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Why are Glenn Beck ratings down this week?

October 23, 2009 8:56 am ET by Eric Boehlert

I ask because the ironclad Beltway CW this week has been that the White House's decision to fact-check Fox News has been a huge tactical mistake, partly because it will simply spike Fox News' ratings.

"Beck and O'Reilly were nearly orgiastic. Every presidential harrumph sends their ratings through the roof," announced columnist Michael Wolff. (He mocked the the anti-Fox News as being "ass-backward.") And trust me, everyone has been hitting that note this week about the sure-fire ratings boon for Fox News. It's an automatic.

But if that's true, shouldn't the White House attacks on Fox News be driving up Glenn Beck, the channel's hottest hitter, ratings-wise? Shouldn't Beck's Nielsen overnights be shooting into the stratosphere, climbing maybe 20, 30, even 40 percent, thanks to the PR bonanza that the White House gift wrapped the channel?

Well, guess what? Glenn Beck ratings are not up this week. In fact, they're down as compared to last week even though the topic of the White House/Fox News fueled has exploded this week across the media landscape. All the pundits who announced the White House completely screwed up by fact-checking Fox News, were sure Fox News' ratings were going to soar. Except they haven't. Instead, they've gone down this week.

Last week, Beck's show averaged 2.9 million viewers, which is consistent with the viewership Beck has been drawing for several weeks now. So far this week, the show is drawing 2.6 million viewers. It's a small dip, to be sure. But again, the pundits have been in heated agreement that the Fox News ratings were going to skyrocket thanks to the administration's obvious blunder. But Beck's ratings certainly have not. And overall, Fox News' total day audience has also dipped slightly, from 1.4 million last week, to 1.3 million so far this week.

So I'll ask again, why are Glenn Beck ratings down this week?

UPDATED: For additional context, two week's ago, prior to the public White House/Fox News dispute, Glenn Beck averaged 2.6 million viewers, which is what he's averaging so far this week. In other words, since the controversy erupted, and since pundits announced it would produce a huge ratings gain, Glenn Beck's numbers haven't changed much.

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- by The_Cat (October 23, 2009 9:19 am ET)
  8
  
  A 10% drop in viewing for Mr. Beck seems significant. I'd be curious how these last two weeks compare with last year at this time, but that's a relatively minor quibble.
  
  What really interests me is how the press will respond to this news. If it had been President Obama's approval ratings, you wouldn't be able to get away from the numbers for at least a couple of days, and you'd be subjected to endless speculation about what had caused it and how he could improve his image and message. My best guess is that FOX Propaganda will opt to shoot the messenger, and blame Nielson.
  
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  - by Midnight Kevin (October 23, 2009 9:43 am ET)
    4
    
    A 10% drop is somewhat sad. I wish the number would have been greater, but I guess that is possibly the number of people who also get their news elsewhere and are prone to reason. The remaining 90% are probably the people who would never seek the news elsewhere.
    
    -----------------------------
    http://www.themidnightreview.com
    
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- by IRONY 101 (October 23, 2009 9:35 am ET)
  8
  
  It's too early to tell what Beck's ratings drop means but I have thought all along that his ratings surge would be temporary. Beck did every possible thing to draw attention to himself, to promote his show and to create artifical controversy. And there was the other added element of the prospect of his insanity manifesting itself on live TV. It is understandable that many new viewers tuned in out of curiosity. I did, too. But the spike in numbers can be expected to decline when the novelty wears off. Keep in mind that Beck is an aggressive self-promoter...
  
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  - by Max Credits (October 23, 2009 9:49 am ET)
    6
    
    Very well said. Beck's part Boy Who Cried 'Wolf' part Carrot Top part PT Barnum act, coupled with his obvious paranoid stupidity will soon run its course, and, while he's dumber than bag of broken hammers, he'll manage to find the egress.
    
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  - by RKAllen (October 23, 2009 10:35 am ET)
    4
    
    His mouth writes checks his butt can't cash. He tells his listeners to tune in and promises things like releasing information tonight that will "bring down the administration." They tune in, and he gives them some rediculous and factless rants, a chalk board, some goofy faces, a tear or two from time to time, and nothing else. Hell, he encourages them to rally then doesn't even show up for it.
    
    Everyone has said something or done something in their past that they regret. People are starting to ask the question, "what else have you got," and Fox is coming up empty. This approach that Fox has taken has a lot of heat in the beginning, but people want to see a pattern of behavior and not one or two moments in a person's life that may be morally questionable.
    
    The misquoting of Anita Dunn has fallen flat across the board. Anyone who has heard the ENTIRE audio knows exactly what she meant by her statement. Editting it to where it does the most damage does not work these days. In fact, it makes you look very foolish and can be very damaging to your integrity. Show us the policies that reflect Mao. Show us a pattern of discussions where she quotes "her hero," more often and not as an "example" that you are going "to make choices."
    
    The Jennings controversy no one cares about, except Hannity and a few representatives in Congress and the smear campaign has lost its momentum. The On Star deal is going to make Glenn Beck look like a lunatic even to his most fervent viewers and his reporting on the H1N1 vaccine is down right irresponsible.
    
    You reap what you sow, and the Fox News organization has planted a bumper crop of ratings that has forever poisoned the soil of their future.
    
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    - by IRONY 101 (October 23, 2009 10:41 am ET)
      4
      
      My belief is that Roger Ailes knows Beck is a nut job but Ailes is going to ride the wagon until the wheels come off and it falls in a ditch.
      
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      - by RKAllen (October 23, 2009 10:51 am ET)
        6
        
        Hopefully the wagon will have On-Star and the on-board microphone will pick up the entire tragic event.
        
        It is my hope that this network's downfall is a VERY public one.
        
        *crosses fingers*
        
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        by bilbo_dies (October 23, 2009 2:10 pm ET)
        3
        
        The whole thing with OnStar is so funny (and sad).
        
        You do know that if someone was taping everything that went on in vehicles equipted with OnStar that Beck, or someone else, would have been caught saying something they shouldn't have and it would have already made a media splash.
        
        But hey, we can always have Hope.
        
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  - by rtejon (October 23, 2009 2:00 pm ET)
    1
    
    Or maybe they were changing channels from the other direction for a change, saw Melissa Lee on CNBC and stayed to check out "Fast Money." Or maybe there's new on-air talent in a major city's newscast this week. I'd like to think maybe 300k people are wising up but without really knowing, it seems just as much wishful thinking as my other two suggestions. Still, it's good to know there aren't that many people who weren't already watching Fox but would start just because of White House comments.
    
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- by goonhee9633 (October 23, 2009 9:36 am ET)
  3
  
  I think that Beck's viewership is what it is. Nothing that happens will have a sustained effect on his ratings. He has the 2.5-3.0 million folks from the Mid-West and South that will watch him no matter what he says. He is a very efficient businessman/entertainer but anyone that listens to and believes his BS is an idiot or someone trying to make money in the same way he does.
  
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- by walstib (October 23, 2009 9:43 am ET)
  3 2
  
  Nielsen rating are obviously biased.
  
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- by New Frontier (October 23, 2009 9:47 am ET)
  8
  
  The answer's obvious, isn't it? the missing 300,000 viewers were ID'd and whisked away to FEMA Camps by Obama's secret army. No TVs there.
  
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  - by IRONY 101 (October 23, 2009 9:51 am ET)
    5
    
    They wish... They've probably already been killed by the Marxist/Communist/Maoists who populate the White House. Can't you see the great, bloody, Obama purge has already started? Open your eyes, man...!
    
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  - by MrPlow99 (October 23, 2009 12:15 pm ET)
    4
    
    No, silly, those 300k viewers were part of the 2 million teabaggers who marched on Washington. They haven't made it back home to their TV sets yet.
    
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- by mk3872 (October 23, 2009 9:50 am ET)
  5
  
  Silly, silly liberals ... Don't you know? It does not MATTER what the actual rating #s say ... conventional wisdom has already been establish: The WH speaking out against FNC is a big WINNER for Fox News. End of story. Now stop with your silly little facts and ratings ...
  
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  - by bintx (October 23, 2009 10:45 am ET)
    2
    
    Ratings only count when they show that Fox is garnering more viewers than any other show in the universe! [not true, but that's how it is presented hear by the ratings junkies.]
    
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  - by DellDolly (October 23, 2009 11:38 am ET)
    2
    
    Heck, yesterday some poster tried to tell us that the White House saying that FoxNews has no credibility or legitimacy as a news organization gave them legitimacy!
    
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- by political_left-religious_right (October 23, 2009 10:06 am ET)
  3
  
  Can't wait for one of the Beck apologists to jump in and cry out "But, but, but the money he brings from advertisers! That's what's important!"
  
  And for any actual Beck fans out there, I'm using irony to point out the way they change the subject to Beck's ratings when the topic is his advertisers. I know it kind of ruins things by having to explain, but since Beck's fans are even less sharp than he is, even obvious things need to come with instructions.
  
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- by eweston8542983 (October 23, 2009 10:37 am ET)
  2
  
  Time to pull out all the stops G.B. That highly edidited, photoshopped, video of Obama's secrete medical team, performing brain transplant operations on conservatives.
  
  Its chilling! Its true! Its what my cousin Vinny says he saw through the ventilation duct, but that's another story.
  
  Sometimes those brains look much like califlower or two pounds of hamburger, but who are you going to believe. Besides a parsnip I mean?
  
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  - by Ecotopian (October 23, 2009 11:12 am ET)
    2
    
    Good one.
    
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- by only_myschly3567 (October 23, 2009 11:23 am ET)
  2
  
  I'd say that even if the numbers had stayed the same, that'd prove a point. Eric stressed this, maybe not enough, the pundits have all agreed that Fox News ratings were going to skyrocket.
  
  Well, if the ratings had gone up slightly (i.e. as much as they've in reality gone down), they'd be overdoing it a bit. If the ratings stayed the same, they'd be wrong. Well, even a slight dip, means they're very wrong.
  
  The MSM is just now hanging with the times... Apart from openly criticizing the President, they don't seem to have realized that Bush isn't in office anymore.
  
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- by vwcat (October 23, 2009 11:55 am ET)
  3
  
  Actually, the beltway bubble heads have decided the talking points is that we in Illinois are still living in the 1920s and that Obama's administration fact checking and pushing back on Fox's lies is akin to Nixon and Chicago Capone ways.
  To begin with: Chicago is living in 2009 and Capone and that chicago was 90 years ago!!! hello.
  Two: Fact checking is not Nixonian like.
  But, the media is running wild with this kind on nonsense and for once I have to agree with Mika on Morning Joe: This is totally a media generated controversy
  
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  - by midcinmann (October 23, 2009 12:21 pm ET)
    3
    
    I agree. If the media won't give the facts then the WH will have to do it for them.
    
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- by Easy to refute wingnuts (October 23, 2009 12:04 pm ET)
  1
  
  I'm guessing his ratings are down because of a couple of very good baseball playoff series. But still, there's no proof at all for their claims that his ratings have improved.
  
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- by midcinmann (October 23, 2009 12:12 pm ET)
  
  How do they know who's watching? I was watching because I wanted to compare what he was saying against what other news outlets were saying. I couldn't take it any more and haven't watched for a few weeks now. How do they know when people are watching and when they aren't?
  
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- by plake (October 23, 2009 12:14 pm ET)
  4
  
  It is interesting how the people that post here enjoy the same views so they can pat each other on the back and cry about the big evil Fox and how stupid Glenn Beck is because they have a different opinion. Fox opinion shows have exactly that, an opinion. Also, last time I checked Becks ratings were the highest, yesterday, today and most likely tomorrow. The posts on this site show why America is in trouble because the two sides, left and right are so polarized to the point of name calling and pure hatred. will we be able to get past the squabbling? I hope so.
  
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  - by Max Credits (October 23, 2009 12:43 pm ET)
    4
    
    For the record (and speaking only for myself), I'm not politically opposed to Glenn Beck's stupidity. Heck, I rarely understand what the moron is on about. In any event, if you've somehow managed to crack the code and understand Beck's conspiratorial connectedness of ACORN, Mao, Obama and OnStar, then I congratulate you on your irrelevance.
    
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  - by Ruby (October 23, 2009 1:22 pm ET)
    3
    
    You guys are always missing the point. It doesn't matter at all that Beck has a different opinion. The problem is that he lies and advances bizarre and outrageous conspiracy theories (FEMA concentration camps, ACORN blew the levees in New Orleans to destroy records, Obama wants to destory America, etc.)
    
    And Fox can't simply go, "Oh, he's an opinion person, so it doesn't count," and then suddenly be free of all responsibility for what he says. If they don't want to be held responsible for his statements, then don't have him on your network.
    
    And in case you haven't noticed, plenty of debates take place on this website between people with different points of view.
    
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  - by New Frontier (October 23, 2009 2:36 pm ET)
    1
    
    how stupid Glenn Beck is because they have a different opinion
    
    People who don't share Beck's opinion that the President is a "white-hating racist" need to stop "squabbling" because Beck gets high ratings.
    
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- by Cheney2012 (October 23, 2009 12:44 pm ET)
  5
  
  Let's inject some facts into this discussion. A rare thing among the Matter-ites.
  
  If you look at 2 consecutive Tuesdays and Beck is down marginally in total viewers age 2+, yet UP in the key demos:
  
  2+ (25-54) (35-64)
  Glenn Beck
  10/13 2,849,000 (670,000) (1,196,000)
  10/20 2,790,000 (773,000) (1,322,000)
  % change (-2%) (+15%) (+11%)
  
  Situation Room 2+ (25-54) (35-64)
  10/13 788,000 (193,000) (258,000)
  10/20 614,000 (162,000) (244,000)
  % change (-22%) (-16%) (-5%)
  
  Hardball 2+ (25-54) (35-64)
  10/13 580,000 (162,000) (264,000)
  10/20 409,000 (102,000) (219,000)
  % change (-29%) (-37%) (-25%)
  
  2+ TOTAL
  
  10/13: 4,217,000
  10/20: 3,813,000 (-9.5%)
  
  So total viewership (2+) is down across the board by 10%, yet Beck loses the smallest percentage of that audience AND is up significantly in the key demos while the competition is down -- and sharply so in 3 of the 4 numbers.
  
  Are you guys at MM and you robots who post here ever tire of being wrong? Or are you just lying?
  
  http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/10/14/cable-news-ratings-for-tuesday-october-13-2009/30487
  
  http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/10/21/cable-news-ratings-for-tuesday-october-20-2009/31160
  
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  - by Cheney2012 (October 23, 2009 12:46 pm ET)
    4
    
    The tabs and formatting didn't hold up in my post but you should still be able to follow it.
    
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    - by Chromium (October 23, 2009 1:35 pm ET)
      3
      
      So, in other words, you show that the competition is down 22% and 29%, but Beck is down only 2%. I think that answers Eric's question.
      
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    - by Disputed Zone (October 23, 2009 4:46 pm ET)
      2
      
      Interesting that you chose ratings for Tuesday, and not Monday or Wednesday or the averages for the week, all of which show Beck's ratings down slightly, both overall and in the key demos.
      
      That ratings were down for Hardball and Situation Room as well is irrelevant. Eric was shooting down the MSM claim that the White House calling out Fox would result in a big ratings boost for Fox. As he correctly notes, that hasn't happened for Beck.
      
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- by Savage Henry (October 23, 2009 2:29 pm ET)
  
  give it 90 days. no more hemmroid with eyes.
  
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- by wesley (October 23, 2009 8:52 pm ET)
  1
  
  Uh oh...Beck's ratings are up 12% overnight.
  
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  - by Disputed Zone (October 23, 2009 9:46 pm ET)
    2
    
    I'm guessing that's because of viewing patterns, and that for whatever reason, more people watch cable news on Thursday than do on Wednesday. Last week, Beck's Thursday audience was 19% larger than his Wednesday one.
    
    In fact, every day this week Beck's audience was slightly smaller than it was on the same day last week. So there is no "war" ratings boom.
    
    Reply Report Abuse

Why are Glenn Beck ratings down this week?

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Why are Glenn Beck ratings down this week?

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