Last week, MSNBC president Phil Griffin called for an investigation after Fox News’ night-to-night ratings jump for its new lineup, saying it was “impossible.” According to the Nielsen Company, which collects the ratings, it’s not.
Nielsen conducted an investigation of the numbers and found, despite Griffin’s doubts, they were accurate. He had questioned how Fox News’ new primetime line-up nearly doubled its audience in the key 25–54 demographic between its debut last Monday night and Tuesday.
The network’s new 9 p.m. show, The Kelly File, fell to its MSNBC counterpart, The Rachel Maddow Show, on Monday night, but then its ratings jumped 116 percent. “You guys should be doing some investigations,” Griffin said last week. “I have never seen it in all my years of cable — same overnight, same everything. And they doubled their ratings in a day? It is impossible.”
The two other recently moved Fox News program, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren at 7 p.m. and Hannity at 10 p.m., also saw significant increases in viewership on Tuesday night after losing to or tying MSNBC the previous night.