Sarah Palin's "Real American Stories" Fox News Special generated its fair share of controversy, but that didn't translate into a ratings boost.
The special, which debuted Thursday night in Greta Van Susteren's "On the Record" time slot, drew 2.073 million total viewers and 472,000 A25-54 viewers. While that was more than enough to win the timeslot (beating everything else on cable news in the hour combined), it's an unspectacular number for Fox News. TVNewser notes that Palin's special was down 10% in total viewers and 28% in the demo compared to Greta's previous Thursday episode.
Palin's lead-in, "Hannity," averaged 2.256 million total viewers and 526,000 A25-54 viewers.
It's possible they tuned in and then tuned out: TVNewser also notes, based on quarter-hour viewing data, that the special "shed viewers from start to finish." Ratings for the final 15 minutes were down 18% in total viewers and 22% in A25-54 viewers compared to the first 15 minutes.
"Real American Stories" drove the headlines this week after both LL Cool J and Toby Keith — who were billed among the special's celebrity guests — cried foul and claimed the network was repurposing old footage for the Palin special.