Last week proved to be a record-low for CNN’s primetime viewership, with an average of only 444,000 tuning in. This slump marks the worst numbers since 2003 and paves the way for further scrutiny as audiences search for recent news sources elsewhere.
Fox News Dominating Primetime Ratings
From geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and powerful House committees to President Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of confidential information, it was a week filled with remarkable stories that shocked the world.
Fox News attracted almost two million viewers each night during the past week, a massive four-and-a-half times more than CNN’s audience did. The data emphasizes Fox as one of America’s preferred news networks for primetime viewing.
Last week, MSNBC made a huge leap in viewership when primetime shows brought in an average of 943,000 viewers – a major feat for the network.
Despite Fox News pulling in more than triple the viewers of its competitors, CNN and MSNBC were still able to make showings with 417,000 and 629,00 total day-viewers respectively.
With a combined viewership just short of two million people tuning into these news outlets over the course of one single 24-hour period, it is clear that Americans are hungry for information.
Cable News Ratings Monday January 16: CNN Collapses in Prime Time -> so much for their misguided attempt to suck up to the right https://t.co/4kRPl41SlW via @mediaite
— Jennifer "Pro-privacy" Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) January 19, 2023
Fox News dominated primetime ratings in the 25-54 age demo, raking in nearly three times as many viewers as its nearest competitors MSNBC and CNN.
Advertiser rates defining this time slot were set by 256,00 Fox viewers versus a mere 91,000 tuning into MSNBC and 93,000 for CNN.
CNN Continues to Sink With Bad Ratings
Fox News had a record-breaking day with over double the demo viewers of CNN and nearly three times that of MSNBC. With 100k viewers being considered successful in cable news, both competitors have failed to meet this mark by considerable margins.
Despite Fox News leading the pack of cable TV outlets in primetime viewers, ESPN has taken first place. MSNBC followed suit with a close third-place finish; meanwhile, CNN found itself languishing at an embarrassing eighteenth rank.
CNN's Ian Coverage Joins Weather Dramatization HALL OF SHAME pic.twitter.com/M5ofOTkv4y
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 1, 2022
After Chris Licht’s much-hyped appointment as chief of CNN, it appears their struggles are far from over.
The network continues to sink amid a series of bad ratings and public dissatisfaction with its lineup of anchors – the same faces they’ve had for years now.
Despite criticism that he should make major changes, Licht has so far resisted calls for new blood on board – preserving an unpopular status quo amidst turbulent waters at Titanic headquarters.
Despite being demoted from his primetime post, Don Lemon has still managed to make headlines – even if they’re not the kind he wanted.
In an unprecedented success story (or major fail) of epic proportions, Fox News skyrocketed to 1.3 million viewers while CNN This Morning plummeted with only 331,000 and a dismal 65,000 demo viewing figures for Lemon himself.