http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_8294.asp
Its audience is down 24 percent from a year ago
By Kevin Downey
Nov 2, 2006
October was the 10th anniversary of Fox News, and in that 10 years it has
risen to the No. 1 cable news network, riding on the tagline "Fair and
Balanced."
Yet Fox News is showing serious signs of aging, led by steep audience
declines.
Fox News's total audience fell 24 percent in the past year, to 1.3 million
viewers from 1.7 million, and its key primetime audience, viewers ages
25-54, was down 7 percent in October on a year-to-year basis, to an average
363,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data.
In third quarter, Fox News suffered a 38 percent decline in 25-54s, to
409,000. In second quarter, that audience was down 22 percent and in first
quarter it slid 28 percent. It is still No. 1 by a long shot.
Fox attributes the 2006 declines to a soft news year compared to 2005, which
saw audiences shoot up during events like Hurricane Katrina, the Asian
tsunami and the death of Pope John Paul II.
Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming at Fox News, tells Media
Life: "The numbers that everybody goes by are year-to-year numbers, and 2005
was an incredible year for news compared to 2006."
But Fox's problems go deeper than that. If it was just the dearth of big
stories this year, all the other cable networks would be down as well. Two
were actually up in October.
CNN has also been down steeply this year in total viewers and 25-54s but not
as much as Fox, and in October its 25-54 primetime audience was essentially
flat at down 1 percent.
And both Headline News and MSNBC were actually up in that demo last month,
by 18 percent and 19 percent.
Fox appears to be suffering from other ills, and one is a reluctance to
tinker with what's worked over the past decade. It has done little to change
its look and feel, and at a time when its competitors have been busy trying
out new ideas and talents and freshening up their formats. That would
certainly explain the notable growth of both MSNBC and Headline News.
But Fox News's bigger problem may well stem directly from the political
turmoil facing the nation as it enters the voting booth for next week's
midterm elections, say analysts.
As the network most identified with conservative America and in particular
the Bush White House, Fox News is suffering the most from the disenchantment
among conservatives over the war and the political scandals.
The news formula that worked for so long is now working against it, they
say, as fewer of those disenchanted viewers bother to tune in to watch the
news.
"What Fox did so brilliantly was assess both the political and cultural
realities of the times when it came on, and then designed a service that
perfectly fit a certain niche," says Robert Thompson, director of the Center
for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.
"The problem with coming up with a perfect niche that is perfect for the
time is that time and culture change. Potentially, you end up positioned
with an identity that no longer reflects the reality of the times."
Judy Daubenmier of News Hounds, a web site often critical of Fox News,
agrees.
"Fox News has tied itself so closely to George Bush that when his approval
ratings go down people don't want to hear about him, so they don't want to
watch Fox News," she says.
Jill Olmsted, associate professor of journalism at American University in
Washington D.C., thinks viewers have grown tired of Fox's adamantly pro-Bush
rhetoric.
"This could be a backlash," she says. "We don't know what's going to happen
on Election Day, but indications are that people are tired of the
partisanship and went to get on a more neutral, let's-get-along agenda."
Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life
Its audience is down 24 percent from a year ago
By Kevin Downey
Nov 2, 2006
October was the 10th anniversary of Fox News, and in that 10 years it has
risen to the No. 1 cable news network, riding on the tagline "Fair and
Balanced."
Yet Fox News is showing serious signs of aging, led by steep audience
declines.
Fox News's total audience fell 24 percent in the past year, to 1.3 million
viewers from 1.7 million, and its key primetime audience, viewers ages
25-54, was down 7 percent in October on a year-to-year basis, to an average
363,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data.
In third quarter, Fox News suffered a 38 percent decline in 25-54s, to
409,000. In second quarter, that audience was down 22 percent and in first
quarter it slid 28 percent. It is still No. 1 by a long shot.
Fox attributes the 2006 declines to a soft news year compared to 2005, which
saw audiences shoot up during events like Hurricane Katrina, the Asian
tsunami and the death of Pope John Paul II.
Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming at Fox News, tells Media
Life: "The numbers that everybody goes by are year-to-year numbers, and 2005
was an incredible year for news compared to 2006."
But Fox's problems go deeper than that. If it was just the dearth of big
stories this year, all the other cable networks would be down as well. Two
were actually up in October.
CNN has also been down steeply this year in total viewers and 25-54s but not
as much as Fox, and in October its 25-54 primetime audience was essentially
flat at down 1 percent.
And both Headline News and MSNBC were actually up in that demo last month,
by 18 percent and 19 percent.
Fox appears to be suffering from other ills, and one is a reluctance to
tinker with what's worked over the past decade. It has done little to change
its look and feel, and at a time when its competitors have been busy trying
out new ideas and talents and freshening up their formats. That would
certainly explain the notable growth of both MSNBC and Headline News.
But Fox News's bigger problem may well stem directly from the political
turmoil facing the nation as it enters the voting booth for next week's
midterm elections, say analysts.
As the network most identified with conservative America and in particular
the Bush White House, Fox News is suffering the most from the disenchantment
among conservatives over the war and the political scandals.
The news formula that worked for so long is now working against it, they
say, as fewer of those disenchanted viewers bother to tune in to watch the
news.
"What Fox did so brilliantly was assess both the political and cultural
realities of the times when it came on, and then designed a service that
perfectly fit a certain niche," says Robert Thompson, director of the Center
for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.
"The problem with coming up with a perfect niche that is perfect for the
time is that time and culture change. Potentially, you end up positioned
with an identity that no longer reflects the reality of the times."
Judy Daubenmier of News Hounds, a web site often critical of Fox News,
agrees.
"Fox News has tied itself so closely to George Bush that when his approval
ratings go down people don't want to hear about him, so they don't want to
watch Fox News," she says.
Jill Olmsted, associate professor of journalism at American University in
Washington D.C., thinks viewers have grown tired of Fox's adamantly pro-Bush
rhetoric.
"This could be a backlash," she says. "We don't know what's going to happen
on Election Day, but indications are that people are tired of the
partisanship and went to get on a more neutral, let's-get-along agenda."
Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life
