The cable news ratings for the third quarter of 2010 were released today, and Fox News is showing signs of decline as their viewership has decreased by 21%, and their top shows all posted double digit losses, while MSNBC’s shows, grew and the network attracted more younger viewers.
Since we last checked on the viewership totals for Glenn Beck’s Fox News show viewers have continued to flee his program. Last Friday, Beck hit a new all time low of 1.743 million viewers. The new twist of Beck’s plummet is that he is now being in the ratings by such Fox News heavyweights as Bret Baier and Greta Van Susteren. Even Shep Smith beat him once.
Glenn Beck has been in denial about his ratings slide for weeks now. First, he claimed that there is no ratings decline for his Fox News show, and then he claimed that the weather was to blame for his 33% drop in viewership. However by attracting only 1.7 million viewers on Friday, Beck hit a new all time low which is now 50% off of his peak audience of 3.4 million.
On his radio show today, Glenn Beck first claimed that his ratings aren’t declining, but then blamed the weather for his loss of one million Fox News viewers. Beck’s excuse, “It’s called the spring and summer. It’s a cycle.” The problem is that Beck’s viewership numbers have been dropping since January, which is in the winter, when people are usually inside their homes watching television.
Things are not looking good for Glenn Beck and FNC. Not only have over 200 advertisers left Beck, and the network has been reduced to virtually giving away his ad time, but Fox News viewers are leaving his show in droves. Since January, Beck has lost 33% of his audience, or roughly 1.4 million daily viewers. The worst news for Beck is that this has been a steady erosion, and the viewers are not coming back.