All the cable networks naturally saw big ratings gains in 2008, but MSNBC led the pack:
Fox News racked up its seventh straight year as the most-watched cable news channel, delivering an average prime-time viewership of 2.1 million, 40% more than 2007, according to data released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. CNN placed second with 1.3 million, up 69%, while MNSBC drew 920,000, a boost of 82%.
Part of that increase is due to Rachel Maddow, who dramatically increased ratings in her 9 PM timeslot when her show debuted this fall (if these figures just covered the last three months, I'd expect the difference to be even larger). I looked at why liberals like her so much and what her rise says about liberal media in September.
--Sam Boyd
