Monday Convention Ratings: FNC On Top
Between 8 and 11pm Monday night, FNC averaged 3,717,000 viewers, while CNN averaged 1,230,000 and MSNBC had 819,000.
The difference between the first night of the DNC and RNC is stark. On July 26, FNC averaged 1,633,000 viewers in primetime, while CNN had 2,010,000 and MSNBC averaged 1,149,000.
The two notable speeches resulted in viewer spikes for the cablers. FNC averaged 4,406,000 viewers during McCain's speech, and MSNBC averaged 1,077,000. (CNN did not break the speeches out.) During Rudy's speech, FNC averaged 4,818,000, and MSNBC had 1,062,000.
> 5:51pm: CNN's press release noted that they had "double and triple digit audience gains during first night of RNC."
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/archive/2004_08_31_archive.asp#109398366565269612