25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 329 | MSNBC: 94 | CNN: 123 | HLN: 240

• Primetime: FNC: 407 | MSNBC: 166 | CNN: 153 | HLN: 259

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Tonight at 9 PM on Fox News, Sean Hannity will celebrate a milestone. It will be the 1000th episode of “Hannity,” which replaced “Hannity and Colmes” in early 2009. In an interview with TVNewser, the Fox News host seemed incredulous at the thought of the number.

“Who would have thunk it? I should have lasted probably three shows before they fired me,” Hannity joked, adding that he credits Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes with helping him become a cable news star. “I gotta give credit where credit is due and that is with Roger, seeing me personally through the early transition days from radio to TV. In this environment, I don’t think you can make the transition without scrutiny from day one.”

Hannity did face some scrutiny when he first started, including a scathing review from Newsday TV critic Verne Gay. Still, it pales in comparison to what newcomers to the scene face now.

“Ratings wasn’t the end-all at the beginning, it was putting on good programming.” Hannity says. “Now if you are on two days, people are saying, ‘well the show’s a hit,’ or ‘the show’s a failure.’ You really need time to build an audience, to bond with an audience. You have to understand the news cycle aspect to ratings, and a lot of people don’t seem to understand that.”

Time has been on Hannity’s side. “Hannity” consistently wins its timeslot. (Though MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow gave it a run in the demo earlier this year). And as the ratings for Fox News have grown, its impact on society has too. But Hannity downplays his influence on the national conversation.

“I don’t really think of the impact I have on things,” Hannity says. “I take my job seriously, but I really don’t take myself seriously, and everyone that knows me really well knows that.

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Fox News “America Live” anchor Megyn Kelly has signed a new contract with the cable channel, according to Brian Stelter in the New York Times.

Kelly had met with executives at CNN and ABC News before deciding to stay at FNC.

Update: A Fox News spokeswoman tells TVNewser “We will neither confirm nor deny any contract discussions with Megyn Kelly.”

Last November, TVNewser sat down with Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, where he talked about keeping her in the family:

We’d love her to stay here and be even a bigger star. So I’m not going to go past that. I’d be stunned if she wanted to go any other cable channel. That’s a real dive off a high cliff. If somebody wanted her to host the “Today” show or something, she’d have to look at that I suppose. Nobody’s ever left here and made it and a lot of people who left other places have done really well here.

It is widely believed inside FNC that Kelly is being groomed for a larger role at the channel, either later in the afternoon or in primetime. With Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity signing new deals in the last year, the next primetime contract to expire is that of 10 PM anchor Greta Van Susteren, whose last deal was inked in 2010, though it isn’t clear exactly when it ends.

Shepard Smith‘s contract also expires at the end of the year. Both Smith and Van Susteren have been rock-solid ratings leaders in their respective timeslots over the last few years, so any change would be a big one.

The Boston bombing and subsequent manhunt, as well as the horrific Texas fire led to a huge news month in April, and Fox News led the pack among the cable news channels.

The ratings for April, 2013 (Nielsen Live + Same Day data):

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 2,016,000 Total Viewers / 389,000 A25-54
• Total Day Mon-Sun): 1,233,000 Total Viewers / 278,000 A25-54

Compared to the same month last year, Fox News was up +9% in total viewers and down -2% in adults 25-54. In total day FNC was up +14% in total viewers and +2% in the demo. April 2012 saw a number of GOP primaries, which led to slightly than higher average numbers for FNC. That said, the bombing in Boston was clearly the bigger story, and every hour of the day was up for FNC in total viewers, even as some hours were down in the key demo.

For the month, Fox News was the number two channel among all ad-supported cable networks (more on that later), the first time that happened in a non-election month since the tsunami in japan in March, 2011.

In primetime: “The O’Reilly Factor” was up +7% in total viewers and down -4% in the demo at 8 PM, while “Hannity” was up +14% in total viewers and +5% in the demo at 9 PM. 10 PM’s “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” was up +1% in total viewers and down -3% in the demo.

The dayside shows tended to have the most growth, with “Special Report” up +20% in total viewers and up +6% in the demo, and “Your World” up +22% in total viewers and +15% in the demo.

In the morning, “Fox & Friends” was up +10% in total viewers and +1% in the demo. “The Five” was up +21% in total viewers, but was down -5% in the demo.

25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 374 | MSNBC: 165 | CNN: 372 | HLN: 151

• Primetime: FNC: 510 | MSNBC: 317 | CNN: 439 | HLN: 188

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The Hollywood Reporter released its 2013 “35 Most Powerful People In Media” list, and TV news dominates the winners. The list looks at the most dominant media personalities in New York.

The list includes (in alphabetical order) Roger Ailes, Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, Anderson Cooper, Bob Costas, Katie Couric, Jeff Fager, Pat Fili-Krushel, James Goldston, Phil Griffin, Sean Hannity, Megyn Kelly, the “60 Minutes” team, the “Today” team, Rachel Maddow, Piers Morgan, Bill O’Reilly, Scott Pelley, David Rhodes, The “Good Morning America” team, the “CBS This Morning” team, Diane Sawyer, Ben Sherwood, Barbara Walters, Brian Williams and Jeff Zucker.

Some of the recipients gave interviews, others did not. You can see the full list here.

25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 242 | MSNBC: 116 | CNN: 95 | HLN: 148

• Primetime: FNC: 282 | MSNBC: 177 | CNN: 136 | HLN: 156

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As usual, Fox News Channel’s programming topped the competition in the first quarter of 2013. The network notched the top 13 programs among total viewers and the top six in the A25-54 demographic.

“The O’Reilly Factor” was the number one show on Fox News and cable news overall, averaging  2.88 million total viewers and 428,000 demo viewers for the quarter.

“The Rachel Maddow” show was number one on MSNBC in both total viewers and the demo, averaging 928,000 and 263,000 viewers, respectively. The program placed 14th in total viewers and seventh in the demo for the quarter.

HLN’s top show for the quarter was “Nancy Grace,” which cracked the top ten programs among younger viewers. Grace’s program placed 16th in total viewers and ninth in the demo, averaging 778,000 and 252,000 viewers, respectively.

CNN’s top show in total viewers was “Anderson Cooper 360,” which placed 28th and averaged 533,000 viewers. “AC360″ also led the network among younger viewers, placing 29th and averaging 155,000 in the A25-54 demographic.

CNBC’s top program in total viewers was “Squawk On The Street,” which averaged 274,000 viewers. “American Greed” was the network’s top show in the demo with 99,000. “Lou Dobbs Tonight” was FBN’s top-rated show in both total viewers and the demo, averaging 105,000 and 25,000 viewers, respectively.

The full rankers are below.
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Fox News continued its dominant hold of the leaderboard in the first quarter of 2013, marking 45 consecutive quarters as the highest-rated cable news network. But like CNN and MSNBC, Fox News is down for the quarter.

The ratings for Q1 2013 (Nielsen Live + Same Day data):

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 1,731,000 Total Viewers / 279,000 A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 1,065,000 Total Viewers / 214,000 A25-54

Compared to the same quarter last year, Fox News is flat in Total Viewers and down -18% in the A25-54 demographic in Total Day. In primetime, the network is down -9% in Total Viewers and -34% in the demo. It should be noted that the first quarter of 2012, ratings for the cable news networks got a boost from debates and political primaries during the Presidential election cycle.

“The Fox Report with Shepard Smith” celebrates a major milestone this month, ranking first in Total Viewers for 50 consecutive quarters. “Fox & Friends,” “Your World with Neil Cavuto” and “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” have been number one in their respective time slots for 45 consecutive quarters.

Like the competition, the network has lost viewers in primetime compared to the year-ago quarter. “The O’Reilly Factor” is flat in Total Viewers and down -26% in the demo. (Note: percentages are based on a blend of Live +7 and Live +3 data.) “Hannity” is down -5% and -28%, while “On the Record” is down -13% and -35%, respectively.

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25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 241 | MSNBC: 130 | CNN: 92 | HLN: 161

• Primetime: FNC: 319 | MSNBC: 211 | CNN: 116 | HLN: 184

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