CNN has had three CEOs over the past two years, and so far, none of them have managed to lift the network out of the ratings basement.
The most recent Nielson ratings indicate that, while year-over-year CNN’s viewership has risen slightly, the network continues to lag behind left-wing rival MSNBC and even farther behind cable news industry leader Fox News.
“Fox News again topped all the cable news networks in October, but only CNN and MSNBC gained viewers versus last year, as Israel-Gaza coverage and the House Speaker upheaval dominated the news cycle,” Deadline reported.
The outlet noted added: “In primetime, Fox News averaged 2.12 million viewers, down 7% from October 2022. MSNBC drew 1.33 million, up 12%, and CNN posted 722,000, an increase of 16%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 256,000, off by 13%, while CNN averaged 167,000, up 25%, and MSNBC posted 132,000, up 16%.”
The outlet also reported: “In total, Fox News averaged 1.36 million, down 8%, followed by MSNBC with 895,000, up 19%, and CNN with 600,000, an increase of 12%. In the adults 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 174,000, down 15%, while CNN posted 124,000, up 17%, and MSNBC was at 98,000, up 23%.”
Conservative Brief, citing the data, noted further:
The top-rated cable news program on all networks, once again, was Fox News’ “The Five,” drawing an average of 3 million viewers. Fox’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” who is also a co-host of The Five, came after that program and averaged 2.58 million viewers. Next came Sean Hannity with 2.41 million, Fox’s “Special Report” at 2.21 million, and “The Ingraham Angle,” hosted by Laura Ingraham, with 2.17 million.
“In adults 25-54, The Five averaged 316,000, followed by Hannity with 300,000, Gutfeld! with 292,000, Jesse Watters Primetime with 270,000, and The Ingraham Angle with 244,000,” Deadline reported, adding: “‘The Rachel Maddow Show,’ which airs on Mondays, averaged 2.5 million viewers, per MSNBC.”
In September, CNN hit a historic low in viewership.
“The network just hit an all-time low in viewership among the key demographic in primetime ratings, according to the latest data released by Nielsen,” TheStreet.com reported at the time.
The decline is “another sign of the difficulties facing incoming boss Mark Thompson,” the New York Post added.
The Post noted further: “The cable news network logged its worst weekend ratings on record in the all-important 25- to 54-year-old demo, according to the latest Nielsen data. CNN — which launched in 1980 and bills itself as ‘the most trusted name in news’ — totaled just 55,000 viewers for its weekend slate of shows that include Sunday political programs ‘State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash,’ and ‘Fareed Zakaria GPS.’ The network’s Sunday primetime lineup, which featured ‘The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper’ and ‘Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,’ drew 43,000 in the demo.”
