No joke. In the closely watched battle for second in A25-54 demo, prime time (Mon-Sun, 8p-11p) it's a tie for the month of March. MSNBC and CNN will tie with 333,000 vs. 333,000. It's MSNBC's best month compared to CNN since May 2001. Fox News Channel, since about ever, takes first place.

MSNBC's numbers were helped by the Feb. 26 Democratic Debate (which counts in March ratings). The debate drew 3.24 million demo viewers.