Cable Channel Almost Admits Bias…Almost
Posted by bmac on November 6, 2007
Cable Channel Nods To Ratings And Leans Left.
Riding a ratings wave from “Countdown With Keith Olbermann,” a program that takes strong issue with the Bush administration, MSNBC is increasingly seeking to showcase its nighttime lineup as a welcome haven for viewers of a similar mind.
A “ratings wave?” Olberman pulls about 400,000 viewers a night. That’s not even a ratings ripple. For contrast, Katie Couric on CBS is a dismal failure, pulling 6 million a night. O’Reilly gets about 2 million, more than the entire MSNBC prime time lineup combined. And really, 2 million viewers in a nation of 300 million ain’t exactly blockbuster numbers. I’d bet reruns of “That 70’s Show” regularly out-preform O’Reilly.
Having a prime-time lineup that tilts ever more demonstrably to the left could be risky for General Electric, MSNBC’s parent company, which is subject to legislation and regulation far afield of the cable landscape. Officials at MSNBC emphasize that they never set out to create a liberal version of Fox News.
“It happened naturally,” Phil Griffin, a senior vice president of NBC News who is the executive in charge of MSNBC, said Friday, referring specifically to the channel’s passion and point of view from 7 to 10 p.m. “There isn’t a dogma we’re putting through. There is a ‘Go for it.’”
Yeah, “Go for it.” If any fewer people were watching MSNBC, they could just blog it, and save all that money on TV production. And if Hillary gets elected? Might as well shut it down. Typical lefty idea of success, just like Air America.
A Fine Line Between Stupid And Clever 
eddiebear said
Yeah, but if after the last three years of Olbermann and Matthews, all they can get is 400,000 viewers, how many more do they think they can get with yet another loon? After the initial car crash mentality to see how crazy Rosie will be, I’m sure the momentum will last as long as Olbermann is reported to.
bmac said
It’s kind of a joke really. These kinds of numbers are like infomercial ratings. Seriously, nobody is watching, MSNBC does not matter at all.
In fact, even Fox’s numbers are anemic compared with the last place Couric. Cable news is a non-player for the most part. You just can’t tell me 2 million people a night (for O’Reilly, cable news Superstar) is making much of an impact on anything. And MSNBC would kill for 2 million people a night.