CNN Draws Lowest Ratings Of All-Time
CNN has tracked viewership ratings since 1991. The network, like its cable news competitors, prioritizes viewers among 25 to 54, the demographic for which its sponsors pay.
This past weekend, CNN set a record low among said demographic. The network averaged just 55,000 viewers in the key demo.
In primetime, the channel drew only 43,000 viewers, while airing "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper” and “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy."
"Searching for Italy" sounds intriguing. Anderson Cooper, not so much.
CNN is in a state of flux, as it awaits Mark Thompson to assume the role of CEO on Oct. 9.
Thompson, the network’s third president in 18 months, enters a locker room of uncertainty. The challenge was left directionless after Chris Licht's ousting in the summer.
CNN needs a shot in the arm. A reason for people to watch. A host with enough cachet to draw an audience.
Right now, it lacks all of that.
Imagine a football team with aging star players, a mundane batch of young talent, and perpetual turnover among leadership.
That is the state of CNN. That is why CNN continues to set record lows -- from weekdays to weekends, from mornings to primetime.
The network's highest-rated show on Monday was "The Lead with Jake Tapper." Tapper drew 619,000 viewers. Such a number is fine for a CNN program in the afternoon. It's the primetime lineup that should first draw Thompson's concern.
From 8 to 11 pm, CNN ranked near the bottom of cable news:
CNN's Relationship With Trump
Thompson faces a tall task in revising CNN.
In 2022, CNN recorded $892 million worth of profits, falling under $1 billion for the first time since 2016.
His success, or lack thereof, is contingent upon how the network covers Donald Trump, the prohibited favorite to win the 2024 GOP nomination.
And there's no easy solution. Ask his predecessors.
Jeff Zucker helped elect Donald Trump by giving his presidential campaign validity before the other networks.
He then ran opposition to Trump after he was elected, through Chris Cuomo, Don Lemon, and Anderson Cooper.
Zucker cost CNN its standing with half of the country. Licht, meanwhile, tried to cease fire with Trump.
It didn't work.
Licht's strategy cost the network its reputation with liberal viewers, progressive members of Congress like AOC, and reportedly, internal staffers.
How CNN covers Trump under Thompson -- and the immediate backlash it receives no matter his edict -- will be as challenging as patching the holes in viewership.