The $50 million defamation trial between the formerly wedded actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard began in mid-April but captured more national attention during the week of April 18 when Depp took the witness stand. The case was initiated by a 2018 Washington Post op-ed piece written by Heard that alleged domestic violence by Depp, causing (according to Depp) to lose out on major film roles including a "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequel that was in the works.
The cable network HLN has offered extensive coverage of the Depp v. Heard trial, airing in the time periods that featured Depp's testimony on Apr. 20-21 live from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern. The first day, on Apr. 20, averaged just 101,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. But Depp's second day on the stand (on Apr. 21), perked the audience up to 186,000 viewers; narrowing it to the noon-1 p.m. ET hour, HLN drew 233,000 total viewers - as indicated in the averages below, above what the network normally draws.
HLN's semi-nightly special report "War Over Words", which recaps the day's events of Depp v. Heard, debuted on Apr. 14 with 177,000 viewers. Subsequent editions on Apr. 19-21 at 9 p.m. Eastern (131,000; 109,000; and 213,000 respectively) actually attracted less viewers than its midnight rebroadcasts (171,000; 143,000; and 224,000 respectively).
Fox News Channel also broke in to its regular midday programming on Apr. 21 to air Depp's testimony, (albeit for only fifteen minutes: 11:36-11:44 a.m. ET, then 12:26-12:33 p.m. ET) delivering 1.67 million total viewers and 288,000 within the key 25-54 demographic. CNN and MSNBC had also aired portions of the Depp-Heard trial throughout the week, but Nielsen did not specify their coverage in its listings.
The trial is set to continue thru the end of May with testimonies to soon come from Heard (who countersued Depp) herself as well as from actors James Franco and Paul Bettany. Tesla and future Twitter owner Elon Musk, who dated Heard shortly after her breakup from Depp, had been on the list of potential witnesses but as of Apr. 28, is not slated to appear on the stand.
Cable news averages for April 18-24, 2022:
Total Day (April 18-24 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.478 million viewers; 242,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.670 million viewers; 72,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.548 million viewers; 120,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.183 million viewers; 55,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.136 million viewers; 17,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.128 million viewers; 29,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.118 million viewers; 21,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.108 million viewers; 14,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (April 18-23 @ 8-11 p.m.; April 24 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.281 million viewers; 360,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.126 million viewers; 123,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.660 million viewers; 159,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.191 million viewers; 56,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.169 million viewers; 53,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.167 million viewers; 19,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.151 million viewers; 25,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.050 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.045 million viewers; 7,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top MSNBC and CNN programs with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 4/20/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.525 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 4/21/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.511 million viewers
3. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 4/18/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.408 million viewers
4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 4/21/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.405 million viewers
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 4/19/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.341 million viewers
6. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 4/19/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.328 million viewers
7. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 4/22/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.274 million viewers
8. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 4/20/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.272 million viewers
9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 4/18/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.231 million viewers
10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 4/22/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.930 million viewers
27. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Thu. 4/21/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.164 million viewers
163. CNN Films "Navalny" (CNN, Sun. 4/24/2022 9:00 PM, 120 min.) 0.881 million viewers
173. Real Time With Bill Maher "597" (HBO, Fri. 4/22/2022 10:01 PM, 56 min.) 0.841 million viewers
• The Daily Show (CMDY, Tue. 4/19/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.410 million viewers
• Forensic Files "Shoot To Thrill" (HLN, late Fri. 4/22/2022 2:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.344 million viewers
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "Episode 7211" (TBS, Thu. 4/21/2022 10:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.214 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top CNN, MSNBC, HBO and HLN programs with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 4/20/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.619 million adults 25-54
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 4/19/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.581 million adults 25-54
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 4/18/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.554 million adults 25-54
4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 4/21/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.551 million adults 25-54
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 4/22/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.506 million adults 25-54
6. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 4/21/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.493 million adults 25-54
7. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 4/22/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.473 million adults 25-54
8. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 4/18/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.465 million adults 25-54
9. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 4/21/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.461 million adults 25-54
10. Hannity (FOXNC, Mon. 4/18/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.450 million adults 25-54
81. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Thu. 4/21/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.247 million adults 25-54
90. The Lead with Jake Tapper (CNN, Wed. 4/20/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.228 million adults 25-54
147. The Daily Show (CMDY, Tue. 4/19/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.165 million adults 25-54
189. Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO, Fri. 4/22/2022 10:01 PM, 56 min.) 0.142 million adults 25-54
207. Forensic Files "Shoot To Thrill" (HLN, late Fri. 4/22/2022 2:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.135 million adults 25-54
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "Episode 7211" (TBS, Thu. 4/21/2022 10:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.069 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
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