CNN has been publicly backsliding for years, but during the week between May 13 and May 19, the network just hit a historic new low.
That week, CNN reportedly drew just 83,000 primetime viewers in advertisers’ favorite demographic, viewers between 25 and 54. The network hasn’t seen such a bad week with demo viewers since 1991, according to Nielsen data shared exclusively with the New York Post.
During primetime, CNN airs its biggest names: Anderson Cooper 360 at 8 o’clock, The Source with Kaitlan Collins at 9, and CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip at 10.
“The last time CNN’s ratings were this low, Terminator 2: Judgement Day was the big movie and Bryan Adams was top of the music charts,” one staffer for Sean Hannity wrote in a blog post Wednesday.
Some commentators have attributed CNN’s woes to its constant coverage of the Trump trial. One blogger found a clip of CNN hosts droning about legal proceedings, and asked rhetorically, “How could CNN possibly be losing viewers with compelling news coverage like this?”
However, MSNBC is also covering Trump’s courtroom drama, and it’s faring better. MSNBC brought 111,000 demo viewers, according to the data. Fox News Channel remained #1 in cable news, with 186,000 demo viewers.
MSNBC is also faring better in total numbers, not only with demo viewers or during primetime The liberal reportedly drew 1.1 million total viewers that week, compared to a measly 494,000 for CNN. Meanwhile, Fox News drew 2 million, and the network news likely drew many more.
Other commentators have blamed CNN’s decline on a change in leadership. CNN Chairman Mark Thompson took office just last year after serving as president of The New York Times Company. Thompson replaced Chris Licht, the current showrunner on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Licht spent only one year as CNN’s big boss.
“[The CEO of CNN’s parent company] went to a programmer in Licht,” one TV news producer told the NY Post. “Now he went to a guy that doesn’t know how to program TV.”
CNN has defended its performance.
A network spokesperson told the NY Post that the network is increasing its audience year-over-year, despite one bad week.
Take a look at the state of CNN —
This… is CNN. pic.twitter.com/9eb1uX9Hax
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) May 14, 2024