CNN Memorable Memorial Victory: Wins Big With Jackson Coverage

CNN has covered the Michael Jackson story more than any other cable news network, and greater ratings came with greater coverage.

Yesterday’s all-out Jackson-fest proved to be a victory for “America’s Most Trusted Name in News,” as CNN won on cable news in every category. One can only wonder how this may affect CNN’s programming decisions moving forward.

From 1-4pmET, CNN averaged 5.3 million total viewers and 2.258 million in the A25-54 demo. That was more than every other cable news network combined – in fact, CNN had more demo viewers than any cabler had total viewers.

On network TV, it was ABC with a victory, matching CNN’s total viewer figure, followed by NBC close behind and CBS in third place.

The coverage lasted throughout the day and into prime time, where Larry King and Anderson Cooper pulled off rare wins while Campbell Brown lost to FNC’s Bill O’Reilly in total viewers at 8pmET (but won the demo). It was as if we were right back into primary season.

Will the ratings hold now that Jackson isn’t the story? Probably not.

Wait, what’s that? A 2nd memorial next month in London? Anderson Cooper, make sure that passport is valid – there’s “news” to report!

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