CNN’s ratings decline shows no sign of stopping, as the network recently hit a record low in viewership within the highly sought-after demographic for advertisers.
The left-leaning news outlet, which is currently undergoing a significant overhaul expected to include large-scale layoffs, averaged just 92,000 total viewers in the key 25-to-54-year-old demographic. This marks a 1% drop compared to the previous year’s average of 94,000, which also represented a historic low for CNN, according to a report from Mediate.
This latest decline follows a significant viewership drop after President-elect Donald Trump’s unexpected comeback victory in November. Since then, CNN’s audience in the 25-to-54 age range has plummeted by 52%, with an average of only 77,000 viewers, according to Nielsen data.
In total, CNN’s primetime viewership has fallen by 45% this year, averaging 405,000 viewers, while just 11% of primetime cable news viewers have tuned into CNN since the election—well behind MSNBC’s 16%.
Meanwhile, Fox News has surged ahead in the cable news race, claiming an impressive 72% of primetime cable news viewers during the same period. Fox News has also maintained its lead in the 25-to-54 demographic for the ninth consecutive year. MSNBC has outpaced CNN in total day viewers but lags behind CNN in the 25-54 demo, as it grapples with its own post-election viewership drop. Since Election Day, MSNBC’s primetime audience has dropped by nearly 60%.
CNN is also losing viewers on weekends. Last Saturday, Jonathan Capehart’s talk show on CNN garnered only 12,000 viewers in the 25-54 demographic. In contrast, the newly-launched NewsNation attracted three times as many viewers across its weekend programming in the same time slot.
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