Fox News is carried on every cable and satellite service provider. MSNBC is not. MSNBC is not carried on XM for instance. I would happily listen to them this time of nite while driving home but instead I'm forced to tune to CNN or CSPAN. I don't think that any numbers about Fox viewers really matter because they monopolize every possible outlet, just like right wing radio owners dominate the market because they own all the stations.

Comcast Cancels MSNBC, Keeps Fox News

XM Satellite Radio Drops MSNBC

Chris -- could you "synopsize" some of this news -- and, is it being reported today? and is Comcast killing MSNBC in all markets? will the FCC threaten their license for a monopoly if they don't offer their viewers the MSNBC option? or, is this just the earlier move Comcast made to make it _harder_ and costlier to view MSNBC?

Americans should not be at the mercy of right-wing radio and television owners -- if Comcast shuts out MSNBC, it is not serving the public and they deserve to lose their contracts with cities everywhere -- it's about time some of us start attacking this on a city-by-city basis.

thx
Pat

You bet your boots, Chris! I've been saying this for YEARS! Choice, my azz! Choice if you wanna pay extra!
You'll get an argument from some, but they can't sustain it.
FOX and everything connected to Rupert Murdoch is more easily available than any dissenting views. We've known this for a long time.
The solution seems to be - MOVE!
"You want to leave 'the main-stream?' then Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Find it! And be willing to pay for it!"
They've got the poor by the short-hairs and they're not about to relinguish their grip....
Sallie

MSNBC was pulled completely from Comcast and XM. I remember listening to MSNBC on XM several years ago. I don't think licensing is an issue. The cable/satellite companies drop or sign different shows/stations at will. I don't think MSNBC is offered at a premium price on Comcast either, it's just not offered.

This really dawned on me today Sallie. Apparently the Obama administration criticized Fox News this weekend. I heard a shill whine about how Fox has more viewers and Obama is hurting all those viewers feelings. Never mind Fox News has called Obama a racist. I don't blame Obama for taking them on. Remember when they said Foley was a Democrat? Fox News isn't news, it's propoganda.

MSNBC is still offered through Comcast here. Thing is, you MUST buy the higher tiered package to get it. With the regular package, you get Fox. Same goes for Dish Network. Seems that's not the case with DirecTV. Found that out when I took a recent trip to Montana. Thought mom was on Dish, found out she's not, she's on DirecTV. She has one of the lower packages and gets MSNBC.

I'm glad you clarified that because I have DirectTV and I get MSNBC. In any case, MSNBC is not as readily available, which must cut into their numbers, which means if they register fewer viewers it's not because there aren't hundreds of thousands of people who wouldn't watch them if they could.

Just like Progressive talk radio. The Progressive station here is FAR underpowered than any of the rightwing talk stations.

Quite frankly, I'm proud of President Obama for failing to cow-tow to a network which cannot, in anyone's wildest dreams, be considered news and comprised of journalists.
It is, as you so succintly put it, "propoganda." And if you can only afford basic cable, you're not going to be watching a dissenting broadcast.
Let's take a trip into the world of Rupert Murdoch:
Here's something interesting, in so much as it relates to his poilitics:
"Press lord Rupert Murdoch was born in Melbourne, Australia, on March 11, 1931. His grandfather was a Protestant minister who immigrated to Australia from Britain. Rupert's father, Sir Keith Murdoch, was a newspaper publisher, and his mother an Orthodox Jew, although Murdoch never offers that information in his biographies. He later became an American citizen for business reasons. Depending on which biography you choose to believe, Murdoch either had humble origins as a newspaperman (Murdoch's version), or was given a first-rate education at Oxford's Worcester College and eventually turned his inheritance into a multi-billion-dollar company."[/b]
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/june2003/0306024.html
Murdoch's heritage may explain his, and his publications, radio stations' and television stations' decidedly pro-Israeli sentiments.
Even from pro-Murdoch sites, there's much to be questioned:
Awards: Humanitarian of the Year, United Jewish Appeal, 1997
"Now one of the world's wealthiest men, he is frequently criticized for his political views and for "lowering the standards" of the publications and outlets he acquires. In the 1980s he became a U.S. citizen in order to meet requirements for owning TV stations. In the early 1990s his empire was stretched thin financially, but by the end of the '90s it had bounced back with successes on cable television and with the network Asian Star Television. News Corp.'s holdings include the Fox TV Network, HarperCollins Books, 20th Century Fox and The New York Post."
http://www.answers.com/topic/rupert-murdoch
There's a lot more, but no matter what source you go to, one thing stands out: He Became A US Citizen For Business Purposes - So That He Could Legitimately Own Television Stations In The US.
I'll forget his three three wives, one of whom recently had a child. Thank god for Viagra....
Sallie

Attacking the news media is a time-honored White House tactic but to an unusual degree, the Obama administration has narrowed its sights to one specific organization, the Fox News Channel, calling it, in essence, part of the political opposition.

"We’re going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent," said Anita Dunn, the White House communications director, in a telephone interview on Sunday. "As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave."



Game on

Indoctrination?

The reason Comcast relegated MSNBC to a premium line-up is probably due to ratings...or lack of. There are probably channels devoted to insects having sex that get higher ratings than Hardball for pete's sake. If you want to watch Matthews and Olbermann (the White House stenographers) shill for Barry each night, ya gotta pay for it.

I've got an idea...think of the premium surcharge to get MSNBC as a "tax" and perhaps then you'll have no problem paying the fee.

One of the top rated satellite providers said MSNBC is the #2 rated station. I will find the link later if I must. You're wrong. People want MSNBC.

Ratings are utter bollocks anyway. They don't factor in internet views, so they're totally inaccurate.

Found a solution Years ago.

Broadcast T.V.----------NO CABLE-------------less propaganda---------------off switch

broadcast radio---------NO PAY --------------SHUT OFF PROPAGANDA --------off switch

L.A. market luckily has Numerous NPR PBS channels and Mindless drivel is mostly found on PAID FOR Air Waves. that BELONG TO THE PEOPLE ??????

something wrong with that????

STOP PAYING

According to TVNewser MSNBC was second every night for prime last week in the 25-54 demographic. Your theory about Comcast not carrying MSNBC due to ratings is totally unfounded. It seems more like Comcast and DishNetwork know they can charge a premium and people will pay to watch MSNBC.

For which both Comcast and Dish should be fined heavily. It's called censorship.

That's what it is here.
I dropped Comcast when they pulled their dirty, media-altering, politically-biased trick in my area, and went directly to Direct TV.
Pat

That's because you're smart! It's that old "competition" working again. Give us choices and we'll choose....

Would that be the same DirecTV that is owned by Rupert Murdoch?

In 2003, a merger with EchoStar, owner of Dish Network, fell through. On December 22, 2003, General Motors sold controlling interest in Hughes Electronics to News Corporation, forming the DirecTV Group. Certain conditions exist, however, in that News Corp must solve disputes with companies that carry its broadcast and cable channels. The corporation must treat all stations equally, not tilt in favor of the Fox Network and FX.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirecTV

Maxx frequently rolls on the floor not because of laughter. He frequently rolls on the floor because his pants frequently catch on fire.

Now THAT is funny! Thank you.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/14/l...v_n_321080.html

Klayman was instrumental in the impeachment of Bill Clinton.

The only thing on fire here is Beck's ratings compared to that tool Matthews.
Thanks for the link. 879-127. Good grief. Now THAT is


Look at poor Olbermann, the fella has a prime-time slot at 8 pm and STILL can't surpass a Fox pundit's DRIVE TIME ratings.
That's pathetic. Now I know why he calls it COUNTDOWN; IOW...9 viewers left.....8 viewers......7 viewers......

Yes, you are right. Can't win 100%, but in my view, dropping Comcast was uppermost.
Pat

Mr. O'Reilly recently bragged that Fox "News" is now in 98 million households. And of course, is also the most widely distributed cable news channel in America's hotels. Given this, and the fact that Fox regularly draws some 2 million viewers, I don't think they should brag about being "#1". They are, but only because the playing field is extremely uneven; both CNN and MSNBC regularly draw a higher percentage of available viewers.

Who controls the clicker in hotels? I've seen it on televisions in waiting rooms but if I had control of the clicker, I'd change the channel in a heartbeat.

I work in a big hotel. Here's the deal: the hotel is getting their signal from a dish, most likely, and there are several packages involved. One is a public-areas package, including few channels: ESPN, Fox "News", CNBC, local channels, and the Weather Channel. No more than a dozen and a half. Then there's a sports package, contents self-explanatory, probably just sent to the hotel bar; and then there's a room package, which has almost everything. The hotel can and does set up these packages, and generally the decision on what the packages should include is made at the general manager level, and the general manager of a large hotel is a top corporate officer making a solid six figures.

In other words, you may be able to change the channel in the lobby or other public area but you won't be able to change it to MSNBC or CNN.

Fox "News" is

a churlish cadre of contemptible, contumelious and contumelicious caviling caitiffs congressing in cant and calumny.

There! I said it and I'm glad, see?




















I wanted to work caterwauling in there but I thought that was a bit much!

According to MediaPost, all cable news ratings are down noticeably when compared to this time last year, down 5% overall.

It's not a Presidential Election year....I mean, that's just common sense. However, in Beck's slot, the ratings from last year are up about 500%.

But, FOX is Number One...

















... in the business of "Number Two"

What is that? A promo for RW bowling?