Via TVNewser, “Washington Whispers” reports that FNC’s Special Report with Brit Hume is the no. 1 D.C.-based cable news show, beating CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and MSNBC’s Hardball. The real threat to Hume? March madness:

When Special Report started in 1998, the goal was giving the growing Washington bureau some visibility. Now the top audience-getter of Washington shows, including CNN’s Situation Room and MSNBC’s Hardball, Hume says, “We kind of pinch ourselves.” Like a good boss–Hume is the managing editor of the D.C. bureau–he credits his news team. But the “poisonous” mood in Washington doesn’t hurt either. “For those who have a rooting interest in it,” he says, “they want to hear about it.”
While beating the pants off SpongeBob is a long-term goal, Hume has a more immediate worry: No. 12 ESPN’s March Madness coverage. “If they’ve got games on at 6 at night,” he frets, “that’s gonna be tough.”

Hume has even surged ahead of fellow FNCers Hannity and Colmes and Greta Van Susteren in total viewers — he lags only Bill O’Reilly.