By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The Senate’s vote confirming Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh sent viewers flocking to Fox News Channel, which recorded its biggest Saturday audience in more than a decade.
Fox’s daytime audience was bigger than any for the network since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, while its Saturday primetime lineup eclipsed anything since the Iraq War in 2003, the Nielsen company said.
Kavanaugh’s victory after a lengthy confirmation battle benefited the network that’s a favorite of people friendly to his cause.
Fox reached 4.34 million viewers for the Senate vote. Rivals CNN and MSNBC combined had less than half of that audience, as many of Kavanaugh’s opponents clearly couldn’t stomach watching the vote.
It was closer on Friday for what proved the decisive moment — when Maine Sen. Susan Collins announced her choice, insuring that Kavanaugh’s nomination would succeed. At that hour, Fox had 3.27 million viewers, CNN had 1.37 million and MSNBC had 1.36 million, Nielsen said.
Kavanaugh’s nomination received more coverage on the broadcast evening news programs than any other Supreme Court nominee over the past 30 years, topping the proceedings involving Clarence Thomas, according to news consultant Andrew Tyndall.
Those numbers don’t even take into account cable news and its endless coverage; Fox and MSNBC didn’t exist at the time of Thomas’ nomination.
Meanwhile, NBC scored a primetime victory over CBS for the second week of the television season.
Sunday night NFL football on NBC provided the margin, but the network is also showing strength with its entertainment offerings.
The new drama “Manifest” appears to be a hit. Its debut episode was watched some eight million times within a week on a time-shifted basis, second only to “Roseanne” for the biggest such “lift” for a show ever recorded.
For the week, NBC averaged 7.5 million viewers in primetime. CBS was second with 6.9 million, Fox had 6 million, ABC had 4.7 million, Univision had 1.3 million, Telemundo and the ION Network tied with 1.19 million and the CW had 700,000.
Fox News was the most popular cable network, averaging 3.38 million viewers in primetime. ESPN was second with 3.21 million, TBS had 2.98 million, MSNBC had 1.72 million and USA had 1.12 million.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.1 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” was second with 7.6 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.7 million.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Oct. 1-7. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. NFL Football: Dallas at Houston, NBC, 18.59 million.
2. NFL Football: Kansas City at Denver, ESPN, 13.54 million.
3. NFL Football: Indianapolis at New England, Fox, 13.27 million.
4. “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 12.82 million.
5. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 12.3 million.
6. “NCIS,” CBS, 12.13 million.
7. “The OT,” Fox, 10.75 million.
8. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 10.69 million.
9. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 10.06 million.
10. “The Voice” (Tuesday, NBC, 9.4 million.
11. “FBI,” CBS, 9.3 million.
12. “Football Night in America,” NBC, 8.97 million.
13. “This is Us,” NBC, 8.87 million.
14. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 8.84 million.
15. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 8.57 million.
16. “Manifest,” NBC, 8.45 million.
17. “God Friended Me,” CBS, 8.37 million.
18. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.36 million.
19. “NFL Pre-Kick,” Fox, 8.15 million.
20. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 8.11 million.
ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.; CBS is a division of CBS Corp.; Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox; NBC is owned by NBC Universal.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More