Q3 ’06: Charting The 25-54 Demo Gap

Third quarter 2006 cable news ratings come out today. Comparisons to Q3 2005 could be skewed because ratings spiked last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“The gap between Fox News and CNN continues to narrow,” according to a series of charts from CNN. In the 25-54 demo, the gap was 102 percent in Q3 2004, 55 percent in Q3 2005 (thanks in part to Katrina) and 46 percent in Q3 2006.

The trend is similar in primetime. Click the chart to the right to view it full-size.

CNN is noting a quarter-over-quarter trend as well. The chart to the left shows the gap at 77 percent in Q4 2005, narrowing each quarter since, to 46 percent in Q3 2006.

Here’s the big question: Is the demo gap narrowing because CNN is up or because FNC is down?…

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