Sorry, Royal Baby; you're no match for George Zimmerman. At least not in the ratings.
Ratings for Fox News, CNN and MSNBC were down on Monday, when news of Prince William and Kate Middleton welcoming a son dominated the airwaves, compared to the previous Monday, when the news was still guided by the George Zimmerman verdict.
Also read: CNN Ratings Subside After Zimmerman Trial Exclusives
For total-day on Monday, Fox News — which took first place in the ratings Monday — averaged 1.440 million total viewers, compared to 1.456 million the previous Monday. In the key 25-54 news demo, Fox was also down from the previous week, averaging 251,000 compared to the previous Monday's 263 thousand.
The other news networks were similarly down; CNN — which last Monday scored big with exclusive interviews with a juror on the Zimmerman trial and Rachel Jeantel, who spoke to Trayvon Martin just before he was fatally shot — averaged 596,000 total viewers for total day compared to 642,000 for the previous week. MSNBC averaged 449,000 compared to 472,000.
See video: Royal Baby Awakens Miss Piggy's Maternal Instincts
In the demo, CNN averaged 194,000 viewers (versus 251,000) while MSNBC had 132,000 (compared to 142,000 for the previous week).
In the 3 to 4 p.m.ET hour, during which news of the birth broke, Fox averaged 1.643 million total viewers, with 225,000 in the demo. CNN also rose above its daily averages at that time, drawing 875,000 total viewers and 304,000 in the demo. MSNBC similarly blossomed in that hour, averaging 426,000 total viewers with 109,000 in the demo.
See video: BBC's Royal Baby News: There Is No Royal Baby News
In the 4 to 5 p.m. ET hour, when the birth was officially announced outside the Royal Palace, Fox and CNN grew from the previous hour. Fox averaged 1.812 million total viewers and 326,000 in the demo, while CNN scored 1.001 million total and 316,000 in the demo. MSNBC had 467,000 with 105,000 in the demo.