Fox Debate Breaks Viewership Record

CNN reports:

Early overnight Nielsen ratings suggest that Thursday's Republican debate was not just the most-watched primary debate in history -- it may have been twice as big as the previous record-holder. The debate on Fox News had a 16.0 household rating between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., according to Nielsen. Translation: 16% of United States homes with TV sets tuned in. Fox News usually has 1% or 2% of the household audience. For the sake of comparison, the highest-rated Republican primary debates in 2011 and 2012 were watched by approximately 5% of households.

Last night may have been the most-watched Fox News telecast ever.

Ratings For Fox News Tumble

World Net Daily has posted the above poll in reaction to a ratings slide for Fox News. Note the dig at Shepard Smith. More on the latest ratings from Politico:

Make no mistake, Fox News is still the ratings king. But the recent May numbers show that while all the cable channels had a decline in ratings (which is normal for May), Fox News was far from spared, with some of its lowest ratings in 12 years. While Fox dominates with the top 14 shows in overall viewers, the total day average for Fox News in the key advertising demographic of the 25- to 54-year-old category was 177,000 viewers, only the second time Fox has gone below a 200,000 average since 2001. Another key factor coming from May ratings is just how old Fox News viewers are. Take for example, Bill O'Reilly's show, "The O'Reilly Factor." O'Reilly had his lowest month since 2001 in the key demo, with 308,000 viewers. Yes, O'Reilly is still the No. 1 program in cable news in both total and demo viewers, averaging 2,136,000 total viewers in May. But the majority of those viewers are over the age of 55. In fact, the median age for O'Reilly is now just over 72 years old. The average Fox News viewer overall is 68.8, while the average ages of MSNBC and CNN viewers were 62.5 and 62.8, respectively.

Politico notes that MSNBC's highest-rated program, The Rachel Maddow Show, is ranked 14th. CNN's highest-rated show, Anderson Cooper 360, is ranked 21st.

200 Channels And Nothing But Cats

Nielsen reports that the average US home gets almost 200 channels but only 17 channels are regularly watched.

According to Nielsen’s forthcoming Advertising & Audiences Report, the average U.S. TV home now receives 189 TV channels—a record high and significant jump since 2008, when the average home received 129 channels. Despite this increase, however, consumers have consistently tuned in to an average of just 17 channels. This data is significant in that it substantiates the notion that more content does not necessarily equate to more channel consumption. And that means quality is imperative—for both content creators and advertisers. So the best way to reach consumers in a world with myriad options is to be the best option.

Nielsen: Gays Shop & Spend More

Nielsen has come to the shocking conclusion that gay men go shopping a lot.

American same-sex partnered households have significant spending power. In fact, same-sex partnered households make 16 percent more shopping trips than the average U.S. household each year (173 average shopping trips vs. 149 average shopping trips for total U.S. households), according to a recent Nielsen report measuring the shopping habits of U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) households. The additional shopping trips translate into a marked difference in total spending on consumer packaged goods (CPG). Same-sex partnered households spend an average of $8,651 each year on CPG, compared with $6,898 for the average U.S. household. Within the LGBT community, male same-sex partnered households shop more frequently than female same-sex households (182 trips vs. 163 trips), raising male same-sex household annual CPG spending to $8,943—nearly 30 percent higher than the average U.S. household.

But the below chart that compares where gay men and lesbians exceed the national purchasing average is more interesting, yes?  The linked article doesn't make it clear, but one presumes the overall average for each of the below categories is 100.

(Tipped by JMG reader Thomas)

Headline Of The Day

Boy, I got that one wrong! Upside: Guess who is gonna be super-pissed? Details.

Nielsen: 28% Of TV Is LGBT-Inclusive

According to a report issued today by Nielsen, 28% of TV watching is spent on LGBT-inclusive shows.

Audiences and advertisers alike are flocking to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT)-inclusive programs. Representing 24 percent of broadcast primetime scripted and reality shows last season, these series garnered 28 percent of broadcast primetime TV viewing and 22 percent of ad dollars, according to Nielsen data. According to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the presence of regularly-appearing LGBT characters accounted for 3.9 percent of all scripted series regular characters during the 2010-2011 season, reaching a record high.

Super Bowl Breaks MASH's Record

Viewership of Sunday's Super Bowl broke the all-time record set by the 1983 series finale of M*A*S*H.

A classic television show just lost its two-decade grip on top of television's all-time viewership heap. Blame it all on the Super Bowl. Sunday's Super Bowl XLIV on CBS drew an average audience of 106.5 million viewers, breaking the record set by the television show "M-A-S-H" after a 26-year domination, making the game the most watched television broadcast in American history. The New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts reportedly topped the "M-A-S-H" series finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" that drew 105.97 million viewers in 1983. Sunday's Bowl also eclipsed Super Bowl XVI in 1982, as 49.1 percent of households (40,020,000) tuned in to watch San Francisco defeat Cincinnati according to the Neilson Company.

Analysts says several factors worked in favor of this year's game. There was keen national interest in New Orlean's first appearance. Also, the combination of a poor economy and an east coast snowstorm kept folks at home and out of bars, where their viewership would not be recorded by Nielsen.

Editor & Publisher Folds In Massive Selloff Of Media Trade Titles

Today Nielsen Business Media announced the sales of Billboard Magazine, Adweek, Brandweek, The Hollywood Reporter, and four other titles as well as their film industry conventions business. The new owner is a just formed media company called e5 Global Media Holdings. Not surviving the sale was the 125 year-old Editor & Publisher, the seemingly eternal watchdog of print journalism. From Nielsen's press release:

This move will allow us to strengthen investment in our core businesses – those parts of our portfolio that have the greatest potential for growth – and ensure our long-term success. We remain committed to building our trade show group and affiliated brands. These assets continue to be a key part of The Nielsen Company's overall portfolio and we strongly believe they are positioned to grow as the economy recovers. In addition, we'll continue to assess the strategic fit of our remaining portfolio of publications. [snip] I want to take this opportunity to offer heartfelt thanks to our colleagues who will be leaving the company for their dedication and commitment to Nielsen over the years. Please join me in wishing them well in their future endeavors.