O’Reilly’s audience shrinks

May 5, 2006

[tag]Media Bistro[/tag] reports that the new cable TV [tag]ratings[/tag] are out and [tag]Fox News[/tag]’ [tag]Bill O’Reilly[/tag], in the key 25-54 demographic that advertisers care most about, just saw his lowest-rated month since August 2001.

His 415,000 demo viewers in March was a new low, but O’Reilly managed to lose a few more in April, averaging 412,000 in the demo. Here’s his post-Katrina track:

Sept: 1,115 / Oct: 518 / Nov: 468 / Dec: 460 / Jan: 472 / Feb: 458 / Mar: 415

But this trend started long before the hurricane. For O’Reilly, April’s numbers reflected his lowest demo rating in almost five years.

Among total viewers, O’Reilly delivered a respectable 2,102,000 viewers for the month. But that, too, was low — the lowest, in fact, since July of 2004 (when he had 2,042,000).

The less encouraging news is that O’Reilly still has 2 million viewers, and still has a sizable lead over his CNN and MSNBC rivals. That said, O’Reilly’s audience is shrinking, while [tag]Olbermann[/tag]’s is growing, so there’s hope.

As Al Neuharth said, the 32% – a percentage large enough to include SnorkelMan’s 2 million sheeple – are people so deep in denial nothing will get through to them. I remember being in grad school in May 1974, and having an idiot Nixon supporter in the class, going on about how a “wonderful President” was being attacked. The two people who laughed at him the loudest and called him an idiot were two Air Force officers in uniform who were in the class.

  • > Among total viewers, O’Reilly delivered a respectable 2,102,000 million
    > viewers for the month.

    2,102,000 million viewers? That’s 2 trillion (2 billion across the pond) viewers. I think some of those viewers must have voted twice. 🙂

  • It’s all about Olbermann now. In six months he’ll be as big as O’Reilly because he’s the only liberal voice, even balanced voice on the air except for Schieffer.

  • O’Lielly–praying for a good war in Iran. Until then, he’s got to make it a few more months til the war on Christmas heats up again. Loofas locked and loaded!

  • Anybody know what the ratings are for talk radio? I read earlier this year that the right wingers are on a bit of a downslide.

  • Low ratings are the price O’Reilly must pay for signing on to the good ship Hindenburg. A hydrogen explosion is hard to spin.

  • If you are not Stephen Colbert, it just does not pay to keep saying:

    “Support the President, trust the President, don’t call the President a liar.”

    I like the nice steady decline. That’s the sort of thing that will give O’Reilly an early coronary thrombosis (see what happens when you check your spelling in the dictionary). Hair lose is also expected.

    The only thing that keeps Keith’s numbers low are the viewers who watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report from 8 to 9 because they can’t stay up ’til eleven 😉

  • They’ll blame it on the media, of course, for changing all the televisions aboard Air Force One from FOX to CNN….

    Darn! All this good news (O’Roly-Poly down, GossZilla out;Neuharth taking a walk), and it’s Friday. Time for a cold one!!!

  • O’Lielly’s 2,102,000 viewers? “Backwash”

    Wish our cable co. would carry MSMBC (instead of Fox!); I’d love to watch Olberman. Maybe I’ll give them a call… for all the good it would do. (none)

  • It’s also worthwhile to note that, even with their slumping audience numbers, the three free network news shows routinely get between 35 and 40 million viewers each night. Granted, O’Baloney isn’t a journalist unless you consider rank propaganda some form of a news program.

    The Easter assault went really well. Can’t wait to attack Christmas again this year!

  • Keith Olberman rocks…I love it when he announces O’Reilly as the Worst person ever…it makes my day( or evening). Between him and The Daily Show and Colbert Report, it makes TV worth watching.

  • Looking through all the comments, I notice how shallow they are and without substance. Please, comment 3, “the only liberal voice”?! Ha!

    The reason O’Reilly stands out, which is good, is because he doesn’t follow the way the sheep do. He speaks his mind and expects others to do so as well. He also understands that we, as a nation, need to be united in our mission, not divided (Democrats, are you listening), fueled by the dislike of the Bush administration.

    Hey! dislike someone all you want, just remember that the country and its citizens are what matters. I fear the day that a US administration pulls back in the effort to battle terrorism and go after the countries and entities that are responsible.

  • It’s 2008 and O’ Reilly has record high ratings, as does Fox News. Olbermann has anemic ratings as does MSNBC, and Stephen Colbert’s dunder-headed novelty now reaps ultra low ratings, and Democrats are poised to lose the presidential election once again. Liberals in 2006 prophesying Fox New’s demise is hilarious! You lose again!

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