A Surge in Ratings as First Miners Appeared

More than 10 million people were watching CNN, Fox News and MSNBC as the first of 33 miners was rescued in Chile on Tuesday night, the beginning of the end of a two-month ordeal for the men trapped underground.

According to Media Decorder at nytimes.com, the Nielsen Company estimates10.6 million people were watching those three cable news channels from 11 to 11:15 p.m. Eastern, the time that the first miner, Florencio Avalos, was pulled to the surface.

It is impossible to tell how many people watched the live coverage around the world. Channels like the BBC and Al Jazeera English also carried the rescues live, but they are not rated in the same way as the channels based in the United States.

In the United States, cable news ratings surged. As usual during breaking news, the normally third-place CNN rose to first place during the first rescue, with 5 million viewers from 11 to 11:15. Fox News Channel averaged 4.3 million viewers, and MSNBC averaged 1.3 million.

Normally, just about 2 million people total are watching the three channels at that hour.
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