Versión Español
Spanish.- CNN’s attempt to move away from its woke line to avoid a catastrophe was in vain. Despite the new management, led by Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav, saying in July 2022 that he would put “journalism first” and give space in its programs to both Democrats and Republicans, Americans did not notice this change and punished the news network, which recorded the lowest audience in its history in 2024.
Between December 26, 2023, and December 15, 2024, CNN averaged 93,000 viewers in the key demographic group of 25 to 54 years old and 488,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research figures released this Saturday by the Washington Examiner.
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These are catastrophic numbers when compared to Fox News’ 1.46 million viewers, which led the ratings in 2024, and even more concerning when considering that the decline began in 2021 and has not been reversed. In contrast, three years ago, when Fox News also dominated the prime time audience – between 8:00 and 11:00 PM – averaging 2.3 million viewers, CNN was in third place with 661,000, also being surpassed by MSNBC, which was in second place with 1.2 million. This only shows that CNN’s audience has continued to dwindle.
Americans prefer conservative media
Another significant fact is that 2024 was an election year, which historically tends to generate more audience for news channels, but even so, CNN failed to improve its numbers. In fact, the network’s coverage on the night of the November 5 elections is considered “disappointing” by Nielsen Media Research, as it managed to attract only 5.1 million viewers compared to Fox News’ 13.6 million, which remains the most-watched cable network in the U.S. for the ninth consecutive year. Compared to the 2020 elections, CNN’s audience suffered a drastic 44% drop this year.
American viewers, who punished left-leaning media, equally rewarded conservative-leaning networks. While MSNBC maintained second place, but with a reduced number of viewers in the key demographic group of 25 to 54 years old (806,600), the emerging network NewsNation, with just three years on air, achieved a 25% increase in its prime time audience and a 45% increase in the key 25 to 54 age segment this year.
