Saturday, December 31, 2005
Bill Bennett Reportedly Joining CNN
Source: UPI Conservative talk show host Bill Bennett plans to join CNN as a political analyst, it was reported Saturday.Bennett, formerly of Fox News, would fill a void left by the departure of Robert Novak from CNN, Mediabistro.com reported.
Bennett, a former Education Secretary and drug czar, came under fire earlier this year when he said the crime rate could be reduced by aborting "every black baby in this country" -- although he said it would be morally wrong to do so.
Members of Congress called on Bennett to apologize and the White House condemned his remarks.
A CNN publicist refused to confirm Bennett's new role at the cable news channel.
# posted by ATN @ 7:30 PM 
New Meteorologist on air At CNN
It seems there's a new face on the air on CNN. Monica McNeal is the meterologist in charge at CNN/US today. If my info is right, McNeal comes to CNN from WGCL-TV in Atlanta. This is what her archived bio at WGCL says: "A graduate of Arkansas State University, McNeal initially worked as a radio DJ in Little Rock. It wasn’t long before she aspired to switch to television.Her first on-air position was in a small town in West Texas where she chased down some of the most treacherous tornadoes she had ever seen. To become a professional weather forecaster, McNeal returned to school and received her meteorology degree from Mississippi State University.
Her career has taken her to Charleston, South Carolina, reporting on hurricanes; and Cleveland, Ohio reporting on Lake Erie and winter snow effects."
# posted by ATN @ 5:09 PM
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Dr. Sanjay Gupta Special on Survival, Loss From Pakistani Quake Zone
Source: CNN Press Release CNN’s senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta revisits ravaged Northern Pakistan to provide an in-depth look at the impact of the devastating earthquake and the continuing recovery efforts in the region. The strongest quake to strike Pakistan in more than 70 years, the October natural disaster left nearly 90,000 dead and more than three million homeless.A CNN Special: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports from the Quake Zone, airs Saturday, Dec. 31, at 6 p.m. and replays on Sunday, Jan. 1, at 7 p.m. (ET)
Dr. Gupta visits refugees now living in non-winterized tent cities and shares their stories of life and hope, loss and death.
“The snow has started to fall in many places in Pakistan…and it is a tremendously large problem,” Dr. Gupta reports during the special. “Obviously it is very cold, but even more pragmatically speaking, it just makes this area uninhabitable…some of the people here are telling me they can’t even dig to bury people…they can’t even dig their own graves.”
# posted by ATN @ 4:05 PM
AC 360 Scores Among Younger Viewers
Since moving to an expanded two-hour format at 10pm (November 7, 2005), Anderson Cooper 360 has scored double-digit gains over year-ago across all key demo breaks, including total viewers (up 10%) and P25-54 (up 28%). By comparison, the 10-12m block on FXNC (On the Record/O’Reilly Replay) trailed year-ago dramatically among younger viewers, losing a third of its P25-54 audience (down 33%).
For the 10pm hour, Anderson Cooper 360 is building a following among younger audiences, experiencing solid gains among P18-34 (up 55%), P18-49 (up 21%) and P25-54 (up 17%). These increases occurred while FXNC’s On the Record endured steep double-digit declines across the same three demo breaks.
For the 11 pm hour, Anderson Cooper 360 topped all other cable news nets in growth over year-ago across the board, including gains of 45% or more among P18-34, P18-49 and P25-54. FXNC’s O’Reilly Replay was the only cable news competitor to endure significant double-digit declines in the same demo breaks, with its P18-34 audience essentially cut in half (down 49%).
The Situation Room
Since launch (August 8, 2005), The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer has gained momentum with younger audiences in its 4pm hour, more than doubling the delivery of P18-34 (up 164%) and P18-49 (up 121%) versus year-ago, while also posting impressive gains among P25-54 (up 82%). Its year-to-year increases topped all other cable news networks in the time period across all demo breaks (including its 46% gain among total viewers).
During its 5pm hour, The Situation Room continued its winning ways with solid gains versus year-ago across all demo breaks, including P2+ (up 31%), P18-34 (up 100%), P18-49 (up 95%) and P25-54 (up 57%). By comparison, its FXNC time period competition (Big Story) endured double-digit declines among P18-34, P18-49 and P25-54.
Since debuting in the 7pm time period (November 7, 2005), The Situation Room has enjoyed double-digit increases versus year-ago among total viewers (up 19%) and P25-54 (up 21%). By comparison, FXNC’s Fox Report suffered double-digit declines in the same demo breaks, including a loss of more than a third of its year-ago P25-54 audience (down 37%).
# posted by ATN @ 3:55 PM
Anderson Cooper to Host Special Live New Year’s Eve Program
Source CNN Press Release CNN’s Anderson Cooper will host live coverage of the New Year’s Eve celebration at New York City’s Times Square from 11 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. (ET). New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg along with a surprise guest will help ring in the New Year at midnight at CNN’s Times Square location.
The show will also offer live feeds to concerts including John Mayer Trio from San Francisco, Barenaked Ladies out of Tampa, American Idol winner Fantasia from The Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, “Godfather of Soul” James Brown from New York, country duo Brooks and Dunn from Nashville , and funk legends Kool and The Gang from Atlantic City. The special will also include live uplinks to parties around the country including New Orleans and Key West.
The show will also offer live feeds to concerts including John Mayer Trio from San Francisco, Barenaked Ladies out of Tampa, American Idol winner Fantasia from The Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, “Godfather of Soul” James Brown from New York, country duo Brooks and Dunn from Nashville , and funk legends Kool and The Gang from Atlantic City. The special will also include live uplinks to parties around the country including New Orleans and Key West.
# posted by ATN @ 3:45 PM
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
CNN Networks Show Growth in 2005 Over 2004 Numbers
In 2005, CNN (+10%) and Headline News (+16%) are the only cable news nets posting significant Total Day P25-54 growth over year ago.
This year, Headline News has registered the greatest growth in Total Day P2+ over year ago (+16%), while CNN is up 8%. Meanwhile, FXNC’s Total Day P2+ growth (+5%) is being driven by the P55+ demo, as its P25-54 audience is down -7%.
Headline News’ growth is very strong in Prime, up nearly two-thirds (65%) in P2+ and 54% in P25-54. CNN is up 8% in Prime P25-54, while FXNC is down -13%.
Headline News is even with MSNBC in Total Day P25-54 (100k and 99k, respectively), while MSNBC is ahead in Total Day P2+ (244k vs. 234k).
Among morning programs, CNN’s American Morning 6-10a is #1 in P2+ growth (up 10%), while Headline News’ 6-10a Robin and Company has posted the greatest P25-54 growth (up 15%). [FXNC down 2% in P2+ and P25-54]
CNN’s year-to-date 3-4p program combination (most recently, Live From) is #1 in P25-54 growth, building by +31%. [FXNC +9%]
CNN’s year-to-date 4-5p program combination (most recently, The Situation Room) is #1 in P2+ growth (up 11%). [FXNC down -3% in P25-54]
CNN’s 7-8p hour (currently The Situation Room, but for most of the year Anderson Cooper 360) is #1 in both P2+ (up 36%) and P25-54 (up 35%) growth among cable news programs in the time period (CNBC is up more, but not offering news at this time). [FXNC down -17% P25-54]
CNN’s Paula Zahn Now 8-9p is #1 in both P2+ (up 29%) and P25-54 (up 43%) growth in the time period - most of any CNN/U.S. program. [FXNC The O’Reilly Factor has lost -18% P25-54].
Headline News Nancy Grace 8-9p has nearly tripled the P2+ audience (+186%) and grown the P25-54 audience by 136% over year ago.
Headline News and CNN's Larry King Live 9-10 p are #1 and #2 in P25-54. Larry King Live up 16%.[FXNC down -12% P25-54]
CNN’s 10-11p program combination (currently Anderson Cooper 360, but for most of the year NewsNight) is #1 in P25-54 growth, up 26%. [FXNC up 9% P25-54]
CNN’s 11-12m program combination (Dobbs repeat/NewsNight/AC 360) is #1 in both P2+ (up 31%) and P25-54 (up 35%) growth. [FXNC down -13% P25-54]
Source: CNN
This year, Headline News has registered the greatest growth in Total Day P2+ over year ago (+16%), while CNN is up 8%. Meanwhile, FXNC’s Total Day P2+ growth (+5%) is being driven by the P55+ demo, as its P25-54 audience is down -7%.
Headline News’ growth is very strong in Prime, up nearly two-thirds (65%) in P2+ and 54% in P25-54. CNN is up 8% in Prime P25-54, while FXNC is down -13%.
Headline News is even with MSNBC in Total Day P25-54 (100k and 99k, respectively), while MSNBC is ahead in Total Day P2+ (244k vs. 234k).
Among morning programs, CNN’s American Morning 6-10a is #1 in P2+ growth (up 10%), while Headline News’ 6-10a Robin and Company has posted the greatest P25-54 growth (up 15%). [FXNC down 2% in P2+ and P25-54]
CNN’s year-to-date 3-4p program combination (most recently, Live From) is #1 in P25-54 growth, building by +31%. [FXNC +9%]
CNN’s year-to-date 4-5p program combination (most recently, The Situation Room) is #1 in P2+ growth (up 11%). [FXNC down -3% in P25-54]
CNN’s 7-8p hour (currently The Situation Room, but for most of the year Anderson Cooper 360) is #1 in both P2+ (up 36%) and P25-54 (up 35%) growth among cable news programs in the time period (CNBC is up more, but not offering news at this time). [FXNC down -17% P25-54]
CNN’s Paula Zahn Now 8-9p is #1 in both P2+ (up 29%) and P25-54 (up 43%) growth in the time period - most of any CNN/U.S. program. [FXNC The O’Reilly Factor has lost -18% P25-54].
Headline News Nancy Grace 8-9p has nearly tripled the P2+ audience (+186%) and grown the P25-54 audience by 136% over year ago.
Headline News and CNN's Larry King Live 9-10 p are #1 and #2 in P25-54. Larry King Live up 16%.[FXNC down -12% P25-54]
CNN’s 10-11p program combination (currently Anderson Cooper 360, but for most of the year NewsNight) is #1 in P25-54 growth, up 26%. [FXNC up 9% P25-54]
CNN’s 11-12m program combination (Dobbs repeat/NewsNight/AC 360) is #1 in both P2+ (up 31%) and P25-54 (up 35%) growth. [FXNC down -13% P25-54]
Source: CNN
# posted by ATN @ 9:07 PM
TWC First Nielsen Minute-by-Minute Clients
Source: Media Buyer Planner Nielsen has signed The Weather Channel and Starcom MediaVest Group as its first clients to its new minute-by-minute data service, Mediaweek reports. The service breaks out national viewing information by commercial minutes to be delivered weekly and can be downloaded to analysis software, allowing advertisers and media buyers to understand how viewers are connecting with commercial messages.Nielsen began offering this service, via an electronic file of its entire database of ratings information, in September.
# posted by ATN @ 1:34 PM
