CNN 4th For Week In Total Viewers For First Time Ever

For the first time ever, CNN placed fourth among cable news networks in primetime total viewers last week.

CNN averaged just 576,000 total viewers, behind Fox News (2,015,000 total viewers), MSNBC (664,000 total viewers) and HLN (593,000 total viewers).

CNN regularly places fourth among Adults 25-54 viewers in primetime, but this is the first time the network has placed fourth for the week among total viewers.

Of course, for CNN coming in fourth means losing to its opinionated sister network, HLN. Last week, HLN's "Joy Behar Show" set two ratings records in as many nights, suggesting that her show, which launched in September, is beginning to catch on with viewers.

Comments

[Enigma2008]

07:43 PM on 12/17/2009

As soon as CNN starting prostituting itself for ratings it lost the only dependable audience it had---real news junkies. I don't think I have turned to the channel for months except for Zakaria on Sundays. The best prototype for new news shows that I religiously record are the News and Dan Rather shows on HDNet---in depth, no spin, great visuals. CNN should be a fraction as good and set excellence as their goal, not ratings.

[smchp]

05:58 PM on 12/17/2009

Correction: Hard-er turn to the right. They are already leaning that way.

[smchp]

05:58 PM on 12/17/2009

The danger now is that they take a hard turn to the right out of desperation.

[littlebrowngirl]

03:33 PM on 12/17/2009

CNN is terrible

One of the only resons to watch is that they do breaking news stories and have an HD channel.

The network does not know WHAT it wants to be. They have AC on a 2 hour meanering show the repeats, they had Crazy Lou Dobbs for YEARS, they own TMZ . . . .

This network is losing its identity. They shoud pay attention to the fact that 60minutes is havng its best ratings ever.

It wouod be nice to have at least one network dedicated to real journalism and news. CNN is not it. I don't even look at thier weebsite anymore.

[TotobiAyokoh23]

01:58 PM on 12/17/2009

As a matter of survival, CNN still exit because it is yet to exhaust its traditional goodwill that will soon dissipate. A typical run of Mr. Wolf Blitzer’s program: 70% of the time equals self-congratulatory exercise of nauseating repetitions of “best political team on TV,” parroting false claims such as “exclusively on CNN…” 20% of the time equals introduction of guests; Mr. Lalabuttt, a former political aid of the former Senator from Wyoming, now a political strategist planning to write a bestselling book next year, on and on…10% of the time on opinions, NO NEWS. That is CNN.

[louiexiii]

10:33 AM on 12/17/2009

My problem with CNN is everything, EVERYTHING! is breaking news. No matter if it happened at 1:00 P.M., Anderson Cooper will have it on his show at 10:00 P.M under the headline "BREAKING NEWS". If it happened hours ago its not breaking news, its "developing news". I only turn to CNN to watch Presidential addresses to the Nation cause they broadcast in HD and MSNBC (at least in my area) hasnt gone HD yet.

[Kate2009]

07:40 AM on 12/17/2009

Obama's approval ratings are the lowest of any president at this time in their presidency. CNN worships Obama and thier ratings are horrible.....think there is a correlation????

[StewartIII]

06:40 PM on 12/16/2009

ChickaBOOMer: CNN Sinks To New Low
http://chickaboomer.blogspot.com/2009/12/cnn-sinks-to-new-low.html

[dwill123]

04:46 PM on 12/16/2009

Bring back Ted Turner.

[southernfried]

04:31 PM on 12/16/2009

cnn = fuffly news

[talkingdog]

08:00 PM on 12/16/2009

Breaking News,...Happening Now!!! We have live footage of this house on fire! Flames!! Smoke!!!

To our reporter on the street Suzan Malnourished's live interview with the home owner: There are flames and smoke!! What did you see?

Home owner: " I saw flames,....and smoke."

How did you get out?

Home owner: "I ran out."

You ran?

Home owner: "I ran out., really fast!"

How did you feel?

Home owner: "I felt very hot!"

[BlackMaybe]

08:37 PM on 12/16/2009

LMAO "I felt very hot!"

[Gatorboy]

03:38 PM on 12/16/2009

Don't they generally beat everyone else in ratings during extraordinary events (Katrina, 9/11)?

Here's to CNN: Crossing their fingers for something horrible to happen...

[southernfried]

04:30 PM on 12/16/2009

bingo.......................................

[Spudlette]

10:15 PM on 12/16/2009

Yeah, they also do celeb death really well. That's about it.

[ldmason45]

03:28 PM on 12/16/2009

As always, it brings me joy and pleasure to see cooper anderson and cnn tank even further. cnn may want to fire them all and start over. Maybe they could find some real journalists with integrity, to ask some hard questions and get all sides of a story not just someone's slanted opinion or view.

[julietdraven]

03:02 PM on 12/16/2009

that might be true for tv CNN but the internet sight gets hit on 40 million times a day over twice as much as fox internet site

[MsMassachusetts]

12:59 PM on 12/16/2009

I have to agree with the Wolf bashers. He is so irritating, so loud, so boring that I end up changing the channel. He is a dim bulb who would flail in the wind without a teleprompter and an earpiece.

[wm1066]

12:17 PM on 12/16/2009

The British had an official inquiry into the Iraq war and CNN didn't even mention it! CNN isn't giving us the news, its celebrity gossip and corporate talking points instead of news.