Cable TV Ratings: Fox News PrimeTime Line-Up Gaining Traction

Fox News Channel’s revamped primetime lineup of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity and Greg Gutfeld has grown the network’s audience after one month.

The new lineup launched on July 17 with "The Ingraham Angle" kicking things off at 7 p.m. ET, followed by "Jesse Watters Primetime" at 8 p.m. ET, "Hannity" remaining at 9 p.m. ET and "Gutfeld!" now beginning at 10 p.m. ET. 

From its debut through the week of August 14-21, Fox News has grown 23% among total viewers and 31% among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54 compared to the month prior (June 17 through July 16) from 7-11 p.m. ET. 

Fox News now occupies 44% of the primetime total viewer share, along with 38% of the total demo audience. The lineup has a staggering 200% advantage over CNN among total viewers and 53% in the demo, while topping MSNBC by 28% in total viewers and 21% in the category sought by advertisers. 

Last week as breaking news surrounding former President Trump’s indictment in Georgia dominated the news cycle, Fox News averaged 1.1 million total day viewers while CNN settled for 551,000. Fox News has now been the No. 1 network in all of cable among total viewers for 131 consecutive weeks. 

During primetime, Fox News averaged 1.6 million viewers compared to 770,000 for CNN.

Edison: On-Demand Audio Passes Time with Linear Audio

Edison Research has been tracking all forms of “linear” audio (radio over the air, radio streams, Pandora’s free radio service, satellite radio, etc.) and comparing it to all forms of on-demand audio content (paid streaming, podcasts, owned music, etc.) in their Share of Ear® service for nearly a decade.

As shown in the graphic below, their latest quarterly report is the moment when on-demand passed linear consumption for the first time. As of Q2, 2023, 50.3% of all daily audio time consumed by those in the U.S. age 13+ is on on-demand platforms and 49.7% is on linear platforms.

At the end of 2015, a scant seven and one-half years ago, the margin between linear listening and on-demand listening was 38 percentage points. But drop by drop, quarter by quarter and year by year, the margin was erased, and now on-demand leads.

The growth of podcast listening is part of the reason for this change. Podcasting has attuned hundreds of millions of listeners worldwide to the habit of choosing the right audio content at the right time and hitting play. The same goes for music – once people got used to the ability to choose a specific song or playlist, and of course skip songs – it became hard for many to go back to the ‘lean back’ experience of listening to radio or linear streams.

According to Edison, this is not a situation where on-demand will grow forever and someday linear will go to zero. Some people prefer linear listening, and even those who mostly prefer on-demand consume at least some linear content. But it is about as safe a bet as one can make that the trendlines in the graph above will continue well out into the future.

Nexstar Facing License Challenge To 14- Stations

A former television company is challenging Nexstar Media Group’s application to renew broadcast licenses for more than a dozen stations over apparent false statements made by Nexstar to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The challenges were first reports by The Desk.

The matter concerns documents that Nexstar and other broadcasters are required to provide to the FCC as part of each station’s public inspection file, which includes records about political content and advertising aired on licensed stations.

The FCC gives broadcast stations and their owners a certain amount of time to upload public inspection files on a regular basis. Records related to political content and advertising are supposed to be furnished to the FCC once every 90 days.

But a company called WNAC LLC says Nexstar not only didn’t furnish the appropriate political records within the required time frame, but falsely claimed otherwise when it applied to renew the TV licenses of 12 stations between last year and early this year.

WNAC LLC comprises former industry stakeholders who operated WNAC-TV (Channel 64, Fox), a Providence-based broadcast station that was acquired by Mission Broadcasting in 2020. Mission Broadcasting stations are wholly operated by Nexstar through shared service agreements, a business arrangement that is at the center of two separate disputes at the FCC.

Report: BMI May Sell to Private Equity Firm for $1.7B

BMI is considering an offer to sell to New Mountain Capital, a private equity firm that has been quietly looking at music assets over the last few years, according to sources. The deal has yet to be signed, as New Mountain Capital has entered an exclusive window to scrutinize the deal.

Billboard quotes sources suggesting that if the deal closes, New Mountain Capital will pay about $1.7 billion for BMI which claims $145 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in its first year acting as a for-profit entity, which was announced last October. That suggests that BMI — aka Broadcast Music Inc. — is trading on a nearly 12 times EBITDA multiple. Since BMI has no debt, it’s likely that New Mountain Capital will use a healthy level of debt to finance the deal.

CNN To Try Streaming Again

Warner Bros. Discovery is creating a CNN-branded live news service for its Max platform that will carry a significant amount of original programming as well as content from the CNN cable channel. 

The Wall Street Journal reports CNN Max will debut Sept. 27 in the U.S. at no additional cost to Max subscribers, Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday. It will only be available to Max subscribers and won’t be offered as a stand-alone service. 

For CNN and its parent company, this is the second venture into streaming in less than two years. CNN launched with great fanfare a CNN+ service last year, only to see it shut down weeks later when new management took over. 

The announced launch of CNN Max comes weeks after Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav said the company was working on bringing news and live sports to its streaming offerings in the U.S., a balancing act for an entertainment conglomerate looking to grow its streaming subscriber base without cannibalizing its ailing TV-network business.

New programming on CNN Max will include “CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta, Rahel Solomon, Amara Walker and Fredricka Whitfield,” and “CNN Newsroom with Jim Sciutto.” 

The platform will also include simulcasts of existing programming from CNN, including “Amanpour,” “Anderson Cooper 360,” “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” and “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”

The effort comes as CNN is looking to counter a multiyear ratings slump that is taking a toll on its bottom line. The network last week unveiled several changes to its morning, prime-time and weekend lineups a major programming overhaul that followed the recent departure of CNN’s chief executive, Chris Licht, who stepped down in June after a bumpy tenure of a little over a year. 

CNN Max is fundamentally different from the defunct CNN+, which didn’t include access to CNN’s highest-profile content and cost $5.99 a month. Instead of having “The Lead with Jake Tapper” and “Anderson Cooper 360°,” CNN+ featured less newsy fare such as “Jake Tapper’s Book Club” and “Parental Guidance With Anderson Cooper.”

Nielsen OKs Using Amazon Data For Thursday Night Football

Nielsen is planning to incorporate viewing data from streaming services for live programming, a move that will likely boost the ratings for Amazon Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” package and allow it to charge more for commercials.

“We are making modifications for live streaming measurement to more accurately reflect the growing impact of streaming and first-party data,” Nielsen said in a written statement.  

The Wall Street Journal reports this is the first time Nielsen has agreed to use a company’s own data along with its independent research to publicly report ratings. It only applies for live programming on streaming services and is open to other streamers as well. 

Last season, Amazon’s ratings using its own data were nearly 18% higher than Nielsen’s when it came to “Thursday Night Football.”  

Before Nielsen can start incorporating Amazon data into its own research, the Media Rating Council, which sets measurement standards, needs to finish its review and give its blessing, which could come as early as next week.

Nielsen’s decision to accept first-party data came after lobbying by Amazon and the National Football League to include first-person data in its ratings, people familiar with the matter said. The NFL has been aggressively pushing Nielsen on its measurement of pro football on all of its networks for the past few years, and has even commissioned studies with the ratings company to improve accuracy.

8/24 WAKE-UP CALL: It Was The No Don Debate

The large field of GOP presidential hopefuls gave Donald Trump what he wanted in their first debate: two hours of infighting and bickering and only brief criticism of the absent front-runner. The two-hour debate was the first opportunity for those challenging Trump to make an impression on the nation and, more specifically, Republican primary voters. Trump holds a huge polling lead and skipped the debate for an alternative interview with host Tucker Carlson on X. The also-rans had to decide how to treat what moderator Bret Baier of Fox described as the “elephant not in the room”—whether to embrace him or hammer him.

I want every kid to enjoy educational achievement: Vivek Ramaswamyhttps://t.co/qa7P4z5BbK

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 24, 2023

Nikki Haley: Biological boys don't belong in girls' locker roomshttps://t.co/dd5KdxoLPW

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 24, 2023

For his part, Trump largely ignored his challengers in the interview, focusing his criticism on President Biden and his record as if he were already engaged in the general election. At the debate, Trump was barely mentioned in the first hour. And when he finally came up, his hold over his opponents was clear: Asked if they would support Trump even if he is convicted in any of the four criminal probes he faces, only two debaters, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, signaled that they wouldn’t. 

Vivek Ramaswamy on 2024 election: 'This is our moment to revive those common ideals'https://t.co/QRlSxlu09l

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 24, 2023

RAMASWAMY IN SPOTLIGHT: Ramaswamy emerged as Trump’s most vocal defender. Vivek Ramaswamy, the wealthy biotech company founder, heralded Trump as “the best president of the 21st century” and positioned himself as Trump’s heir as a truth-speaking nonpolitician. Throughout the event, he was the former president’s most vocal defender, and attracted criticism from many of the others, a sign of Ramaswamy’s recent rise in many polls. He often gave as good as he got, sparring at various times with Christie, Pence and Haley.  “For a long time, we have professional politicians in the Republican Party who have been running from something,” he said. “Now is our moment to start running to something.”

Fireworks Over Trump at First GOP Debate as Christie, Haley Lash Out https://t.co/6bRMgNjUIj

— Tom Benson (@Tombenson1) August 24, 2023

➤CLIMATE CHANGE: At last night’s Republican presidential debate, only one candidate acknowledged that humans play a role in climate change, despite the scientific consensus on the issue. Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy declared that climate change is a hoax. Candidate Ron DeSantis avoided the question on climate change and instead criticized President Joe Biden’s response to the wildfires on Maui. Candidate Nikki Haley acknowledged the existence of climate change but blamed it on China and India.

➤DEBATE REAX: With former President Donald Trump skipping Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate, the eight candidates who took the stage had a chance to shine and make up a 40-point polling gap on the 77-year-old front-runner. Unfortunately for them, experts consulted by The Post agreed, nobody did enough in Milwaukee to change the dynamics of the race. “All of the candidates were looking for a breakout moment and didn’t get it,” said former Westchester County Executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino. “Donald Trump wasn’t there,” he added. “That’s like watching the Kansas City Chiefs without Patrick Mahomes. The star wasn’t there.” The candidate who came into the night with the highest expectations was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is polling a solid — if distant — second behind Trump in most national surveys. “DeSantis hit fly balls short of the fence,” Astorino said of the former college baseball player. “He was trying to hit home runs. I don’t think he had a great performance. He wasn’t attacked a lot. He’s still a viable candidate.”

Daily Mail Composite (8/24/23)

ESTIMATED 87M WATCHED: Moderators hosting Republican candidates on Fox News Thursday night had a buzzer to cut off meandering answers. Donald Trump interviewer Tucker Carlson did not. That, along with other factors, led to a wide-ranging 46-minute interview with the former president where he called critics 'savages,' spoke openly about the potential death of of the 80-year old president, then riffed at length about low-flow shower heads and electric cars. The pre-recorded sit-down got 87 million views and counting Wednesday night, a number the Fox debate filled with bickering by his rivals was almost certainly unlikely to match. Among the hot topics the former Fox host threw Trump's way was a question about whether the nation was headed for 'civil war.'

Trump On Biden: 'I think he's worse mentally than he is physically and physically. He's not exactly a triathlete, or any kind of athlete,' Trump mused. 'You look at him who can't walk through the helicopter he walks he can't lift his feet out of the grass, you know, it's only two inches at the White House. 'You watch him and it looks like he's walking on toothpicks,' the former president went on. 'And then you see him in the beach where he can't lift a chair. You know, those chairs are meant to be light, right? Like two ounces.' Trump then said he didn't understand the strategy behind sending Biden to the beach.

➤PUTIN RIVAL PRESUMED DEAD: Putin rival Prigozhin listed as passenger in deadly plane crash. Wagner’s chief, who led a failed mutiny against the Kremlin, was killed after the plane he was aboard crashed. Social-media channels close to the paramilitary group said Russian air defenses shot down Yevgeny Prigozhin’s jet northwest of Moscow. Published images of debris appeared to have damage consistent with such missiles. Russian aviation regulators cited by state media didn’t provide an explanation, while some lawmakers said a bomb on board could have caused the crash. The government said it is investigating. Deliberately downing the plane would be a very public execution of the man who presented the most serious threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his 23 years in power.

FCC To Release Public Comments On WTXF License Renewal

The FCC in an unusual move on Wednesday said it would publicly release comments on a bid by an advocacy group to deny the renewal of a license for Fox Television Stations' WTXF-TV Philadelphia station, reports Reuters.

The Media and Democracy Project in July asked the U.S. telecom regulator to deny a license renewal for WTXF-TV in Philadelphia, saying Fox News aired "false information about election fraud" about the 2020 presidential election and arguing it sowed discord and contributed "to harmful and dangerous acts on January 6" at the U.S. Capitol.

Ex-Fox Broadcasting President Slams Fox at FCC

The challenge to Fox's Philadelphia TV-station license is drawing a crowd, including founding president of Fox Broadcasting Jamie Kellner, according to nextTv.com.

Already this week Alfred Sikes, the Republican FCC chairman whose commission helped pave the way for the creation of a fourth network, registered his support for holding a hearing on Fox's qualifications to be an FCC licensee. Now Kellner, along with former Democratic FCC Commissioner Ervin Duggan and ex-Fox News Channel commentator Bill Kristol, former editor of The Weekly Standard, have joined the chorus of Fox critics.

The three men were responding to Fox's defense of its qualification for holding broadcast licenses.

Report: Mark Thompson Leading Candidate For Top CNN Job

The former New York Times and BBC chief Mark Thompson is a leading candidate to lead CNN, according to people familiar with the conversations on both sides of the Atlantic, according to semafor.com.

Thompson, who left the Times in 2020 after 8 years, is among a group of candidates in the mix for the job, three people familiar with the recruiting process told Semafor.

Mark Thompson

Since the firing of CNN Chairman Chris Licht in June, CNN has been led by a triumvirate of veteran network leaders as it struggles for a place in a partisan U.S. cable news environment increasingly dominated by MSNBC and Fox News.

According To Ben Smith at Semafor, Thompson’s name has not appeared in voluminous published speculation about the top CNN role, but he has obvious qualifications. He arrived at the New York Times at a desperate moment, and led a spectacular turnaround that turned the company into a dominant player in digital news.

But Thompson’s roots are in TV. Like many top television executives, he began his career as a star producer in the 1980s, and in his 30s led prestige U.K. news programs including Newsnight and Panorama.

Thompson, 66, held top programming jobs at the BBC before becoming chief executive of Channel 4 and then Director-General of the BBC, a high-stakes, intensely political job atop a complex public broadcaster.

Columbia SC Radio: Heath Cline Exits 107.5 The Game

Heath Cline — a longtime host on WNTK107.5 The Game — is no longer with the radio station, he announced Wednesday on the afternoon show and through social media.

“I spent almost 16 years doing drive time radio at 107.5, and am hugely appreciative for that opportunity,” Cline said in a statement he posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.

In his statement, Cline attributed his departure to being unable to reach a new contract agreement to stay on as a 107.5 host. His next job will be as an executive producer and substitute host for Chuck Oliver’s regional college football show. Cline has been working with 680 The Fan in Atlanta for years and said he will do more of that now.

Report: Apple May Have Interest In Acquiring ESPN

Given the massive effect Lionel Messi had on Apple's broadcasting service, CEO Tim Cook is finally getting to realize how much revenue live sports bring to the company, according to a posting at marca.com

The folks at Front Office Sports are predicting that the only viable way to expend their dominance in this arena is by buying one of the top dogs in live sports broadcasting. ESPN has been widely considered as the top sports network in the world and they were purchased by Disney back in 1996. Since then, ESPN has grown to be the broadcasting rights owner of leagues such as the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, UFC, the PGA Tour, tennis Grand Slams, Formula 1, and a multitude of college sports in America.

A company that has existed for 44 years and has expanded to Europe and Latin America, and had rights to some of the world's biggest tournaments. When the purchase was made, Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC for an estimated $19 billion. Back then, this holding company had 80% of ESPN and made Disney the effective majority steak owner. Every time a sports broadcasting company has been sold to a new owner, it almost always comes alongside a massive portfolio. However, Apple's best chance to become the leader in sports broadcasting is to make Disney an offer only for their sports channels.

According to Fortune, the prediction is that considering inflation and ESPN's current value, Apple should offer between $50 and $60 billion for the network. If we go to a regular inflation calculator, Disney paid $38 billion for the company. If they were offered $50 billion, they would still make a massive profit from it. 

Global Ad Spend To Top $1 Trillion For First Time Next Year

• Global advertising spend is on course to grow 4.4% this year to a total of $963.5bn
• In 2024 global ad spend is forecast to grow a further 8.2% by when expenditure will have topped $1trn for the first time.
• Social, retail and CTV are set to lead the growth.
• Just five companies – Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Bytedance and Meta – now draw over half (50.7%) of global ad investment and are forecast to grow their share to 51.9% in 2024.
• Financial Services, Technology & Electronics and Pharma & Healthcare are set to be the fastest-growing sectors next year.
• In 2024 Political ad spend should reach a new record-high of at least $15.5bn.
• US to account for almost a third (31.3%) of global spend; the US market is forecast to rise 2.2% to $303.5bn this year then a further 7.6% to $326.7bn in 2024.

A new study from WARC, the experts in marketing effectiveness, has found that global advertising spend is on course to grow 4.4% this year and a further 8.2% in 2024, by when expenditure will have topped $1trn for the first time.

The new analysis, published today, for the first time combines data from WARC’s proprietary survey of media owners, industry bodies, ad agencies and research organisations in 100 markets worldwide with advertising revenue data from 40 of the largest media owners to offer a complete picture of advertising trade.

Canada, Tech Companies Spar Over Online News

As Meta Platforms Inc. has started blocking news in Canada, one expert said an agreement between the federal government and the social media giant seems unlikely – but an agreement with Google is possible.

Bloomberg reports tech companies and the government remain in a standoff regarding the Online News Act, a law set to come into force later this year that will force tech companies to pay news publishers for content shared on their platforms.

Meta announced this month that it had begun removing Canadian news from Facebook and Instagram in response to the law, and on Monday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly criticized Meta for blocking news on its platforms amid wildfires and evacuations in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.

Michael Geist, Canada research chair in internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, said he “doesn’t see much hope of an agreement” between Meta and the federal government.

“I don’t see an agreement with Meta short of withdrawing the law, and I don’t see that happening,” Geist told BNNBloomberg.ca in an email on Sunday.

He added that the social media platform seemingly wants “out of news” and is unlikely to agree to legislation that dictates payment based on the use of links.