CableTV News Got Ratings Boost from Shutdown

The government shutdown and near-default weren't good for the country or for Americans' view of their representatives in Washington, but they were great news for the cable news networks, as CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC all saw their ratings rise during the 16-day shutdown.

The number of viewers peaked at more than five million last Wednesday evening (October 16th) when Congress finally passed legislation ending the shutdown and avoiding default. MSNBC got the biggest bump during the shutdown, with its average prime time viewership up 35 percent. CNN was up 11 percent and for Fox it was nine percent.

CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash told AP, "It was a drama. Whenever there's a drama, people are interested." But Bash said that even for the reporters, it eventually got wearying as the crisis dragged on, saying, "There's always a rush in covering a big story. But at a certain point, you want your government to work a little better, regardless of what you do for a living."