In an interesting Forbes piece on ratings spin (something I noted here for February), it is revealed that although MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show regularly attracts more viewers than Anderson Cooper 360, it is more expensive to advertise on Cooper’s CNN program than MSNBC’s Maddow’s.
Forbes says that CNN is leveraging what it considers its advantage in younger viewers– SNL Kagan forecasting that CNN will earn $1.59 billion in operating revenue this year compared with $782.5 million forecast by MSNBC.
According to Standard Media Index, the average cost for a 30-second ad on CNN’s most watched show, Anderson Cooper 360 was $8,130, topping the $6,957 that MSNBC’s gets for its highest-rated program, The Rachel Maddow Show even though Maddow’s audience is larger.
Categories: CNN