o'really losing viewers in the 25-54 group.

[tuvor]

Fox News Channel talkmeister Bill O’Reilly had to cancel his planned boat cruise, “Battle for American Values,� for lack of interest.

Now it seems the mighty ship that has been Fox News Channel might be springing a few leaks—and viewers. FNC’s heavy hitters—O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Shepard Smith—all dropped in the coveted 25-to-54 age demographic, according to ratings figures for June and the second quarter of 2005.

The O’Reilly Factor took a dive between last year’s second quarter and the same quarter this year; the host lost about a quarter of his viewers in the age range that advertisers crave. Last year he had 640,000 viewers in the 25-to-54 demographic; the number dropped to 468,000 this April, May, and June. Comparing June 2004 to June 2005, he dropped from 645,000 to 511,000.

<snip>

Fox News pushes a different set of numbers to media writers, and for good reason. The “P2+� ratings count overall viewers rather than carving them up by age. Overall, Fox’s numbers are strong—far above CNN’s.

http://www.washingtonian.com/inwashington/buzz/2005/0708.html

[CatholicEdHead]

1. Is this just a off-year ratings drop?

Since 2004 was a presidential year and 2005 is not.

I do agree that their abrasive style is wearing quite thin. They have been pushing it for almost a decade and seems passe and the fad is wearing off.

[krkaufman]

5. presidential election year.

Yeah, that was my thinking, too. It'd be great if some of the zombies were waking up, but I expect it's mostly attributable to the long election campaign.

[USAcitizen]

2. Well

I guess the American people are finally tired of his B.S. :toast:

[eleny]

3. The draft comes to mind

I know that they draft the 19 year olds first. So, their parents should be in the 25 to 54 age range. And the lower end of the range is well within the draftable age group. Maybe the viewers are wary of the FoxNews message and mantra about the war. The latest FoxNews hate speech after the London bombings won't help either.

I knew about B.O.'s ratings going into the tank. Nice to see that others are following him down the toilet.

[USAcitizen]

4. I think people have finally come to their senses

About this war. It has not intimidated the terrorist as the bullies on the right predicted. Too many Americans dying in Iraq and for what. You are right. This "Lets get them" rhetoric is wearing thin.

[Literate Tar Heel]

6. nice PR guy they have

I guess considering the vitriolic garbage their on-air personalities cast out there, it shouldn't be surprising that this is their idea of Public Relations:

Paul Schur, Fox News’s PR man in Washington, said he would not comment on ratings, especially those in the key demographic.

“Call CNN,” said the testy Schur. “I’m sure they would be happy to discuss their horrific ratings in June.”