TV Ratings: 2024 Starts Strong for Fox, Weak for CNN

For the week of Jan. 1, 2024. Fox News and MSNBC gained viewers after a low-rated holiday week, while CNN lost viewers (in most measurements) after what had been a solid holiday week powered by its New Year’s Eve Live broadcast. All three cable news outlets saw losses relative to the year-ago week, which featured live coverage of a four-days-long House Speaker vote.

With Nielsen live plus same day data for the opening week of 2024 is officially in, and TV News reports with its full-time weekday hosts back on air, Fox News Channel retained its regular position as the top-rated cable news network in total viewers and among Adults 25-54.

In primetime, FNC averaged 1.65 million total viewers and 163,000 A25-54 viewers, up +52% and +34%, respectively, relative to the week prior. Fox’s 1.65 million viewer average is more than CNN and MSNBC’s combined total viewer average in the daypart. In total day viewing, FNC averaged 1.14 million total viewers and 129,000 A25-54 viewers,  +25% and +18%, respectively, from what Fox averaged in those measurements the week prior.

Among all basic cable networks, Fox News ranks No. 2 in total primetime viewers (only behind ESPN and its highly-rated live college football broadcasts), No. 10 in the primetime demo (tied with Bravo), No. 2 in total day viewers (behind ESPN) and No. 4 in the total day demo for the week of Jan. 1, 2024.

MSNBC saw week-to-week viewer gains after one experiencing one of its lowest-rated weeks in several years. In primetime, the network averaged 881,000 total viewers but just 78,000 viewers from the A25-54 demo during the week of Jan. 1. That’s +33% and +44%, respectively, from what the network drew the week prior. In total day, MSNBC averaged 671,000 total viewers and 62,000 A25-54 viewers for the week of Jan. 1. That’s +25% and +13%, respectively, from what the network averaged the week before.

Among all basic cable networks, MSNBC finished the week ranked No. 4 in total primetime viewers, No. 32 in the primetime demo (tied with sibling NBCU network Oxygen), No. 3 in total day viewers and No. 28 in the total day demo (tied with FXX).

CNN, on the other hand, shed viewers after its highly-rated New Year’s Eve Live broadcast. The network averaged 540,000 total primetime viewers and 107,000 A25-54 viewers in primetime for the week of Jan. 1, 2024. That’s -9% and -30%, respectively, from what the network averaged in those measurements the week prior. In total day, CNN did post week-to-week gains in total viewers (+2%), but shed A25-54 viewers (-11%).

A week after beating Fox News in the primetime demo, CNN dropped to second on cable news in the measurement, and finished No. 24 among all basic cable networks. CNN finished No. 14 in total primetime viewers, No. 5 in total day viewers and No. 14 in the total day demo.

Fox, MSNBC and CNN were all down relative to the opening week of 2023. FNC shed -20% in total primetime viewers, -35% in the primetime demo, -21% in total day viewers and -32% in the total day demo. MSNBC shed -36% in total primetime viewers, -53% in the primetime demo, -29% in total day viewers and -48% in the total day demo. CNN shed -41% in total primetime viewers, -48% in the primetime demo, -38% in total day viewers and -45% in the total day demo vs. House Speaker vote week.

• The Five was the most-watched program in cable news for the week, averaging 2,896,000 viewers and 251,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier secured 2,124,000 viewers and 180,000 with A25-54. The Ingraham Angle at 7 PM/ET drew in 1,996,000 viewers and 177,000 A25-54. At 8 PM/ET, Jesse Watters Primetime was the second most-watched program in cable news with viewers, delivering 2,542,000 viewers (236,000 in the 25-54 demo). At 9 PM/ET, Hannity secured 2,207,000 viewers and 215,000 with A25-54. At 10 PM/ET, FNC’s late-night offering Gutfeld! was the second most-watched program with the advertiser coveted 25-54 demo, nabbing 239,000 25-54 demo viewers and 1,932,000 total viewers.
• Notably, Neil Cavuto’s Your World with Neil Cavuto (weekdays, 4 PM/ET) topped its cable competition, easily outpacing CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper and MSNBC’s Deadline: White House.
• FNC’s daytime lineup continued to surpass broadcast programs. Outnumbered (weekdays, 12 PM/ET; 1,608,000 P2+), The Faulkner Focus (weekdays, 11 AM/ET; 1,583,000 P2+) and America’s Newsroom (weekdays, 9-11 AM/ET; 1,519,000 P2+) outranked ABC’s GMA3 (1,413,000 P2+) and NBC News Daily (1,303,000 P2+). In the mornings, FOX & Friends secured 1,015,000 viewers and 132,000 with A25-54, marking the program’s 150-week winning streak with the younger 25-54 demo.

NOLA Radio: Paul Cannell Named WKBU Brand Manager

Audacy names Paul Cannell Brand Manager of Bayou 95.7 (WKBU-FM) in New Orleans. In this role, Cannell will oversee content strategy, talent, operations and branding for the station. He assumes this new position beginning January 15.

“We are so excited to welcome Paul back to New Orleans,” said Kevin Cassidy, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy New Orleans. “His market knowledge and passion for the brand make him a perfect leader for Bayou 95.7!”

Paul Cannell

“Who says you can’t go home?” asked Cannell. “Thanks to Vince Richards, Dave Richards, Brian Purdy, and Kevin Cassidy for this incredible opportunity to return to New Orleans and program this legendary station in my favorite city in the world!! Laissez les bons temps rouler!"

Cannell has ten years of experience as a Brand Manager, Program Director, Music Director and on-air personality across multiple formats. His return to radio brings him back to Audacy, where his career began hosting middays and evenings on Bayou 95.7 in 2008. 

His other career stints include being a Digital Managing Editor for KRUF-FM, KVKI-FM, KXKS-FM, KEEL-FM, KWKH-AM and KTUX-FM, where he served as an on-air personality. He also had programming stops at WMFX-FM in Columbia, SC and WRMR-FM in Wilmington, NC, where he was also an on-air personality. When he returned to Louisiana in 2017, he continued on-air while taking up Program Director roles at WZRH-FM, KKND-FM and WRKN-FM.

Sactown Radio: Abe Kanan New Afternoon Host on 98 Rock

Audacy appoints Abe Kanan as the afternoon host of 98 Rock (KRXQ-FM) in Sacramento. “The Abe Kanan Show” will air on weekdays from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PT beginning January 10.

“Abe is a well-rounded on-air talent with an incredible understanding of this industry, including the technical skills behind the mic,” said Stacey Kauffman, Regional Vice President, Audacy Sacramento. “We’re excited to bring him aboard and have him lead afternoons for this legendary local favorite through his humor, creativity and insight.”

Abe Kanan

“I am so excited to create the show I’ve always wanted to do on one of the most iconic radio stations in the country,” said Kanan. “There aren’t many heritage rock stations left, and 98 Rock is alive and well. The station is everything a rock station should be – covering every era – and I’m excited to play new rock music. My compliments to all of the fantastic people at Audacy for making this happen. Now, I need to find the best burger and sub sandwich in Sacramento.”

Kanan most recently co-hosted mornings on Rock 95.5 (WCHI-FM) in Chicago. With over 22 years of experience, he was the voice of “The Abe Kanan Show” on SiriusXM Howard 101, as well as a radio personality for Q101 (WKQX-FM) and K-Love (previously The Loop 97.9) (WLUP-FM) in Chicago, Big 105.9 (WBGG-FM) in Miami and 93.9X (WNDX-FM) Indianapolis.

📻Listeners can tune in to 98 Rock (KRXQ-FM) in Sacramento on-air and nationwide on the Audacy app and website. Fans can also connect with the station via X, Facebook and Instagram.

Mid-State PA Radio: Nancy and Newman Together Again

Mid-State radio personalities Nancy and Newman are coming back to celebrate their 20th anniversary with a new morning show.

Nancy Ryan and Bob Newman were formerly a duo with Bob 94.9 WRBT Harrisburg for 20 years, with that program ending in 2020 as part of a series of layoffs from parent company iHeartMedia.

But the duo will return to Lebanon-based WFVY Froggy Valley 100.1 FM starting Monday, January 15, 2024. The program will be from 5 a.m.-10 a.m. weekdays.

“This exciting opportunity with my dear friend Newman marks our 20th anniversary hosting a morning show together,” said Nancy Ryan in a press release. “We are thrilled to collaborate again to help our loyal followers kickstart their day in an upbeat manner while bringing them the music they love.”

Ryan went on to say that the new show will feature music from “new and upcoming country stars as well as from your favorite artists who you’ve loved for decades.”

WFVY 100.1 FM (1.55 Kw)

“Nancy and Newman are an iconic team,” said Tim Ritchie, Lebanon Market Manager for Seven Mountains Media, in a press release. “Their chemistry together is one that leaves you waiting for the next day. Froggy Valley 100.1 welcomes them with open arms.”

X Inks Content Deals With Don Lemon, Rome, Gabbard

 Social media company X on Tuesday announced three new content deals with former CNN anchor Don Lemon, former U.S. congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and sports radio host Jim Rome, part of an effort to grow video content on the site. Reuters is reporting.

The Elon Musk-owned platform, formerly Twitter, has struggled to retain advertisers amid of series of controversies ever since the billionaire bought the company in 2022, and is betting brands could return alongside the three personalities.

In a blog post on Tuesday, X said it was now a "video-first platform" and users were watching videos in 80% of their sessions. "The Don Lemon Show" will have three 30-minute episodes per week, covering politics, culture, sports and entertainment, X said in a post on the platform.

The new show marks Lemon's return after he said he was fired from CNN in April. CNN in a statement at the time said it had parted ways with Lemon but did not give a reason for his departure. "I know now more than ever that we need a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors," Lemon said on X, calling the platform "the biggest space for free speech in the world."

Gabbard said she was partnering with X on a series of short films to share stories of people "whose voices are silenced."

Rome, host of "The Jim Rome Show," will stream a new show on X five days a week starting after the Super Bowl, X said.

The company partnered with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson last year for an exclusive show following his departure from the network after a damaging lawsuit over false claims of election fraud.

Deborah Norville To Receive BFoA Lifetime Achievement Award

The Broadcasters Foundation of America will honor two-time Emmy© winning anchor of Inside Edition and 23-year member of the Broadcasters Foundation Board of Directors Deborah Norville with the 2024 Edward F. McLaughlin Lifetime Achievement Award. The Award is given annually to an individual who has made invaluable contributions to the television and radio industries and will be presented to Norville during the Golden Mic gala and fundraiser on March 4, 2024, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

“Deborah is an accomplished broadcaster who has selflessly given a tremendous amount of time and energy to the Broadcasters Foundation,” stated Scott Herman, Chair of the Foundation. “She has led the way on several initiatives, including using her talents on the Foundation’s video and serving as host of the Golden Mic Award gala numerous times. It is our privilege to honor Deborah’s achievements and contributions to broadcasting.”

Deborah Norville

“I am honored to have been chosen for this recognition and the opportunity it gives to highlight our work at the Broadcasters Foundation,” said Norville. “I have been so blessed to have my career as a television journalist and feel supporting this organization all these years is one way of paying my debt of gratitude.”

In 2016, Norville, the longest serving anchor on American television, was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. She is a member of the Council for Foreign Relations, the Women’s Forum of New York, Women Corporate Directors, and a Director for the Broadcasters Foundation of America.

“Deborah is passionate about broadcasting and helping those in our business who cannot work due to illness or have been hit by tragedy,” said Tim McCarthy, President of the Broadcasters Foundation. "I’m delighted that we will honor her many career achievements and dedication to broadcasting with the Lifetime Achievement Award.”

D/FW Radio: KSCS, KPLX Present The Texas Independance Jam

Cumulus Media announces that Dallas-Fort Worth Country stations New Country 96.3 (KSCS-FM) and 99.5 The Wolf (KPLX-FM) will present the 3rd Annual Texas Independence Jam guitar pull on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at the historic Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth.

This year’s event will bring Country music fans a star-studded lineup, featuring Old Dominion, Cole Swindell, Dustin Lynch, Nate Smith, Lauren Alaina, Ty Herndon, Corey Kent, and Ian Munsick.

Tickets to New Country 96.3 and 99.5 The Wolf’s Texas Independence Jam will go on sale this Friday, January 12th, at 10:00am at: https://www.axs.com/events/525213/texas-independence-jam-tickets. Proceeds from the ticket sales will go directly to Cook Children’s. Listeners will have multiple opportunities to win tickets through on-air contesting, ticket hits, and more!

Radio History: January 10

➦In 1942..."The Better Half,",  an early battle of the sexes type quiz show, debuted on the  Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS). The show aired until 1950.

➦In 1949...Vinyl records were introduced by RCA (45 rpm).  RCA’s entry was a new 7-inch, 45 rpm phonograph record. Soon, the 45, the record with the big hole in the middle, would change the pop music business. RCA even manufactured a record player that played only 45s — with a fat spindle that made “stacking wax” real simple.

➦In 1956...Elvis Presley recorded his first tunes as an RCA Victor artist in a marathon 8-hour session. Recording in Nashville, Elvis sang “Heartbreak Hotel”, “I Was the One”, “I’m Counting On You”, “I Got a Woman” and “Money Honey”. Elvis was backed by a drummer, D.J. Fontana, for the first time, in addition to guitarists Scotty Moore and Chet Atkins, bassist Bill Black and piano player Floyd Cramer.

➦In 1960...Marty Robbins‘ hit tune, “El Paso”, set the mark for the longest #1 song to that time. The song ran 5 minutes and 19 seconds, giving many radio Program Directors fits; because the average record length at that time was around 2 minutes, and formats and commercial loads didn’t allow for records much longer than that.

➦In 1964...The first North American Beatles album, "Introducing The Beatles," was released by Chicago-based Vee-Jay Records.

➦In 1965...Howard Cosell aired his first “Speaking of Everything” publica affairs-type show on 77WABC NYC.

➦In 1969... a frustrated George Harrison quit the Beatles, saying sarcastically as he walked out ‘see you around the clubs.’  With Eric Clapton being considered as his replacement, George came back a week later.  George later stated that while he had a growing backlog of new material, he constantly had to work on Lennon and McCartney's songs before the group would work on his.

MLB Rejects Amazon’s $150M Bankruptcy Bid

Major League Baseball has rejected a proposed roughly $150 million lifeline extended by Amazon to the nation’s largest regional sports network as it languishes in bankruptcy, The NY Post is reporting.

Diamond Sports, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcasting, filed for Chapter 11 protection last March as the landscape for RSNs continued to suffer a seismic shift because of cord-cutting and the subsequent loss of advertising revenue, as The Post previously reported.

Amazon attempted to come to Diamond’s rescue last month by offering to invest roughly $150 million in the company and take over streaming broadcasts for the 11 baseball teams it carries, which include the World Series champs Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, a source close to the situation told The Post.

Germaphobe Howard Stern Recovering From COVID-19

Stern and Beth Stern

Howard Stern was absent from his SiriusXM show last week because he finally got COVID-19.

The NY Post reports Stern who had managed to avoid getting the virus since the pandemic started in 2020 — explained his absence on Monday’s episode, telling his listeners, “I took a sick day and I’m still sick, you can still hear it in my voice.”

“We were supposed to be back last week. We weren’t because I got COVID-19,” he revealed.

The “Miss America” author, 69, stressed that the illness was no small matter.  “I just want to announce something. COVID is really bad,” he shared. “You do not want COVID. Oh f–k.”

“Man, I went through hell … I’ve really never been this sick,” he added.

Stern also thanked the doctors and scientists who had worked on a vaccine to lessen the effects of COVID-19.

The last time the “Private Parts” star took a sick day was back in May 2017, which is why his absence last week caused quite a stir on social media.  Last September, Howard confessed that his paranoia over contracting COVID-19 had caused arguments between him and his wife, Beth Stern.

The self-proclaimed “King of All Media” added, “You know how paranoid I am about getting COVID. I haven’t gotten it, and I’m pretty safe, and I really don’t want to get it.”

He has also lashed out at critics who are anti-vaxxers or accuse him of being “woke.”

In fact, the first time he ventured out from his “apocalypse bunker” was in October 2022 when he was spotted dining at Israeli restaurant Laser Wolf in Williamsburg, N.Y.

R.I.P.: Dave Foulk, Former Knoxville, Atlanta Personality

Dave Foulk

Dave Foulk, a beloved radio personality who served the Knoxville and Atlanta area for decades, has died.

Dena Foulk, his wife, shared the news late Monday on social media. “He loved his family, he loved his work, and he loved connecting with each of you,” she wrote on Facebook. “Thank you for being such a large and supportive part of our lives.”

Foulk was a well-known on-air personality at Newstalk 98.7 and served in a variety of roles at WNOX and WVIK. He also worked at WSB Radio in Atlanta for 15 years.

In 2015, Foulk spoke to WATE about the outpouring of community support he received while battling colon cancer.

“The reason I am being so open about cancer, is because melanoma killed my mother. Prostate cancer killed my father,” he told WATE. ”My being so open is being driven by hope that maybe one person will hear me talk about it, be open about it, and kind of make light of it and go ahead and get checked.”

NYC Radio: WKTU's Astra Anchors Page Six Video Content

Media personality Astra, currently an on-air personality on iHeartMedia’s 103.5 KTU The Beat of New York, has been hired by Page Six to anchor for The NY Post's new video content.   The Post’s fabled gossip column Page Six is taking a step beyond the page by launching a new studio facility in New York City to shoot an expanding array of celebrity-driven content.

The Page Six studio, to open in early January as an extension of the print and online newspaper column, will have standing sets and shooting facilities for the production of daily video segments covering the celebrity entertainment and pop culture space. 

The studio play marks Page Six at the New York Post — which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. — moving well beyond its tabloid newspaper origins to the digital, podcasting, TV, video and social media platforms.

Earlier, a TV extension of the New York Post‘s Page Six gossip column, Page Six TV, in 2019 was canceled after two seasons. Page Six TV faced stiff competition from rival shows, including Extra, Access and Access Live, along with the more tabloid-focused TMZ and Daily Mail TV, which also launched in 2017. The latest TV extension for the gossip column will see video segments produced around celebrity entertainment news, fashion roundups, awards show and red carpet coverage, in addition to items about celebrity real estate, beauty and fashion advice.

1/9 WAKE-UP CALL: Loose Bolts Discovered on Jets

United Airlines said it found loose bolts on some of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets in its fleet. Air-safety regulators on Saturday had prohibited airlines from flying the jets after a panel plugging an unused emergency exit blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Ore., on Friday and left a gaping hole in the side of the plane. The grounding snarled travel, resulting in hundreds of flight cancellations. United said the issues would be remedied by its maintenance staff to return the planes to service. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating why the plug tore away from the plane, which quickly returned to the airport and landed safely. 

The NTSB recovered the missing 63-pound door plug that blew out of the side of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane.

Investigators are looking into how and why the plane suffered a decompression explosion at 16,000 feet.@tomcostellonbc spoke with one of the passengers. pic.twitter.com/G6XRMLRDXi

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) January 9, 2024

A full audio recording from the cockpit was overwritten, according to the NTSB. Cockpit voice recorders can capture only two hours of data; nobody pulled a circuit breaker to stop the recorder. Boeing and some aviation stocks fell after a rough start to the year for air travel.

BLINKEN MEETS WITH GULF STATES LEADERS: Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined a series of requirements for the future of the Gaza Strip after meetings with leaders of key Gulf Arab states.

Sec. of State Antony Blinken visited Israel Monday as part of his diplomatic efforts to seek a solution and prevent the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict throughout the region. Israel says it is reducing military offenses within Gaza as it begins a new phase of the war. pic.twitter.com/tIH2hdGct2

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 9, 2024

He said any postwar arrangement must take into account peace and security in Israel, include a unified Palestinian government for the West Bank and Gaza, work toward future integration of Israel with the region and pave the way for an independent Palestinian state. Blinken’s diplomatic tour of the region is an effort to prevent a broader war. His fourth trip there since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel came as an Israeli strike killed a senior Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon. Blinken was due to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders tomorrow and then Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday.

AWOL AUSTIN: The elective medical procedure that led to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's secret stay in intensive care took place on Dec. 22, and complications set in more than a week later that required emergency medical personnel to take him to the hospital in an ambulance, Defense Department officials said. Austin began experiencing "severe pain" on Jan. 1 and was taken by ambulance to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement. Austin's immediate medical needs required a stay in the ICU, where he remained for four days “due to hospital space considerations and privacy,” Ryder said.

The Pentagon provided additional details about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization after facing questions for why President Biden, Congress, and the public were not aware of Austin's hospitalization for several days. pic.twitter.com/6CWy3DezJb

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 9, 2024

 On Jan. 2, Austin, due to his condition and on advice of doctors, transferred some of his authority to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. However, neither Hicks nor Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security advisor knew until Jan. 4 that Austin had been hospitalized in intensive care. The delay, Ryder said, was because Austin’s chief of staff was out sick with the flu.

With just one week until the Iowa caucuses, Republican candidates are targeting former President Trump, who is the overwhelming favorite.

President Biden is also taking aim at Trump, slamming him and his supporters for downplaying January 6th.@GarrettHaake reports. pic.twitter.com/B62pvz2u0v

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) January 9, 2024

➤BUYING INSURANCE BECOMING IMPOSSIBLE.  Huge losses from national disasters are prompting the industry to jack up prices and pull back from some markets. Climate change also has made it harder for insurers to measure their risks, pushing some to demand even higher premiums to cushion against future losses. Some consumers are straining household budgets to afford insurance or, if they’re allowed to, forgoing coverage. In certain places, the only options are bare bones coverage or none at all, which can make homes worth less and harder to sell, and cars less affordable.

➤EXPLOSION IN FORT WORTH: At least 21 people are injured after an explosion Monday rippled through the bottom floors of a hotel building in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, authorities said. One person was in critical condition and four others were seriously injured, MedStar spokesperson Matt Zavadsky said at a news briefing Monday. The rest had minor injuries. Craig Trojacek, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth Fire Department, said the first call of a fire at Sandman Signature Fort Worth Downtown Hotel was received at around 3:32 p.m. local time. Multiple calls about an explosion came in after. The smell of gas permeated through downtown Fort Worth.

The defendant who brutally attacked Judge Mary Kay Holthus in her Las Vegas courtroom returned to court for his sentencing on a previous case. Deobra Delone Redden was sentenced to 19 to 48 months in prison. @KaynaWhitworth has more. https://t.co/FE6usQx7p6 pic.twitter.com/BVHWmSkgmo

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) January 9, 2024

Pat McAfee: Relationship with ESPN Is Strong, But...

When ESPN placed a big bet on a new star, Pat McAfee, to bring in young audiences with an edgy brand of sports-talk programming, the network knew the appointment carried risks. And in recent days, they have been apparent, reports The Wall Street Journal. 

McAfee, an F-bomb-throwing former NFL punter whose show made its debut on ESPN in September, has been on the defensive since an appearance last week by New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, a recurring guest on McAfee’s show, implied during the show that ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel had ties with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, accusations that Kimmel denied.

McAfee and ESPN have both apologized for the incident, but McAfee also accused people within the network of trying to sabotage his show, specifically calling out Norby Williamson, a high-ranking ESPN executive. Those comments led ESPN to issue a statement of support to both McAfee and Williamson, vowing to handle the matter internally. 

“A lot of people are saying I’m trying to get fired; no way,” McAfee said on his show Monday, ahead of the college football playoff championship game, which is among ESPN’s most-watched events of the year. He described his relationship with ESPN as strong, but said he didn’t “take back anything that I said about said person.”

Pat McAfee

The kerfuffle shows the risks of betting on larger-than-life personalities to stay relevant in the streaming era, where viewers have myriad options and have become quite fickle.

Last year, ESPN reached a deal to license McAfee’s YouTube show for five years for more than $85 million. The move was seen as a sign the network was willing to go outside its comfort zone.

Then last week, during a conversation with McAfee about a list of names of people associated with Epstein, Rodgers said: “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who are really hoping that doesn’t come out.”

Kimmel denied the allegations and threatened legal action: “Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court,” he wrote on X on Jan 2.

“Aaron made a dumb and factually inaccurate joke about Jimmy Kimmel,” said Mike Foss, senior vice president of studio and digital production at ESPN on Friday.

On Monday, when asked about the comments during a press conference, Rodgers said he would discuss the matter on McAfee’s show Tuesday, a week after his initial comments. “Tune in,” Rodgers said.

This wasn’t the first time Rodgers had said something controversial on McAfee’s show. During a 2021 appearance, Rodgers told McAfee he was opposed to Covid-19 vaccines and was unvaccinated.

HD Radio Barely a Ratings Blip

By James Cridland, Radio Futurist

HD Radio launched in the US in 2002. Alongside some benefits in terms of metadata, the system offers a number of additional stations for listeners to enjoy.

The HD Radio website tells me that in Beverly Hills in California (thanks to 1990s TV it’s the only US zip code I know), with an HD Radio I can enjoy many more stations: KCRW’s Eclectic 24 on 89.9-2, K-SURF on 105.1-2, Pride Radio on 104.3-2, and an 80s version of KROQ on 106.7-2.

Now that HD Radio is more than 21 years old, it might be interesting to know how much listening there is to these HD2/HD3 stations. And it turns out… not much.

In PPM markets, HD2/3 stations achieve a total 1.2% listening share of all radio listening.

This 1.2% figure is from Nielsen, sent to me by a trusted source. PPM numbers are not reliant on recall or people knowing they were listening to an HD2 or HD3 station. This 1.2% figure also includes FM translators who pick up an HD2/HD3 station and rebroadcast the audio on analog FM: so the actual number could be rather lower.

Why?

It might be two factors. First: the user interface. DAB presents a listener with an alphabetical list of stations. For HD Radio, the way you tune into 106.7-2 is to tune your radio to 106.7, wait until the HD Radio indicator lights, and then gingerly press the “up” button to get 106.7-2. That’s not a great experience.

I’d also suggest that “106.7-2” is hellishly confusing as a way to tell listeners how to tune in.

Second: I would doubt these stations are marketed well, if at all. In most cases, a listener to 106.7-2 won’t count as a listener to 106.7, so there’s a direct incentive for the radio programmer NOT to promote what’s on 106.7-2 - or, indeed, to spend any time on the programming.

📻READ THE ENTIRE COLUMN: HERE

TWH Tries To 'Influence' NYTimes Reporting

 A meeting between Biden campaign officials and The New York Times seems to have gone awry, according to Fox News Digital citing a recent report. 

A "source familiar" told Semafor that "with the exception of its recent meeting" with The New York Times, the Biden campaign's meetings with reporters have been "substantive" and "productive." 

The line sparked a response from political commentators online.  "The meeting with the NYT didn’t seem to go well," Axios reporter Alex Thompson wrote in a post on X Sunday. 

Emeritus Arizona State University Professor joked that it was "[g]ood to see [the] Biden Admin providing useful coaching to @NYTimes on how to write."

The Semafor report also indicated that Biden campaign officials invited "top political reporters and editors" to campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, as an "opportunity to tell them what they're getting wrong," according to a recent Semafor article. 

The Biden campaign "invoked a spreadsheet laying out areas where the team believes their reporting has fallen short," speaking with high-profile reporters from outlets like The New York Times and the Washington Post. 

Dolphins, Chiefs To Stream Exclusively On Peacock

For the first time, the NFL is taking a playoff game off broadcast TV and placing it behind the paywall of a streaming service. 

Saturday’s AFC wild-card matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs will stream exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. 

The NFL gave a preview of what was to come in Week 16, when Peacock exclusively streamed the Buffalo Bills’ win against the Los Angeles Chargers. A subscription to Peacock will set you back $5.99 a month.

The move means Taylor Swift fans will have to sign up for the service if they want to see the music megastar watching Travis Kelce and the Chiefs attempt to make it back to the Super Bowl. Expect NBC cameras to find her quickly and often if she attends Saturday’s Chiefs’ game against the Dolphins, something comedian Jo Koy joked about while hosting the Golden Globes Sunday night.

TV Ratings: Golden Globes Surges 50 Percent

Viewership for Sunday's star-studded Golden Globe awards rose 50% from last year, averaging 9.4 million live viewers on U.S. broadcaster CBS, according to Reuters citing Nielsen ratings data released on Monday.

A year ago, the Globes attracted 6.3 million viewers to the ceremony on Comcast Corp's NBC. The show switched networks after organizers made reforms to address a diversity and ethics scandal and the awards were sold to new owners.

Sunday's ceremony honored the best of film and television chosen by a new group of 300 entertainment journalists. Historical drama "Oppenheimer" dominated the night with five honors.

The Globes kicked off the awards season and were the first major Hollywood party since twin writers and actors strikes shut down much of the film and TV industry for six months last year. The event drew top acting talent and most of the Globe nominees.

This year's show followed a National Football League game, the most popular programming on U.S. television, and took place on a Sunday, which is typically the highest-rated night of the week. NBC aired the Globes on a Tuesday last year.

The Globes also streamed live to Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers. CBS said the show was the second-largest, live-streamed CBS special event ever on Paramount+, but the network did not provide the number of streaming viewers.