The bombings at the Boston Marathon Monday drove viewers to cable news, with the combined primetime audience for CNN, Fox News and MSNBC up 161% over the prior Monday, according to Nielsen data.
CNN topped the target adults 25-54 demo in primetime, averaging 1.32 million viewers to Fox News' 1.19 million and MSNBC’s 461,000 viewers from 8-11 p.m. In total viewers, Fox News was first with an audience of 3.9 million, CNN was second with 2.75 million viewers and MSNBC drew 1.244 million.
In the 3 p.m. hour -- the news of the explosions broke at 3:07 p.m. (ET) -- Fox News averaged 1.96 million total viewers and 542,000 adults 25-54, CNN drew 970,000 viewers and 349,000 in the key demo and MSNBC had 435,000 total viewers and 129,000 adults 25-54.
