5.5 million viewers during the three-hour window. CNN earned 4.7 million viewers during the timeslot. That marks the first time in network history that MSNBC topped CNN on election night. The audience of 4.7 million viewers for CNN represents a 50% decrease compared to the figures it saw during the 2020 race.

Fox Business Network featured an average audience of 710,000 during the timeslot, while NewsNation finished with 257,000.

On the network news side, ABC News led the way with 5.7 million viewers. NBC News was not far behind with 5.3 million viewers. CBS Averaged an audience of 3.5 million, while the FOX broadcast network saw 2.1 million.

Bill Handel: News Outlets Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Make Election Calls on Landslide Races

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Last night, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris won the state of California and its 54 electoral votes. Bill Handel believes it shouldn’t have been a surprise to news media outlets.

California has voted for the Democratic nominee every election since 1992, and virtually every person in the nation knew it would be counted into the votes for Harris.

During the KFI-AM 640 morning show on Wednesday, co-host Neil Saavedra joked that he was watching online coverage from The Los Angeles Times that gave the state to Harris as soon as the polls closed.

“The second they closed, I saw in The LA Times ‘California Went Blue.’ There was no counting, nothing,” he said.

Bill Handel shared his belief that that is how it should be, adding that when everyone knows a landslide victory is about to take place, it shouldn’t be a requirement that the polls need to be closed to count those votes for a given candidate.

“The policy is media outlets are not allowed to declare a winner — or declare anything — until the polls actually close,” said Handel. “So if there’s going to be a landslide — I mean a ridiculous landslide — it can’t be announced.”

P1 Media Releases Christmas Music Findings And America’s Top 100 Songs

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P1 Media Group has released its annual Christmas Music Research report. The media research and strategy firm conducted a nationwide survey of radio listeners likely to tune into all-Christmas music stations during the holiday season.

The study evaluated the appeal of the top 100 most-played Christmas songs from the 2023 holiday season, as reported by Mediabase.

P1 reports that Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” has maintained its status as America’s top-performing Christmas song for seven of the last eight years.

Ken Benson, Partner and co-founder of P1 Media Group noted that the allure of Christmas music continues to resonate strongly among American radio audiences. Many listeners frequently or sometimes tune into All Christmas stations and enjoy holiday music on local radio stations throughout the festive season.

Among the findings:

  • The Top 100 chart is currently highlighted by the dominance of holiday classics, featuring five renditions of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town ” and popular tracks “Sleigh Ride” and “Winter Wonderland.”
  • Three Artists, Amy Grant, Frank Sinatra, and Andy Williams, have four songs in the Top 100.
  • According to recent data, women rate Christmas music an average of four points higher than men. Notably, Mariah Carey’s hit “All I Want for Christmas is You” ranks as the top choice among female listeners. At the same time, Jose Feliciano’s classic “Feliz Navidad” holds the number one spot for male listeners.

By demographic, the top testing songs by age are:

  • 18-24 “All I Want for Christmas is You” Mariah Carey
  • 25-34 “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” Michael Buble with Burle Ives version a close second.
  • 35-44 “Ring Christmas Bells” Ray Conniff
  • 45-54 “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” Andy Williams.

More say Christmas Music should begin in early November this year than last.

  • 31% Early November (up from 23% last year)
  • 17% Mid November
  • 28% Thanksgiving (27% in 2023)
  • 22% early December
  • 2% mid-December

Most Christmas music lovers, 52% (60% in 2023 and 48% in 2022), want Christmas music programming to stop on New Year’s Eve.

  • 14% Christmas Day
  • 22% December 26th
  • 7% December 27th
  • 52% on New Year’s Eve
  • 3% some other time

The Top 100 Testing Christmas Songs 2024 are:

  1. “Jingle Bell Rock,” Bobby Helms (1957) 82.70 18-54 Score
  2. “Holly Jolly Christmas,” Burl Ives (1963) 82.36
  3. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Andy Williams (1963) 82.34
  4. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Brenda Lee (1964) 82.22
  5. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Jackson 5 (1970) 81.74
  6. “Feliz Navidad,” Jose Feliciano (1979) 81.70
  7. “Holly Jolly Christmas,” Michael Buble (2011) 81.35
  8. “The Christmas Song,” Nat King Cole (1960) 80.80
  9. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Leann Rimes (2004) 80.77
  10. “It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas,” Bing Crosby (1945) 80.75
  11. “Carol of the Bells,” Mannheim Steamroller (1984) 80.62
  12. “All I Want for Christmas is You,” Mariah Carey (1994) 80.35
  13. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Frank Sinatra & Cyndi Lauper (1992) 80.27
  14. “Sleigh Ride,” Ronettes (1963) 80.20
  15. “Ring Christmas Bells,” Ray Conniff (1962) 80.03
  16. “Sleigh Ride,” Amy Grant (1983) 79.95
  17. “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch,” Thurl Ravenscroft (1966) 79.89
  18. “We Wish You a Merry Xmas,” Bing Crosby (1992) 79.86
  19. “Winter Wonderland ,” Amy Grant (1963) 79.79
  20. “Jingle Bells,” Frank Sinatra (1957) 79.49
  21. “Linus and Lucy,” Vince Guaraldi Trio (1964) 79.29
  22. “Carol of the Bells,” David Foster (1997) 79.25
  23. “Last Christmas,” Wham (1986) 79.21
  24. “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow,” Andy Williams (1965) 79.10 2
  25. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Dean Martin (1959) 79.06
  26. “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24,” Trans-Siberian Orchestra (1996) 78.94
  27. “Jingle Bell Rock,” Brenda Lee (1964) 78.83
  28. “Sleigh Ride,” Leroy Anderson (1952) 78.77
  29. “Sleigh Ride,” Air Supply (1987) 78.72
  30. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Frank Sinatra (1963) 78.55
  31. “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow,” Frank Sinatra (1967) 78.54
  32. “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow,” Harry Connick Jr. (1963) 78.52
  33. “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home),” Darlene Love (1963) 78.47
  34. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Burl Ives (1950) 78.46
  35. “It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas,” Perry Como (1951) 78.32
  36. “Jingle Bell Rock,” Hall & Oates (1984) 78.21
  37. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Gene Autrey (1949) 78.16
  38. “Winter Wonderland,” Andy Williams (1965) 78.15
  39. “Sleigh Ride,” Johnny Mathis (1958) 77.95
  40. “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home),” Mariah Carey (1994) 77.80
  41. “Deck the Halls,” Percy Faith (1954) 77.68
  42. “O Tannenbaum,” Vince Guaraldi Trio (1965) 77.63
  43. “Run Rudolph Run,” Chuck Berry (1958) 77.57
  44. “Frosty the Snowman,” Ray Conniff (1959) 77.45
  45. “It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas,” Johnny Mathis (1986) 77.41
  46. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” The Carpenters (1978) 77.39
  47. “Jingle Bells,” Ray Conniff (1959) 77.29
  48. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Amy Grant (1992) 77.28
  49. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Amy Grant (1992) 77.15
  50. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Harry Connick Jr (1993) 76.92
  51. “Underneath the Tree,” Kelly Clarkson (2023) 76.61
  52. “Frosty the Snowman,” Willie Nelson (1979) 76.44
  53. “Deck the Halls,” Nat King Cole (1960) 76.41
  54. “Home for the Holidays,” Perry Como (1954) 76.24
  55. “Santa Tell Me,” Ariana Grande (2014) 76.16
  56. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Mariah Carey (1994) 76.15
  57. “This Christmas,” Train (2015) 75.99
  58. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa,” Jackson 5 (1970) 75.97
  59. “Christmas Baby, Please Come Home,” Michael Buble (2011) 75.85
  60. “Here Comes Santa,” Gene Autry (1948) 75.78
  61. “White Christmas,” Bing Crosby (1942) 75.68
  62. “Last Christmas,” Taylor Swift (2007) 75.60
  63. “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow,” Dean Martin (1964) 75.47
  64. “The Little Drummer Boy,” Harry Simeone Chorale (1958) 75.45
  65. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Crystals (1963) 75.25
  66. “Winter Wonderland,” Air Supply (1987) 75.25
  67. “Wonderful Christmastime,” Paul McCartney (1979) 75.23
  68. “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” Carrie Underwood (2007) 75.11
  69. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Bruce Springsteen (1981) 75.09
  70. “Frosty the Snowman,” Jimmy Durante (1952) 75.04
  71. “Happy Xmas (War is Over),” John Lennon (1971) 74.96
  72. “Up on the Housetop,” Gene Autry (1957) 74.94
  73. “O Holy Night,” Kelly Clarkson (2003) 74.93
  74. “Winter Wonderland,” Johnny Mathis (1958) 74.91
  75. “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” Martina McBride (1999) 74.72
  76. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Jessica Simpson (2000) 74.66
  77. “Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season,” Andy Williams (1963) 74.36
  78. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” Michael Buble (2011) 74.09
  79. “Home for the Holidays,” Carpenters (1970) 73.57
  80. “Here Comes Santa Claus,” Elvis Presley (1957) 73.24
  81. “This Christmas,” Donny Hathaway (1968) 72.96
  82. “Santa Baby,” Taylor Swift (2007) 72.88
  83. “Holly Jolly Christmas,” Lady A (2012) 72.86
  84. “Blue Christmas,” Elvis Presley (1957) 72.28
  85. “Santa Baby,” Madonna (1987) 71.98
  86. “Last Christmas,” Backstreet Boys (2022) 71.81
  87. “White Christmas,” Drifters (1954) 71.77
  88. “Where Are You Christmas,” Faith Hill (2000) 71.40
  89. “Chipmunk Song,” Chipmunks (1958) 71.32
  90. “Little St. Nick,” Beach Boys (1964) 71.22
  91. “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,” ‘N Sync (1998) 71.17
  92. “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” Band Aid (1984) 70.92
  93. “Christmas Canon,” Trans-Siberian Orchestra (2001) 70.87
  94. “Winter Wonderland,” Eurythmics (1987) 70.54
  95. “Please Come Home for Christmas,” The Eagles (1978) 70.28
  96. “Wrap Me Up,” Jimmy Fallon & Meghan Trainor (2023) 67.05
  97. “All I Want for Christmas,” Vince Vance (1990) 66.73
  98. “Someday at Christmas,” Stevie Wonder (1967) 66.55
  99. “Step into Christmas,” Elton John (1973) 63.49
  100. “DJ Play a Christmas Song,” Cher (2023) 60.78

The full report is available here.    

Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions Draw 24.21 Million Viewers for America’s Game of the Week on FOX

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The Detroit Lions are one of the hot teams in the NFL and as they improved their record to 7-1 this past weekend with a win over the Green Bay Packers, 24.21 million viewers tuned in to see it on FOX. The game was the most watched telecast of the week on any network.

For the season to date, when FOX has America’s Game of the Week, those games are averaging more than 25 million viewers, which is up 8% over last year and currently ranks it as the No. 1 program in all of television.

The FOX regional window averaged 14.091 million viewers which was a big increase of 23% over last year’s audience of 11.457 million.

The FOX NFL Sunday pregame show saw a big lift this past week as well. Last year, the Week 9 show averaged 3.627 million viewers and this year, the same show was seen by an average of 4.748 million viewers. Through nine weeks of the season, FOX NFL Sunday is averaging 4.476 million viewers, and increase of 5% over last season.

FOX Sports will send their top broadcasting team this weekend to Tampa Bay where the Buccaneers will host the San Francisco 49ers. Kevin Burkhardt will be on the call with Tom Brady, and they will be joined by Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi and Mike Pereira.

Trans Siberian Orchestra Offers Special Anthem For Vets Day

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The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) has unveiled a new rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” This release honors U.S. service members, veterans, and their families.

Radio stations nationwide are urged to air this special performance on Veterans Day. Additionally, it will be available for replay throughout the year, allowing audiences to pause and honor the sacrifices made by military personnel and their families.

TSO’s music director, Al Pitrelli, said the gesture is deeply personal. “Coming from a military family with a tradition of service spanning generations, this is our tribute to the brave individuals who protect our nation.”

Pitrelli, whose family has a long-standing tradition of military service, including both grandparents, his father, uncles, and presently, two children currently enlisted, emphasized the significance of military service to the TSO family. “We always ensure to recognize the contributions they make to this country,” he stated.

The download is available here. 

FOX Big Noon Saturday Scores 9.9 Million Viewers for Ohio State-Penn State, Most Watched Big 10 Game of the Season

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When two top five teams get together in college football, it is generally a good sign a big television audience number is coming. In the most recent case, this past weekend’s game between Ohio State and Penn State delivered for FOX. The game drew an average audience of 9.9 million making it the most watched college football game this season on FOX and the most watched Big Ten game of the season on any network.

FOX led week 9 in college football with the Nebraska-Ohio State game which had about 60% of the audience the Ohio State-Penn State game had, averaging 5.9 million viewers. The only college games so far this season to draw more than the Ohio State-Penn State game have been the Georgia-Texas Week 8 game which drew more than 13 million viewers, Alabama-Tennessee from that same week also had a big number with 10.23 million viewers, and the Georgia-Alabama game in Week 5 of the season which drew an average audience of 11.99 million on ABC.

This week, top games will include two SEC matchups on ABC. The 3:30 p.m. ET slot will see No. 2 Georgia at No. 12 Ole Miss. Later in the 7:30 p.m. ET block, No. 11 Alabama will be at No. 13 LSU.

The FOX Big Noon game will see Purdue at No. 3 Ohio State. ESPN will have No. 4 Miami at Georgia Tech in their early window. ABC will have Florida at No. 5 Texas as their first matchup of the day.

Fox News Anchor Martha MacCallum Shares Behind-The-Scenes Preparations for Election Night Coverage

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Many news media members were prepared to spend days covering the 2024 presidential election results, including Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum.

MacCallum was on the air at Fox News for 12 hours. She anchored The Story at 3 PM ET before helming the network’s Democracy 2024 coverage alongside Bret Baier Tuesday evening.

In the lead-up to Election Day, MacCallum hosted a special edition of her program on Sunday. That came after an additional weekend test run of the network’s new set.

As for Tuesday, MacCallum said her diet is a big part of preparing for the long day of coverage.

“Best way to focus? Lots of water, no sugar, a workout in the AM,” she told the Daily Mail. She added that diet and rest are pivotal in helping keep her fresh and ready for whatever the night might bring, which, in this case, was a presidential victory for Donald Trump.

She also joked about her appearance and attire for the news media’s Super Bowl. “Big days call for big hair,” she said.

Election Day marks the end of a frantic schedule for the Fox News anchor. After previously moderating Republican primary debates in 2023, MacCallum was tabbed by the network to work alongside Bret Baier again should a similar event pop up between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. That debate, however, never came to fruition.

MacCallum also anchored the network’s coverage of the 80th anniversary of D-Day from Normandy, France earlier this year. Additionally, she received The “Tex” McCray Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society at the Patriot Awards Gala in San Antonio last month.

Memorable Thanksgiving Promotions For Music Radio

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In the past, Thanksgiving marked the official start of the holiday season. Now, with stations launching Christmas Music on Halloween and Walmart having their Christmas trees out in July, perhaps only a slight exaggeration, the kickoff has moved up.

There are options if you find your station is still looking for a clever Thanksgiving promotion. I reached out to programmers for some ideas that you might be able to configure for your brand. Just no WKRP Turkey Drop, please.

Chad Ruffer, Group Director of Programming Bonneville Sacramento, “…you mean they don’t fly, and you shouldn’t drop them from a helicopter?   I’ve done bowling for birds before, where listeners use frozen turkeys as bowling balls and try to win prizes, and then all the turkeys get donated to the local food bank.  I’m also a big fan of using this holiday as a bonding opportunity with the staff to simply donate a few hours at a local food bank, helping make or serve meals.  There was also a year when I was at MAGIC in Colorado Springs where we gave the entire staff the day off and pardoned one turkey and let him jock all the shifts that day.”

Jimmy Brooks, Director of Programming 100.7 The Tiger, Baton Rouge, said, “While we haven’t had a WKRP-style turkey drop, we’ve definitely had some fun and impactful Thanksgiving promotions at The Tiger!!!

Every year, we partner with St. Vincent de Paul and a local grocery store to host a holiday food drive. It’s a great way to give back to our community and help those in need.

We also love to get our listeners involved with annual contests like our Cutest Pet Contest. It’s always a fun way to spread some holiday cheer and let listeners submit photos of their pets dressed up in their best holiday gear! 

This year, we’re excited to introduce our “Sparkling Holiday Memories” contest. This is a fun opportunity for listeners to share their favorite holiday memories and win a beautiful piece of jewelry that is custom made and valued at $1500.00 from a local jeweler.

We’re also hosting a daily Christmas tree giveaway the week of Thanksgiving, with a live broadcast from a local tree farm. It’s a great way to kick off the holiday season and get families into the Christmas spirit.”

Buzz Knight Consultant and President of Buzz Knight Media, “We did a ‘Dinner on the Mayflower.’ Promotion where we served up Thanksgiving Dinner on a Mayflower moving van with all of the fixings along with an appearance by members of the on-air staff.”

“I’m pretty sure we did a turkey bowling event with frozen turkeys on another occasion, but I feel like I am suppressing the memory because it was a messy disaster.”

Brian Figula, Director of Programming Operations, Bonneville San Francisco, said, “The only thing I can think of is in the 90s as a promotions assistant at Banana 101.5 in Flint, Michigan, doing Turkey Bowling in a high traffic area parking lot. The bowling ball was a massive frozen turkey. Throw a strike and qualify for KISS tickets.”

If you would like to share an idea or promotion, email jeff@barrettmedia.com

The New York Times Adds New Editors for The Daily

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The New York Times has added a pair of new editors to one of the nation’s top podcasts, The Daily, hosted by Michael Barbaro and the departing Sabrina Tavernise.

Chris Haxel (editor) and Maria Byrne (Senior Editor) have been added to the team for The New York Times-produced show.

“They’re already in the mix, working collaboratively throughout the newsroom — bringing New York Times reporting to life through vibrant audio, contributing to the vision for our coverage, fostering audio-first ideas, and leading episode teams in the making of the program,” The Daily Executive Producer Ben Calhoun said.

Haxel joins the podcast after previously working for outlets like APM Reports and NPR. He also worked at The Lansing State Journal in addition to working at KCUR in Kansas City.

Byrne comes to The Daily after previously working as the supervising editor for The Wall Street Journal’s daily podcast, The Journal. Spending more than 20 years in the audio space, Byrne has worked at the BBC, in Beijing, Brussels, London, and Washington, during her tenure before joining The Wall Street Journal.

The Daily is currently in a state of flux, as Tavernise is set to step away from the podcast in the coming weeks. Also, it is currently dealing with a decision made by The New York Times earlier this year to only allow the most recent episodes to be available to non-subscribers for free. A subscription is now required to listen to any episodes of the popular show older than five days old.

NewsNation, Newsmax First Cable News Networks to Call 2024 Election for Donald Trump

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Many news organizations and pollsters argued that the 2024 election wouldn’t be decided on Tuesday night. That was technically true, as the first calls claiming Donald Trump had won the presidency didn’t come until early Wednesday morning, but NewsNation and Newsmax were the first to say the race was over.

At 1:22 AM ET on Wednesday, NewsNation officially became the first television network to project the 2024 presidential race had been won by the Republican nominee.

The call was announced by NewsNation host Chris Cuomo, who said “It is just after 1:22 in the morning eastern time and this is the biggest call of the night. Decision Desk HQ can now project that former President Donald Trump will be our next president, 47th President of the United States.”

Newsmax was not far behind, as they also called the race at 1:23 AM ET.

“The Pennsylvania race was extremely close, but it became clear that there was no pathway for Kamala Harris to overcome President Trump’s lead,” Newsmax Senior Vice President of News Gary Kanofsky said.

“We kept crunching the data and it became obvious as more votes came in that Donald Trump had established an insurmountable lead. That’s when we were confident it was time to make the call.”

NewsNation, in partnership with Decision Desk HQ, was also the first network to project that North Carolina and Georgia had been won by the former President.