Glenn Beck Drove Away Viewers

January 30, 2009 — Ron Chusid

Steve Benen notes that “Glenn Beck’s ratings on CNN Headline News were so weak, his largely-unknown replacement is already generating better numbers.” That’s no surprise. While Beck might bring in more viewers at Fox, anywhere else I’d expect him to have a negative influence on ratings. I’d expect viewers at HLN to change the channel just because Beck is on. As long as someone doesn’t have the negative influence of someone like Glenn Beck, ratings are likely to be better.

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7 Comments

  1. 1
    nitish says:
    January 31st 2009 at 10:14 am  

    comparing Q1-08 #s (i couldn’t find tvnewser’s jan08 #s specifically ) to jan 09 #s, news viewership was up across the board…

    while Q1-08 may have had elevated #s due to the primary season, i don’t believe that compares to this inaugural season.

    to attribute velez’s improved ratings to beck leaving would be stretching it a bit.  btw, beck is up 40% on fnc last year (john gibson’s big story)

  2. 2
    Ron Chusid says:
    January 31st 2009 at 1:00 pm  

    If cable news viewership is up across the board this also could mean that an even larger number of people would be changing the channel at HNL when Beck comes on.

    It is not surprising that Becks’s viewership is up at Fox. Fox viewers wouldn’t be expected to turn off Beck as viewers of other networks might.

  3. 3
    jbjm says:
    February 3rd 2009 at 10:37 pm  

    I am thrilled Beck is doing so well at FNC.  I love, love, love the guy. He doesn’t stick to any talking points but his own.   He has been reporting about the financial meltdown for 2 years.  Now it’s happening almost exactly as he predicted, while everybody else was caught completely off guard.  He’s bright, straight forward, and insightful.  I hope his ratings soar and he kicks Bill “O” out of the 8 p.m time slot on FNC.  

  4. 4
    Tom says:
    February 4th 2009 at 7:32 am  

    A common problem with the Left is they can neither comprehend nor tolerate someone who doesn’t think the same way, so when it appears that someone like Beck actually has viewers they attempt to tear down the numbers or deconstruct them to suit their views. They were predicting the demise of the show from the day it launched, but the fact of the matter is the ratings were fine, HLN was happy, and they were sorry to see him go. HLN obviously cost him some viewers because some hardcore Right folks refuse to tune into what they call the “Communist News Network” – an absurd but surprisingly not uncommon feeling among the God/Guns/Guts crowd. Long story short: wishful posts about Glenn’s horrible ratings or pending cancellation are ususally incorrect or misleading and always tiresome.

  5. 5
    Ron Chusid says:
    February 4th 2009 at 8:57 am  

    jbjm,

    I expect Beck to do well at Fox, although I haven’t found him to be particularly bright. Regardless, there is a definite audience for his views at Fox, while he was a poor fit at Headline News. O’Reilly seems pretty well entrenched and I have doubts if Beck can knock him out, but having the two should keep many Fox viewers happy.

  6. 6
    Ron Chusid says:
    February 4th 2009 at 9:11 am  

    Tom,

    A common problem with the Right is that they cannot engage in rational thought without quickly resorting to insults.

    Liberals not only are far more aware than conservatives of the vast variety of opinions but we both strive to understand opposing views and support the inclusion of various viewpoints.

    The issue with Beck has nothing to do with tolerating people who don’t think the same way–although the hatred, bigotry, and ignorance inherent in much of what he says does get to be tiresome and makes him a poor choice to promote conservative views.

    The problem is simply one of network format. HNL is not the place for shows of his type, regardless of ideology. If they had brought in someone like Randy Rhodes I wouldn’t expect her to have done well there either.

    It sure is amusing that many on the right consider CNN to be Communist, or even liberal, considering how the vast majority of people hired there in recent years have been Republicans. The difference is that, unlike both the people at Fox and Glenn Beck, they do try to exercise some journalistic integrity regardless of their views.

    Posts about Glenn’s horrible ratings were dealing with facts–not wishful thinking or anything which was factually incorrect. If you find this tiresome it looks like it is just a product of your limited mindset. It looks like you are stuck in a limited left vs. right worldview and cannot consider simple facts about how attracting television audiences works.

  7. 7
    twilson37 says:
    February 22nd 2009 at 7:09 am  

    http://www.dickipedia.org/dick.php?title=Glenn_Beck

    Hehehe…couldn’t have said it better myself.

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