CNN Is No. 1 in Ratings War
Cable News Network’s coverage of the war in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday night netted the cable network its first-ever prime-time victory over the broadcast networks among cable subscribers, CNN network executives said Friday.
In homes that have cable television, CNN averaged a 19.1 rating in prime time (8-11 p.m. EST) Wednesday night, compared to 14.4 for ABC, 13.8 for NBC and 10.9 for CBS.
Sixty-one percent of the homes in the United States have cable TV; each rating point represents 568,000 homes, CNN said.
CNN said that the rating was not only its highest prime-time showing ever but also the largest number ever recorded by any cable network.
CNN normally registers just 1.2 in that period.
CNN won wide acclaim for its live coverage of the bombing of Iraq on Wednesday night.
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