No Surprise: Cable News Ratings Up

After weeks of coverage devoted to Chandra Levy’s disappearance, viewership is up for the three major cable news networks.

Although those numbers don’t definitively tie audience increases to viewer interest in the vanished intern and the scandal surrounding Gary Condit, the married Democratic congressman who’s acknowledged having an affair with her, year-to-year ratings boosts for CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC are dramatic.

Compared with July 2000, MSNBC last month enjoyed a 20% increase in its all-day household rating and a 39% hike in the average number of households tuned in, which rose from 140,000 to 195,000 households, according to Nielsen Media Research ratings.

“A portion of that can be attributed to Chandra Levy coverage,” said MSNBC spokesman Mark O’Connor. “But there has not been a consistent rise throughout this whole ordeal. It has come in waves as the story has developed.”

Fox News Channel’s growth has been even more marked: an 82% increase in household rating and a 149% increase in household audience, from 110,000 to 274,000.

“Our growth year-to-year transcends the Chandra Levy coverage,” said Fox News Channel spokeswoman Irena Steffen.

CNN increased 24% in household rating and showed a 30% growth in household audience, from 226,000 to 294,000.

“We had a very active news period [in July],” said CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson, “but obviously the Chandra Levy coverage was a factor.”

Levy, 24, of Modesto, arrived in Washington last year for an internship and was last seen April 30. Police have interviewed Condit four times, but they insist he’s not a suspect in her disappearance.