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Yes, Glenn Beck just posted another ratings low for the year

May 18, 2010 9:38 am ET by Eric Boehlert

It's getting difficult to even remember when Beck's show was averaging three million viewers each night, even though that was just four short months ago. These days, Glenn Beck is more likely to draw two million viewers, which means that yes, the Fox News host has lost one-third of his audience already this year. 

Not only that, but there are increasingly days where Beck no longer hits the two million mark. Like on April 9, when, according to Nielsen data, the show drew  1.97 million viewers, which set the year's low mark. Then on April 22, the show dipped down further, to 1.82 million viewers. And now Glenn Beck has set yet another ratings low: May 14, the show attracted 1.77 million viewers. That is almost exactly half the audience the show was getting at its peak in late January. 

Wow. 

Last time I documented the precipitous, and undeniable, fall in Beck's ratings, the host became quite defensive and claimed that I had cherry-picked the data.  

But of course, my reporting was factual and dead-on. So I can't wait to hear how he spins the fact that he just set another ratings low for 2010. 

And oh yeah, as I previously pointed out, last June, July and August were very unkind to Glenn Beck in terms of ratings. There clearly seemed to be a pronounced summer seasonal effect that drove down his audience. (After all, his show does air at 5 p.m. in the afternoon and who spends those summer hours watching cable news?) My point being, I've got a hunch that same seasonal dip is waiting right around the corner, which means Glenn Beck may be setting more rating lows in the coming weeks and months. 

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    • Author by IRONY 101 (May 18, 2010 9:47 am ET)
      10 1
      Yea, but look at all the advertising revenue Beck's show is generating for FOX!

      Oh, wait... Har-har-har...
      Report Abuse
      • Author by jediknight65 (May 18, 2010 9:50 am ET)
        9  
        you mean the subsidies that rupert doesn't like being pointed out?
        Report Abuse
        • Author by MilitantMNMan (May 18, 2010 8:08 pm ET)
             
          Does fox news get government subsidies?
          Report Abuse
          • Author by jediknight65 (May 19, 2010 9:50 am ET)
               
            no, news corps is subsidizing beck by running in house ads......like for news corps
            Report Abuse
      • Author by Moderate Man (May 18, 2010 10:24 am ET)
        9 1
        Glenn Beck is receiving Fox News welfare...

        His show brings in the masses, but doesn't get the advertisers, so now the rest of Fox have to keep his show up...

        Doesn't that make Beck a hypocrite?
        -------------------------------------
        The Midnight Review
        Report Abuse
        • Author by The_Cat (May 18, 2010 11:53 am ET)
          3  
          Actually, according to this article, which appears to have a fairly strong factual footing, Glenn is no longer bringing in the masses, either.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by Moderate Man (May 18, 2010 5:27 pm ET)
               
            It's only a matter of time until he gets canceled... one can hope.
            Report Abuse
    • Author by jediknight65 (May 18, 2010 9:49 am ET)
      27 2
      aaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnndd they're off!

      here come defenders of beck's ratings coming up on the inside

      now its trogdelytes following

      with lamestream media in 3rd place

      followed by thanks to racist pig tea partiers trying to cut round the turn on the inside track.

      and here they come round the final turn and down the stretch!!!!

      and it is a photo finish ladies and gentlemen! a come from behind! Beck's crying has pulled of a come from behind!

      and here are your results

      beck's crying
      has caused advertisers to go home
      thanks to racist pig teapartiers.
      trogledytes
      defends his ratings
      because of the lamestream media

      have a good night ladies and gentlemen


      Report Abuse
    • Author by nerzog (May 18, 2010 11:00 am ET)
      18 1
      Kieth Olbermann nailed him last night. Nostradumbass, in his speech to the phony Liberty University, said he wouldn't let his kid accept a trophy he didn't earn. Right before the speech, Glenda accepted an honorary P.H.D.... which he didn't earn. Priceless!
      Report Abuse
      • Author by einreb (May 18, 2010 11:55 am ET)
        5  
        That was hilarious. Well, not really hilarious. Kind of sad, actually.

        But a fake getting a fake degree from a fake college did seem totally appropriate.
        Report Abuse
      • Author by political_left-religious_right (May 18, 2010 12:06 pm ET)
        6  
        So, a "Christian" university gives an honorary degree to a Mormon. (Groannnnn!)

        Folks, never trust any Christian institution that clearly places political conservatism above actual christianity. Even if they hadn't done it before, Liberty has done so now, and absolutely deserves to be shunned.
        Report Abuse
        • Author by bintx (May 18, 2010 12:39 pm ET)
          5 1
          Exactly. I thought it was funny that a fundamentalist Baptist university whose late founder believed that Mormonism was a cult allowed a member of that "cult" to speak at its commencement ceremonies and bestowed an honorary degree on him.
          Report Abuse
    • Author by sontaron (May 18, 2010 11:06 am ET)
      5 1
      Lets help get his ratings to zero. Go to http://stopbeck.com/
      Report Abuse
    • Author by New Frontier (May 18, 2010 11:36 am ET)
      4 2
      Glenn, you've been using blackboards and toys to promise your audience that The Apocalypse is coming for well nigh over a year now... and nothing's happened!!

      See that shark behind you? You've jumped it.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by everettbme (May 18, 2010 11:47 am ET)
      2 1
      All this means is that Das Beckster will have to come up with something even more outlandish in order to get people to pay attention to him again. And if you think about it, that in itself is a scary thought.


      There was a man named Beck
      Who was a pain in the neck
      He ranted and raved
      Til his show caved
      As his career became a train wreck
      Report Abuse
    • Author by lede39571545 (May 18, 2010 12:10 pm ET)
      1 1
      I must admit that for awhile I would sometimes watch his show because of the "hype". Then, I realized my watching the show led to the phenomenon that translated into ratings. Of course, I could not participate in that fraud. So, I tuned out and turned off. Most probably many others have done the same. Bye Becky.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by Treulos (May 18, 2010 12:27 pm ET)
      3  
      Beck may never admit it, but his show was dependent upon the healthcare debate. Now that healthcare has passed and the Marxist takeover he constantly raved about every night never happened, there is little reason to keep watching his show.

      Net neutrality and financial reform are poor substitutes for his healthcare conspiracies. Whereas the healthcare bill was unpopular for many Americans (liberals and conservatives alike, though for different reasons), financial reform enjoys broad public support. I don't know about net neutrality's public support, but it's simply overshadowed by other issues for the public to take especial notice of it.

      In sum, Beck can either attack a popular financial reform bill or net neutrality--a sub-issue for most people. Beck needs a new bogeyman, and even going back to the old global warming hoax scare tactics will be tougher in the wake of the BP oil spill.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by Don Quixote (May 18, 2010 12:33 pm ET)
      3  
      He knows this, and it's why he's been pegging the craziness meter lately. Loony over the top conspiracies, false equivalencies and slippery slopes made this man rich, and in his warped mind, if his ratings are dropping, it must be because he's not doing enough of this formula, so he's got to crank it up a couple of notches. He's in a self-induced death spiral.

      I think what he's doing with Goldline constitutes fraud, and possibly even sedition, since he's enriching himself through turning his viewers against the government and our president. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up before a grand jury within the next few weeks/months.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by bilbo_dies (May 18, 2010 12:40 pm ET)
      1 2
      Just to help Glenn plan before his show is cancelled because of tanking rantings.

      Here is a google search.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by jms (May 18, 2010 3:00 pm ET)
      2 4
      Cherry-picked out of context nonsense.

      And just to put his numbers in fair context, year over year, everyone in cable is currently down. Some quite a lot. Just to give you a sense. Beck is down 4% from last April, Bill O’Reilly is down 3%, Keith Olbermann is down 28%, Campbell Brown is down 39%, Sean Hannity is down 17%, Rachel Maddow is down 8%.

      Beck’s radio show numbers are up 13% over last year.

      http://www.mediaite.com/tv/is-glenn-beck-losing-his-audience-or-merely-his-mojo/
      Report Abuse
      • Author by bintx (May 18, 2010 3:18 pm ET)
        2 1
        You do know that radio program ratings are simply estimates, right? It is virtually impossible to monitor radio ratings simply by its nature. For instance, Rush consistently claims his program reaches 20 million people. That number is completely arbitrary and can neither be proven nor disproven. Arbitron cites smaller numbers.

        An example.

        Arbitron, the radio industry's dominant audience-measurement company, has never publicly released a national estimate for Limbaugh, and it says, in effect, that the job is too complicated, expensive and time-consuming to bother with.
        Report Abuse
        • Author by wwjbd (May 18, 2010 3:39 pm ET)
             
          Great article. I'd like to mention the last paragragh.
          No matter the exact figure, Harrison says Limbaugh's weekly audience eclipses all other nationally syndicated personalities, including conservatives Sean Hannity (13.25 million), Michael Savage (8.25 million) and Laura Ingraham (5.5 million), according to the magazine's "rough projections."

          Report Abuse
        • Author by jms (May 18, 2010 3:55 pm ET)
            2
          Yes, oh my gosh, you must be soooo like totally right. I am sure that businesses looking to advertise on radio shows have NO basis for which shows to advertise on. It is all really just willy nilly randomness. It is amazing how Error (sic) America failed anyway considering how ad dollars just get thrown at everything because there are no reliable ratings! You people want to take down Beck so bad that you defy common sense and consistently embarrass yourselves.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by louee (May 18, 2010 4:09 pm ET)
            1 1
            Take Beck down? Man, the guy is just a guy. A dumb guy who has dumb people listening to him. Why anyone wishes to buy into his hatemonger talk is an unanswerable question for the ages. It probably has something to do with George Carlin's insightful analysis of American intelligence.
            Report Abuse
            • Author by jms (May 18, 2010 4:23 pm ET)
              2 2
              I agree that Beck is just a guy. Tell that however to the people that run MMFA, the White House, Joe Klein, Anthony Weiner et al. They clearly feel threatened.
              Report Abuse
      • Author by wwjbd (May 18, 2010 3:21 pm ET)
        1 3
        mmfa clones:
        "You troglodyte glennda sycofant"

        And now that I have summed up their arguments, I liked to point out his low is higher then Matthew's, Olbermann's and Richard Maddow's high.

        Excellent point. It's a slow news week and summer is about to start. I wouldn't be surprised if everyshow across all of television was down.

        And this goldline thing is bs. Anyone who dares to advertise on his show is attacked. So much for wanting an open dialog.

        Report Abuse
        • Author by louee (May 18, 2010 4:16 pm ET)
          2  
          I believe I can explain the difference between wingnut show ratings and liberal show ratings, which you rightfully pointed out. Wingnuts are rabid haters who need to have their hatred confirmed to them by other wingnut sycophants on a regular basis. Liberals have their own points of view independent of others and are occasionally brought together by their common interest in having people live and let live. Therefore, liberals don't need to constantly tune into liberal shows to seek comfort. They play softball (gay I know) or go to the movies or have friends over. While wingnuts sit anxiously before their tvs and radios soaking in the mindnumbing hyperbole spewed by their heroes. This is not scientific; just a thought.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by MilitantMNMan (May 18, 2010 8:18 pm ET)
               
            I couldn't agree more. I don't really care for Olbermann and Maddow. And I stopped watching Matthews after he said that "he forgot Obama was black for a whole hour" after his healthcare address. But I wanted to mention this which relates to my first statement and as a side note. Mark Levin is one of the most hateful dudes on the radio. And despite his vitriol, I understand why his fans listen. It's because they believe that his central theme is correct in spite of the bile.
            I have a guilty pleasure listening to Mike Malloy, who can be a left wing version of Levin. But even I don't listen to him all the time. He can be so over the top that he says things to conservative callers that I sometimes don't approve of. Just thought I'd butress your point by mentioning the fact that those of us on the left dont need constant ratification.
            Report Abuse
        • Author by New Frontier (May 18, 2010 5:16 pm ET)
          1  
          And this goldline thing is bs.
          Wow-that's a pretty weak rebuttal. In fact, it's no rebuttal at all. MMFA obviously causes you great pain because it challenges the nice, little Obama-Hating World Glenn Beck has created for you. That's really, really too bad and so sad for you.
          Report Abuse
      • Author by louee (May 18, 2010 4:06 pm ET)
           
        The "nonsense" is your need to defend this horrible liar and thief. What's that about?
        Report Abuse
      • Author by New Frontier (May 18, 2010 5:09 pm ET)
           
        Plenty of people actually want to be lied to (you, for example), and want an alternate universe. That's where Beck and Limbaugh come in. It's very sad, but true. When your alternate universe is threatened by reality, you come here to attack the messenger.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by little poncho (May 18, 2010 3:11 pm ET)
      3  
      glenda, is nothing but a big phoney,with a line of BS, only his sheep believe..............hey glenda, did you fail kindergarden??
      Report Abuse
    • Author by jms (May 18, 2010 3:58 pm ET)
      3 1
      Beck TV Show down 4%. Beck radio show up 13%. Beck radio show has larger audience than TV show. Net result, the Beck message is stronger than ever. Nighty night.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by New Frontier (May 18, 2010 5:13 pm ET)
          2
        Beck the Hate-Mongering Bigot has half the audience now that he had in late January. He's lost 100 sponsors--and counting--because he called the President a "white-hating racist". Too bad that conflicts with your love for Glenn Beck, but those are just facts.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by louee (May 18, 2010 4:00 pm ET)
        1
      Perhaps even the wingnuts have wised up to the fact that Beck has one interest only: sapping them for every dime they've got. What a blowhard.
      Report Abuse

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