CNN Tanks To Lowest Ratings Week Since 1991
In the demo most coveted by advertisers, CNN averaged just 83,000 viewers over the course of a week during primetime hours.
Leadership changes can’t solve CNN’s massive ratings crisis.
During the week of May 13-19, CNN averaged just 83,000 viewers aged 25 to 54—the demographic needed to impress advertisers, the lifeblood of TV networks—during the primetime hours of 8 to 11 p.m. It was the network’ s lowest-rated week since 1991, according to Nielsen.
While viewers were ignoring Anderson Cooper, Kaitlan Collins and Abby Philip cable rivals Fox News won more than the twice the audience in the key demo (186,000 viewers) and MSNBC drew 111,000.
Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery hired Mark Thompson to serve as CEO of CNN last year, with the mandate to rescue ratings and popularity that have eluded CNN since the end of the Trump administration. So far Thompson’s recently announced vague five-point plan (“Building our digital future,” “A global integrated multimedia news operation,” “Future-proofing TV production,” “Developing new sources of revenue” and “Communication and culture”) does not seem to be working.