CNN continues to learn its lesson the hard way that lying and agitating about Donald Trump for his four-year presidency was not a smart business move. In the two years since Trump left office, the media company has been shedding both anchors and viewers in a dreadful downward spiral.
Now, we are learning just how bad it really is at the Discovery-owned left-wing news outlet. Fox News reported with a blazing headline that CNN was “on pace to have [its] smallest monthly audience since [the] Obama administration.”
It’s worth remembering that every airport and dental office forces unwilling eyeballs to tune in, so exactly how much of those numbers represent interested people at all?
Regardless, it’s bad at CNN. Really bad. If one show were underperforming, then the C-suite suits could go to the bench for fresh legs. But those options aren’t really practical when the entire roster of so-called talent is barely staying afloat.
Fox News described that the ratings disaster for CNN hit hardest in the coveted demographic of 25-54, and that most every major show was part of the problem. That includes programs featuring Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper, Wolf Blitzer, and always hilariously, the demoted Don Lemon. Fox said:
The long-struggling network is on pace to finish February with its smallest monthly audience among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54 since June 2014.
“Anderson Cooper 360,” “The Lead with Jake Tapper” and Wolf Blitzer’s “Situation Room” are on pace to their smallest audiences since that same month among the critical demo, while “Inside Politics” is on pace for its least-viewed month among the category since August 2005.
“CNN This Morning,” the Don Lemon-centered a.m. show that has generated a ton of negative publicity, is on pace to finish February with its smallest monthly audience among both total viewers and the demo since it launched last year.
Fox noted that Don Lemon’s “CNN This Morning” was “averaging a dismal 361,000 total viewers through the first 24 days of the month.” In contrast, the show it replaced – the equally dreadful “New Day” – still managed 430,000 total viewers over the same time frame before it got canceled due to lack of an audience.
Even worse, Wolf Blitzer’s “The Situation Room” and Jake Tapper’s “The Lead” are, as Fox says, “on pace to shed 40% of their demo audiences from Feb. 2022.” This is in addition to CNN mainstay Andersomn Cooper reeling from a near-38% drop in viewership; his show is expected to average just 137,000 viewers in advertisers’ most coveted demographic.
By comparison, Tucker Carlon’s show garners roughly triple that amount.
It is doubtful anyone is weeping for CNN. The left-wing news company vaulted the national conversation on Donald Trump and American politics to the most extreme and radical points in this nation’s long history, oftentimes using misrepresentations of the truth or flat-out lies to do so.
There is also the fact that their pain is others’ consistent joy. Don Lemon should probably have been fired a long time ago, but somehow he is still there despite Chris Cuomo, Brian Stelter, and others having long since departed. He certainly would have saved himself a lot of embarrassment.
After one of his many gaffes, in which he decided a woman’s prime was her 20s and 30s, new boss and CEO Chris Licht remanded him to mandatory sensitivity training.
“I sat down with Don and had a frank and meaningful conversation,” Licht said in an interview on the matter. “He has agreed to participate in formal training, as well as continuing to listen and learn. We take this situation very seriously. It is important to me that CNN balances accountability with fostering a culture in which people can own, learn and grow from their mistakes. To that end, Don will return to CNN This Morning on Wednesday.”
"*" indicates required fields