Rita's Ratings Drop...this could be good or bad...

[Muffstser]

Saw this on TV Newser:

"Rita Gets It," But Not As Many Viewers
In between the "Rita Gets It" promos, MSNBC is calling Live & Direct the "big new cable hit." But on her second MSNBC night, Rita Cosby lost 38% of her premiere audience -- and more than half of her younger viewers.

Rita recorded 665,000 total viewers on Monday, but it dropped to 414,000 on Tuesday. She had 245,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo on Monday, but it declined to 126,000 on Tuesday, a drop of 49 percent. Her 18-49 viewership dropped by 52% and her 18-34 #'s dropped by 71%.

She was still the #1 show on MSNBC's primetime, and has helped boost the network's primetime average. But look at her competition; It's obvious she has a long way to go...

> Update: 5:40pm: "Scarborough (201k) and Abrams (130k) had a bigger 25-54 audience than Cosby (126k) Tuesday night," a tipster notes.

The good news: She's not as big of a draw with her warmed over Jackson juror interviews and Heidi Fleiss as her main "gets."

The bad news: Krazy Kaplan may blame "Countdown" for not providing strong enough of a lead in.

Who knows!?!

[gkhouston]

1. hmm... maybe the take-home message is that KO's #1

story should be a heart-felt editorial on a subject of his own choosing every night. :7

Seriously, I'd expect some people might give her a look-see on the first night. Given what Rita's like, are you surprised they didn't come back? I'm not. Her voice alone is off-putting, even if you go for tabloid trash.

The younger demographic not returning in droves is ominous for Rita but Kaplan can hardly argue that KO's not providing a strong lead-in; doesn't KO usually do well in that demographic?

[Muffstser]

2. And guess what tonight's headliner is?

An interview with the guy whose finger was in the Wendy's Chili!

Now, I used to like Rita when she was on Faux News during the Laci Peterson days. She did get some big scoops. However, my opinion totally changed when she became the de facto spokesperson for the Jackson family during Michael's trial. Never again!

[Catchawave]

3. I'm sorry....

She's more annoying than Tucker, and yes, I'm surprising myself for saying that.

Dan Abrams did swell in that time slot, IMHO. Rita lasted two seconds on my dial when she started her premier show with MJ :crazy:

Our Bush Country is going to sh*t, and this is all MSNBC wants to give us? I am insulted !

[gkhouston]

4. I *liked* Dan in that time slot.

I watched Dan in the timeslot.

If Rachel had been hosting Tucker's show sans Tucker, I might have watched, but Tucker's shit-eating grin alone was enough to put me off.

Rita? Not a chance.

[Berry Cool]

5. I would take Dan and his ugly ties any day over

Rita and her annoying hoarse grating voice and her smug Renee Zellwegger-on-steroids face.