Cable may have the 24/7 news channels, but analysis of Nielsen data by TVB found that in each of the top 10 markets, far more people watched President Barack Obama’s major budget/debt limit speech on Monday (7/25) via broadcast stations than cable news networks.
For the top 10 markets, TVBR calculated that the total Household ratings for broadcast stations averaged 16.3, while the cable news nets averaged 5.8.
The highest HH ratings for Monday night’s speech, in the top 10 markets, were garnered by the local TV stations in Houston (20.1), New York (19.6), and Boston 19.0. In those same 10 markets, the cable news networks achieved their highest ratings in Atlanta (8.1), Washington DC (7.5) and Boston (6.9).
Aggregate local ratings for Obama’s speech on TV stations and cable networks in the top 10 markets:
|
Market |
Broadcast Station Ratings |
Cable Network Ratings (HH)* |
% Broadcast Advantage |
|
New York |
19.6 |
5.3 |
+270% |
|
Los Angeles |
10.5 |
3.9 |
+169% |
|
Chicago |
16.2 |
6.2 |
+158% |
|
Philadelphia |
15.7 |
6.1 |
+157% |
|
Dallas |
16.0 |
4.7 |
+240% |
|
San Francisco |
11.9 |
4.8 |
+148% |
|
Boston |
19.0 |
6.9 |
+175% |
|
Atlanta |
18.1 |
8.1 |
+123% |
|
Washington DC |
16.1 |
7.5 |
+115% |
|
Houston |
20.1 |
4.3 |
+367% |
Source: TVB, based on data from The Nielsen Company
