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CNN’s ratings continue to decline, and network head Chris Licht is considering adding a primetime comedian to boost audience to compete with Fox News and MSNBC.
The third-place cable news network’s primetime ratings hit a new low on Monday, falling to an average of 311,000 viewers per night in competition with the NFL wildcard playoff game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Despite the fact that the big game was shown on ABC and ESPN, Fox News still averaged 2.1 million people during prime time, with Tucker Carlson Tonight attracting 2.8 million viewers. MSNBC placed second in prime time with an average of 1.2 million people, courtesy to “The Rachel Maddow Show,” which attracted nearly 1.7 million viewers at 9 p.m.
Anderson Cooper’s “AC360” on CNN, which aired at 8 pm ET and 9 pm ET, averaged 345,500 viewers during primetime, while “CNN Tonight” at 10 pm drew 166,000 people. CNN drew only 51,000 people in the important advertiser demographic of viewers aged 25 to 54 during primetime. MSNBC matched that number with 104,000 viewers, while Fox had 267,000 people.
Monday’s two-hour broadcast of Anderson Cooper’s program averaged just over 345k viewers.
CNN
Licht is now focused on filling CNN’s crucial 9 p.m. time slot, which has been without a committed host since Chris Cuomo was fired in late 2021 for his part in assisting his brother, then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in a sexual harassment incident.
Licht is allegedly considering adding a news-savvy comedian to his primetime lineup in an effort to increase ratings. Examples include Bill Maher, Arsenio Hall, Trevor Noah, and Jon Stewart, but it is unknown whether any of these comedians have been contacted.
Greg Gutfield’s “Gutfield!” on Fox News, which airs at 11 p.m. every night and is hosted by Gutfield, has been a success, often outpacing competitors such as Stephen Colbert on CBS and Jimmy Fallon on NBC.
Part of CNN’s difficulty stems from its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, which must eliminate at least $3.5 billion by 2023’s end. CNN employees have already felt the effects of this mandate.
In an effort to steer CNN away from commentary-driven and partisan opinion in favor of straight news, Licht has eliminated hundreds of jobs and rearranged the network’s roster in less than a year on the job.
CNN’s issues are not novel. Since former President Donald Trump departed office, its ratings have plummeted, while rivals Fox News and MSNBC continue to widen their advantages.
In 2022, CNN’s prime-time audience declined by 33 percent to 730,000 viewers. Fox News lost 1% of their viewers, to 2,3 million, while MSNBC’s primetime program lost 21%, to 1.2 million. Fox News topped the 25-to-54 demographic with 346,000 viewers, down 7%, followed by CNN with 174,000 viewers, down 36%, and MSNBC with 133,000 viewers, down 39%.
CNN refused to comment on its numbers or Licht’s intentions for primetime programming.
»CNN’s primetime ratings decline as the network considers adding a comic to its program«