Cable news ratings were up across the board Wednesday as news of an arrest in the JonBenet Ramsey case broke. MSNBC arguably went overboard on the story, but it also arguably benefited the most. as viewers rewarded the cable news net with above-average ratings. At 4pm, MSNBC averaged 126,000 demo and 400,000 total viewers, well above the time slot average. FNC and CNN's numbers didn't spike. At 5pm, MSNBC pre-empted Hardball for continuing JonBenet coverage. The decision delivered 263,000 demo and 598,000 total viewers, making it the net's highest demo hour of the day. A few hours later at 9pm, Joe Scarborough averaged 246,000 demo and 667,000 total viewers, more than double the program's July average.

MSNBC averaged 230,000 demo viewers in prime Wednesday, compared to 151,000 on Tuesday. But the ratings gains were ephemeral -- the cable net still came in third place for the day. CNN's prime demo numbers were up considerably from the day before, as well, although no show could crack the million viewer mark. On FNC, Greta Van Susteren gained the most, compared to July averages...