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Donald Trump presser tops cable news on primary night

Donald Trump bragged about his wine, his water and his steaks during his "Super Tuesday 2" primary night news conference. Based on early ratings data from Nielsen, he can add another feather to his cap: his ratings.

Trump's presser dominated cable news coverage on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC during the 9 p.m. hour, and the ratings reflect that. All told, an average of 8.8 million viewers were watching one of those three channels during the 9 p.m. hour. Compare that to an average of 7.4 million people watching during the 8 p.m. hour and 7.3 million people watching during the 10 p.m. hour.

Fox News added 700,000 viewers in the 9 p.m. hour (for a total of 4.24 million viewers) compared to 8 p.m. and lost more than 1 million viewers in the 10 p.m. hour. CNN added 500,000 viewers from 8 to 9 p.m. (2.97 million viewers) and lost more than 300,000 at 10 p.m. MSNBC gained more than 100,000 viewers in the 9 p.m. hour (1.65 million viewers) compared to 8 p.m., and lost 100,000 in the 10 p.m. hour.

In other words, it certainly appears as though people tuned in to see Trump, and when his presser ended, a significant number of viewers tuned out. Michigan was called for Trump early on in the hour, so there may have been some tune-in for that, but the bulk of the hour in terms of minutes covered went to Trump's presser. Michigan, Hawaii, Idaho and Mississippi all held primary elections Tuesday.

Overall Tuesday night, Fox News led all of cable news in total viewers, while CNN was number one with adults 25 to 54, which is the demographic the cable news channels sell ads against.

From 8-11 p.m., Fox News averaged 3.67 million viewers, including 875,000 in the adults 25-54 demographic. CNN averaged 2.68 million viewers, including 942,000 in the demo, while MSNBC averaged 1.56 million viewers, including 421,000 demo viewers.

