Television Broadcasting Going Strong in the Economy

The current economy has many people worried, and with good cause. One prediction isn’t coming true though, and that is the prediction for the slump in television. Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC are all reaping in great revenue gains with the 2008 presidential election. Just how long can it last though, and what will happen when the debates are over?

The initial calculation for Fox News was that ratings would be down, however, with the revival of the Democratic Party, not only the ratings, but revenue and hype have been up as well. The Vice President of Fox News’ editorial product, Jay Wallace, said “Earlier in the year we saw an awful lot of obituaries that had been written for us.” He continued, “The prevailing notion was that the end of a Republican administration would be the end of Fox News as the ratings leader.” Exactly the opposite has been happening. Ever since the end of March, Fox has grown by 21 percent when compared to the election four years ago. With the current election, Fox brings in an average of 1.06 million viewers every night.

However, after the election is over, a plunge is expected. If, unlike the last election in 2000, there is no fiasco about the recounting of election ballets, then Fox News, CNN, and MSNC can all expect a decline in viewer numbers. November 5th is coming up quickly, while the numbers will go down quickly. Viewers who typically do not watch the news, such as a younger audience, will most likely be the first to drop off. The Chief Media Negotiating Officer at Horizon Media, Aaron Cohen, said “If younger people go back to where they were prior to all the excitement, then it’s back to business as usual for CNN and MSNBC.” The bottom line: The numbers may point in their favor now, but it’s only a matter of time until anticipation of the presidential election is over.

---