Posts
Once upon a time, in a galaxy not far away, CNN was the undisputed king of cable news. Now it's just another sad sack bleeding viewers like a stuck pig somewhere in the Middle East.
The primetime audience has cratered from roughly 1.3 million in 2016 to 553,000 now. "The decrease, from roughly 1.3 million in 2016 to 553,000 now, is fueling rumors of a possible network sale," The Daily Mail reported.
Over the last decade, the once-mighty network has seen its primetime crowd shrink by nearly two-thirds. That's not a dip, that's a nosedive.
The numbers get even uglier when you zoom in on certain time frames.
Sure, CNN had a nice little sugar rush during Donald Trump's 2016 ascent, but those gains eventually flipped into a full-blown catastrophe. In the golden 25-54 demo that advertisers drool over, things are downright apocalyptic. By early 2025, CNN was scraping by with a pathetic 118,000 primetime viewers in that group. That's about equivalent to an overloaded train in India.
The rot isn't confined to the evening hours either. Daytime viewing, once carried by reliable old hands like Wolf . . . Gasp . . . Blitzer, has plunged from 752,000 to 433,000. Compared to the same stretch in 2021, primetime is down 71 percent and daytime has tanked 73 percent.
All this glorious free-fall has unfolded amid a parade of executive musical chairs.
The rot isn't confined to the evening hours either. Daytime viewing, once carried by reliable old hands like Wolf . . . Gasp . . . Blitzer, has plunged from 752,000 to 433,000. Compared to the same stretch in 2021, primetime is down 71 percent and daytime has tanked 73 percent.
All this glorious free-fall has unfolded amid a parade of executive musical chairs.
Jeff Zucker bolted, Chris Licht's short reign was a dumpster fire, and now Mark Thompson is the guy trying to apply tourniquets. His big plan? Ditch the old-school TV roots and go all-in on digital, because apparently that's where the cool kids are these days.
The restructuring highlights include axing more than 200 staffers in early 2025 to fund the digital dreams, chasing mobile content that lets thumb-scrollers "flick" through stories like they're swiping on Tinder, launching a new streaming effort in late 2025 after the CNN+ fiasco proved what a genius idea that was the first time around, and somehow finding $70 million to throw at subscription food and fitness slop.
CNN lifers keep insisting this is just part of some grand industry migration to "alternative means" of getting news. Sure, tell that to the competition.
The restructuring highlights include axing more than 200 staffers in early 2025 to fund the digital dreams, chasing mobile content that lets thumb-scrollers "flick" through stories like they're swiping on Tinder, launching a new streaming effort in late 2025 after the CNN+ fiasco proved what a genius idea that was the first time around, and somehow finding $70 million to throw at subscription food and fitness slop.
CNN lifers keep insisting this is just part of some grand industry migration to "alternative means" of getting news. Sure, tell that to the competition.
In January 2025, The Daily Mail noted, "Fox News, however, has continued to fly high, capturing more than 70 percent of cable news’ audiences during primetime since (the 2024 election), as well as nearly 50 percent overall."
If you enjoy Brain Flushings and would like to subscribe or Buy Me a Coffee, or even check out the sponsors on this page, I would appreciate it, as it supports my work and my coffee drinking habit. No pressure and subscribing is free.
The whole cable news landscape is shifting, except for the one network that's actually winning. Funny how that works.
Tweet
No comments:
Post a Comment