CNN continues to plunge further and further down to rock bottom, as it has recently seen its lowest ratings ever. The network has lost viewers in the advertising-coveted 25-54 age demographic, which may lead to a significant loss in revenue as well as other serious consequences for its financial health.
The news outlet has been under fire in recent years for its coverage of certain events and alleged left-leaning bias. Its former CEO Chris Licht stepped down only a year after joining the company, citing internal challenges that included the drop in ratings.
???? CNN just hit rock bottom with its lowest ratings EVER! ???? The once-dominant news network has experienced a sharp decline in viewership, especially in the coveted 25-54 age demographic. ???? This could have major financial implications. Read more ???? https://t.co/5vCCvRtExq
— Patriot911 (@Patriot911News) September 25, 2023
According to the New York Post:
“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.
The ratings are the network’s worst since 1991 — the earliest TV data is readily available.
“CNN is a ratings embarrassment,” an industry insider said. “At least with Thompson they will have a direction.””
Since 1980 when Ted Turner launched the first 24 hour news channel, CNN had enjoyed a near monopoly on continuous news coverage. Then came MSNBC and Fox News who both found their own niche among viewers with their unique styles and perspectives.
Fox News was particularly successful at drawing people in with its conservative slant which quickly led to greater ratings than even CNN.
After 2016’s U.S Presidential Election, there was an influx of new viewers due to all the drama surrounding Trump’s presidency but since his departure from office, those numbers have started to fall off again significantly.
In order to try and bring back some of its lost viewers, CNN launched several initiatives such as breaking news segments, documentaries and town halls hosted by Kaitlan Collins that featured President Trump himself however, these efforts failed to make up for regular programming losses as competitors like Newsmax surpassed them in terms of viewership numbers during May this year – half of what MSNBC had achieved while Fox remained dominant overall amongst cable networks.
