Quake Coverage Draws Viewers to CNN

From Bill Carter, NYTimes:

CNN once again proved its appeal to viewers of breaking news last Friday through Monday night, with coverage of the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Friday’s audience for the total day, 2.273 million, was CNN’s largest since the Inauguration in January 2009. The news channel assumed ratings dominance in prime time on Saturday and Sunday, and made significant improvement Monday night when all its programs were devoted to the events in Japan.

On Saturday night, CNN attracted an average of 2.151 million viewers, with 908,000 in the group that news advertisers seek most to reach, people from 25 to 54. Both numbers were up by huge percentages – 269 percent and 391 percent, respectively – over CNN’s Saturday night average for the year.

That also gave CNN an unusual dominant win over its news channel rivals. Fox News had 1.376 million total viewers and 363,000 in the 25-54 group Saturday night. MSNBC had only 505,000 total viewers and 254,000 in the advertiser-preferred group.

The news from Japan gave CNN its most-watched Saturday of the year, drawing three times as many viewers as watched the coverage of the shootings in Tucson of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others on Jan 8.

The results were similar Sunday. CNN dominated with 2.051 million total viewers and 796,000 in the 25-54 segment. Those numbers were up 326 percent and 427 percent over the network’s Sunday average.

Fox News’s figures for Sunday were 1.360 million and 333,000, with MSNBC trailing, with only 470,000 total viewers and 229,000 in the 25-54 group. MSNBC offered mostly pre-taped coverage that did not relate to Japan on Saturday and Sunday nights.

Sunday’s numbers were the best for CNN in more than five years, since coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on Sept. 4, 2005.

Read more here.