MSNBC continued to pull away from CNN in April, beating “the most trusted name in news” in every hour from 6 p.m.-12 a.m. and beating CNN in total day for the third consecutive month among the key Adults 25-54 demographic, according to data released today from Nielsen Media Research. The repeat of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” at 10 p.m. ET drew more total viewers than CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” the first time in nearly a decade that MSNBC has out-rated CNN in that hour. “Morning Joe” also beat CNN’s “American Morning” in total viewers for the second consecutive month, while “Hardball with Chris Matthews” at 5 p.m. beat CNN for the first time ever in that hour among total viewers. Following are MSNBC ratings highlights for April 2010:
MSNBC beat CNN in every hour from 6 p.m.-12 a.m. in April among both A25-54 and total viewers. MSNBC beat CNN in almost every daypart in A25-54, including total day for the third consecutive month (129,000 vs. 123,000), and also beat CNN in total viewers in primetime (780,000 vs. 568,000) and sales prime (7pm-2am) (589,000 vs. 468,000). “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” beat CNN for the 26th consecutive month at 8 p.m., finishing ahead of “Campbell Brown” by 116% in A25-54 (266,000 vs. 123,000) and 124% in total viewers (1,073,000 vs. 478,000), and beating “Nancy Grace” by 15% in A25-54 (266,000 vs. 231,000) and 49% in total viewers (1,073,000 vs. 719,000). The repeat of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” beat “Anderson Cooper 360” at 10 p.m. for the second month in a row in A25-54 (217,000 vs. 180,000), and also beat “AC 360” by 3% in total viewers (696,000 vs. 678,000), the first time in nearly 10 years that MSNBC has out-rated CNN at 10 p.m. (July 2000) “The Rachel Maddow Show” beat CNN’s “Larry King Live” among both A25-54 (274,000 vs. 156,000) and total viewers (1,071,000 vs. 670,000) for the third straight month. The repeat of “The Rachel Maddow Show” at 11 p.m. ET also beat the second hour of CNN’s “AC 360” in both A25-54 and total viewers, the first time that “TRMS” has out-rated CNN in the time period since premiering in September 2008. “Hardball with Chris Matthews” beat CNN in total viewers at 5 p.m. for the first time ever in April (515,000 vs. 509,000). At 7 p.m., “Hardball” beat CNN’s foundering “John King USA” for the second consecutive month among A25-54 (159,000 vs. 109,000) and beat CNN for the third consecutive month among total viewers (654,000 vs. 426,000). “John King USA” is down 48 percent in total viewers and down 52 percent in A25-54 versus “Lou Dobbs Tonight” in the same time period last April. “Morning Joe” beat CNN’s declining “American Morning” for the second consecutive month among total viewers (392,000 vs. 307,000). "Morning Joe" continues to grow, with April delivering its best viewership in nearly a year (May 2009). “The Ed Show” out-rated CNN’s “The Situation Room” for the second straight month among both A25-54 (147,000 vs. 124,000) and total viewers (627,000 vs. 490,000). “The Ed Show” is the only cable news show in the time period to grow versus last year. MSNBC finished number one for the month in weekend sales prime among A25-54.
