Some new data from TV audience measurement service Samba TV gives new meaning to the term going viral -- at least when it comes to the reach of cable TV news networks.
The data correlates the reach of cable's Big 3 -- CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC -- with the seven-day moving average of COVID-19 cases between February 1, 2020 and January 4, 2022.
Not surprisingly, it shows a strong correlation between TV news and COVID-19 spikes until the most recent one involving the Omicron variant.
Samba analysts say this indicates that COVID-19 is more permeated into the daily lives of Americans, and may be generating less breaking news interest than spikes did early in the pandemic.
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