CNN's Rough Ratings March: Trailing Even MSNBC, HLN In Prime Demo

Portfolio:

More evidence that CNN is going to have to find a new strategy fast or risk becoming a cable news also-ran: In the month of March so far, the Time Warner-owned network has come in fourth place in prime time among adults 25 to 54, the key demographic for advertisers, more often than not.

Through March 17, CNN trailed not only Fox News and MSNBC but also its own sister network, Headline News, on nine out of 17 days. On one day, March 13, CNN even drew fewer 25-to-54 viewers than CNBC -- the first time that's happened since November 2007. And of the eight days it finished higher than fourth in the demo, five were either Saturdays or Sundays, typically the lowest rated nights for the news networks.

Read the whole story: Portfolio

Comments

[carnelld]

I remember Dana bash covering the Bush Whitehouse. She was a Bush enabler leading up to the
Iraq war. She only repeated the Bush administration's talking points.

I complained to CNN at that time. Bash was, in my opinion, the weakest reporter on all the cable networks. I did not know at the time she was married to John King. I wondered why CNN had
her on the air. They had better reporters at that time.

Now she is covering Washington D C and she only repeats Republican "talking points".
Bash is definitely one of the most anti- Obama reporters in the media.

[NYC80]

She married John king last june. During the 90s it was called the Clinton News Network, now its the crap news network.

[andken]

The problem is that CNN tries to fight in two fronts. They try to fight against BBC World News in the international market, and against Fox News, MSNBC and ABC News on the national front. BBC World is a very sophisticated channel that´s a huge success among the intellectual elites and Middle Classes in the Third World while Fox News is the most popularesque news channel possible. You can´t take both on BBC and on Fox News and CNBC on the same time: that´s what CNN tries to do. Sure, CNN and CNN International aren´t the same channel, but they share the same structure.

And I wan´t to puke everytime that I see these ads on CNNi talking about "Impact your World", "Use the News to do something" or whatever. And you simply can´t fight BBC, that has the best team of international correspondents, with segments with videos from the YouTube... ;-)

[MikeInMemphis]

The last time I watched Fox Lite with any type of interest was election night. I have sporadically dropped in to laugh at Lou Dobbs since then but that's about it. As far as I'm concerned the only person worth listening to is Jack Cafferty. I do find it amusing that the dolts in the comments section under the original article have spent so much time living in their conservative bubbles that they actually think that they're oozing with love for Obama at CNN.

[nansei]

Fox pretends to be news but is excellent as a liars news network. MSNBC is incontinence in the morning or and incompetence in the evening, people like that too. The Headline News Network is news and is where CNN started. CNN is now the Cartoon News Network. Blitzer runs a war room, all of his team are Senior and should have military decorations. Lou Dobbs should be an Hispanic antiactivist, Campbell Brown is the Paris Hilton of the News. Anderson Cooper is its cross dresser. They obviously are out for Obama as a ratings ploy, and it just drips, they ought to hire David Gregory to complete their depth of coverage. Without Ted Turner, you can't be innovative in Atlanta, unless you're doing hip hop. Sorry.

[doctorwang]

good analysis- and I strongly agree that Gregory would fit in perfectly at CNN.

[NYC80]

This channel died when Time Warner kicked out Ted Turner, and that my friend was many years ago.

[alanearth]

I agree!!!

[Giada]

I'd agree with giving Cafferty a time slot ... he's the only one worth listening to.

[doctorwang]

or just send him over to MSNBC. Let CNN be all cr@p, all the time

[Solja]

Ditto!

[RJII]

they need to stop with the fembots. they look and sound like second rate pagent queens, i.e. like a sarah palin.

Plus, anderson cooper is BORING as is most of their meat puppets.
Their morning show is boring, and the asian anchor (sorry I do not know her name) wears so much pagent make up in the morning it hurts the eyes. Fredricka Whitfield is a bore too.

CNN lacks investigative reporting and is just the same speculative cr*p on the other network news.

Only good thing at CNN now a days is Fareed Zakaria because he is just smart, informative and outside the beltway bubble and Cafferty because he's got some punch to his commentary.

.How about this CNN, try about reporting on what the people think and want to hear. Actually interview the people, instead of one another over paid meat puppets. You have shows interviewing each other's opinions with the spinners and assume that is what the average people feel.

If there's populist outrage, try putting actual events with people on air for the majority of the show. Let that be the news, not you.

[alanposting]

You forget how CHEAP it is just to interview each other....they are already on the payroll.

[bigsioux]

No Bull?

[Cos1]

If CNN keeps on with their current objective of Obama bashing they will continue their ratings decline into the summer. They have gone overboard with the one sided opinions and their reporters are like drones repeating nothing but negative stories daily. They take a gotcha comment and run it on a loop all week as if they got something special. They've become so out of touch with regular people and think the public will continue to watch no matter what they put on. I use to turn CNN on during the day just to have it on in case I missed something even if I wasn't really watching it. This type of viewing is what they want to direct you to for alot of their current ratings. I now can't stand to leave it on CNN. After reading some of these comments, I see I'm not the only one. They need to get a clue quick.

[judyannh]

good, having people on like lou dobbs and john king will do that for you!

[olephart]

CNN’s main problem can be summed up in two words, Lou Dobbs. I used to enjoy Lou taking on corporate interests and the Bush Administrations failures but during the long campaign he became an Obama hater. He is now so biased that he is impossible to watch. The other anchors seem to be towing a corporate line of a conservative news slant. The airing of CPAC’s Limbaugh rant fest was a new low for CNN. There are only so many dim witted reprobates watching Cable News and Fox has a lock on them. While they don’t have to swing to the MSNBC side, they should at least try to be unbiased. Lou Dobbs used to have a populist side along with his reactionary Cold War conservative side but he’s lost it.

[Dustee]

I used to watch Dobbs for the very reason you did. But he turned into a real whack job. CNN has turned into Fox-lite. All of their talking heads except for Jack Cafferty are leaning to far to the right for my taste. I'm not sure if Jack has changed or not since I don't watch CNN anymore.

[gschear]

I wish MSNBC would give it's 10:00 pm slot to Jack. I think he could bring in an older independent demographic for them.

[Solja]

I don't Lou is their ONLY problem, just one of their serious problems. Their obvious right-leaning bias is their problem, along with too much repetitive "junk news" like what Paris Hilton or some other celebrity is doing. People don't watch "news" for that kind of junk.

[vern50]

I look forward to seeing the news. Problem for me is after our local news goes off, CNN has Lou Dobbs then Campbell Brown. Neither of them appeal to me. So, I look at MSNBC. I am not crazy about Chris Matthews because he continually interrupts the speaker and changes the subject to whatever pops into his head. So, I get annoyed and tune into HGTV or some murder show!! Get rid of Dobbs and Campbell, and I might look at CNN during prime time.

Perhaps that is what happen to others?

[Solja]

I don't like either Brown or Dobbs either. I didn't like her before her show but I watched Lou's show nightly, until the primaries when he fell off the edge and went back to his Republican neocon side. I NEVER tune him in because he disgusts me.

I love Chris though, and I can't get enough of Olberman and Rachel is #1 in my book. She's smart, articulate, responsible, respectful, funny, and most importantly, she researches her stories. She has great guests on too. Chris interrupts, but I think that's why it's called Hardball, because he has a hard line of questioning and it goes fast. Guests tend to go on and on and Chris tries to stick to the script (the show's direction).

[vern50]

I am with you on Rachel and Keith. Keith is good at his craft. Rachel is outstanding. I wish she would have done Meet the Press. She would have made Tim Russert proud.
I miss Russert and Meet the Press. I no longer watch it though, since Gregory took it over. %-(

[commentator101]

CNN has become stuck in the middle with the emergence of MSNBC as news for liberals.

They also appear to have tried to find prettier people who aren't necessarily as good of journalists or analysts.

And their analysis quite often is shallow and focussed on drama rather than substance.

That said they are the only network that generally tries to present a balanced view. If you watch either Fox or MSNBC they beat up the other side but you don't get a realistic view of what the other side is thinking or doing, Of course, you can always spend a little time on the opposing network (e.g., watch a little Fox if you prefer MSNBC and vice versa). I do that but I get car sick.

[Solja]

CNN fell off the edge. They are no longer in the middle. They have swung drastically to the right, and people who traditionally watched CNN can't stomach the broad change. They had good graphics, but their "opinions" is not news.

[kshawNCvoter]

This is good. cnn is so fake, all those so called independent views they claim to have. i hate everybody on there plus they fired dl so quickly(who got them the only big news story they have had in awhile). even anderson cooper changed his focus to please big shots there. that said i hate all msm.

[CheneysACoward]

CNN has forgotten or just no longer care who their real audience is/was. Lets be honest CNN was a network that was slanted. There is NO reason to hide or cover that up. Trying to, makes you look a bit stupid. This is not some talking head game of...we are not bias BS. You were and should be. I don't think CNN viewers want to watch 90 minutes of rush limabugh on a Sunday. What was that? I was about ready to jump out the damn window!
You a network that plays to a mostly Democratic audience.....is there something wrong with that? I don't think "fox" has a problem with being the old propaganda central. Wake up CNN !!!

[Solja]

I watched that Limberger "show" on CNN, off and on, and I am glad I did. The news for the rest of the week was about that and I would never have saw it if CNN hadn't shown it. I think it contributed to the wide eye-opening conversations that followed, and contributed to hurt the neoconservatives and Limberger's credibility. Rational people saw something they did not like, including the "normal" members of the Republican Party. It was enlightening, entertaining, and far more helpful to the Democratic Party's agenda.

[ChristianEcon.com]

Anybody notice all the comments for this article on the Portfolio site? All bashing CNN for being liberal, the Obama network (where "it's obvious America feels otherwise") "Communist News Network," the "Clinton News Network," etc. They actually feel Fox News is real news. Not that CNN is, but, wow.... Where do these people come from? Or is it just one or two paid hacks logging into Portfolio's comments?

Here of course the comments are saying CNN has swayed conservative (which I noticed myself, especially after they aired CPAC Denial Group conference and Limbaugh live).

[kshawNCvoter]

if thats whats being said on those comments then it makes no sense since msnbc is kicking butt and they are a bit more lib than most.

[Solja]

MSNBC is the ONLY liberal network. The rest of them are slanted to the right.