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Fox News’ Emotional Beck Soars to 2.3MM Viewers

Fox News, by far the leader in the cable news genre, has a new rising star: Glenn Beck’s program, barely two months old, is pulling about 2.3 million viewers, more than any other cable news host except Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity.

Beck, who moved from CNN’s Headline News channel to Fox, offers what The New York Times calls “a mix of moral lessons, outrage and an apocalyptic view of the future,” and occasionally breaks into tears.

His passion and on-the-surface emotions, along with the soothing and oft-used statement that “You are not alone,” is helping his show climb in terms of viewers, despite the fact that it airs at 5pm, a slow hour for cable news.

Phil Griffin, pres of rival MSNBC, calls the show “good dramatic television.” Beck says he is an entertainer, and calls himself a rodeo clown. Joel Cheatwood, senior vp for development at Fox News, acknowledges that Beck’s audience is “somewhat disenfranchised.” He also says that it is huge.

Fox’s ratings soared 30% to 2.73 million prime time viewers in March, compared to the same month last year; the network’s prime time audience for the month was more than that of MSNBC and CNN combined.