Greta Van Susteren marked her Fox News Channel debut last Monday by beating former employer Cable News Network in ratings, but that lead narrowed as the week wore on.
On the Record with Greta Van Susteren
generated a 1.5 rating, translating into 1.2 million households during its Feb. 4 debut, according to Nielsen Media Research data. That topped NewsNight with Aaron Brown's 0.8 rating and 662,000 households on CNN.
Van Susteren generated a lot of buzz prior to Monday's premiere with reports of her new look, which followed an eyelift procedure last month. The former trial attorney discussed the plastic surgery during the program.
On the Record dropped to a 1.1 rating (888,000 households) on Tuesday (Feb. 5), but still edged out NewsNight, which pulled a 1.0 rating (816,000 households).
Van Susteren's program averaged a 0.7 rating (569,000 households) on Wednesday, again beating NewsNight, which generated a 0.6 rating (555,000 households).
After three days, On the Record
averaged a 1.1 rating, versus NewsNight's 0.8.
Van Susteren's 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. time slot had been occupied by CNN anchor Paula Zahn, who left Fox News last year. Compared to the same three days last year, Van Susteren topped Zahn by 57 percent in ratings and 115 percent in households.
Compared with last month, when Fox rotated anchors during the 10 p.m. hour, Van Susteren posted a 22 percent increase in ratings.
