CNN posts lowest total viewership ratings in more than a decade
By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, filed Dec. 15, 2010
Deadline.com is reporting what we already knew: CNN had a tough year in the ratings.
The story, using preliminary Nielsen numbers, says CNN's overall and 25-54 ratings will be its lowest at least since 1997, when Fox News was barely out of the gate. (With two weeks left in the year, that's unlikely to change.)
To make matters worse, MSNBC beat CNN in primetime for the first time overall and second year in a row 25-54.
Fox News drew more viewers than CNN, MSNBC and HLN combined.
Every network lost viewers from 2009 but CNN saw the steepest drops with a 34 percent reduction in primetime audience. HLN also saw sharp drops. MSNBC and Fox only fell off in single digits.
In a press release, CNN tried its best to look on the bright side. CNN said it reaches more viewers than the other networks, with 96.4 million monthly viewers vs. 85.7 million for Fox and 83.3 million for MSNBC (through November.) But obviously, its viewers don't spend as much time with the network as viewers of the other two networks.
CNN also notes its website, with 66 million monthly unique visitors, draws six times as many readers as Fox News Online.
HLN did note that "Morning Express with Robin Meade" had a good year, beating MSNBC's "Morning Joe" every month this year so far. It had its best year ever from 6 to 10 a.m. among total viewers and 25-54 year old viewers.
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By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
