August 29th, 2017

CNN #2 in Cable News in August

#1 ON WEEKENDS

CNN HAS ROBUST RATINGS GROWTH VS. LAST YEAR

BEATS MSNBC IN TOTAL DAY, PRIME TIME, DAYSIDE IN DEMOS

The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer #1 in Cable News at 5pm For the First Time Since 2008

Anderson Cooper 360 and Erin Burnett Outfront Post Higher Demo Audiences than MSNBC;

CNN Tonight with Don Lemon has Highest Delivery on Record

CNN had another very strong ratings month in August, with the network ranking #2 in cable news, while posting robust growth across the board vs. last year.

This month, CNN beat MSNBC in Total Day, prime time and dayside demos and ranked #1 on weekends.  In Total Day, CNN topped MSNBC among adults 25-54 (278k vs. 232k) for the 38th straight month, the longest winning streak in more than seven years (dating back to January 2010).  CNN also grew +39% in Total Day compared to a year ago August.

CNN surpassed MSNBC in M-Su prime time and is now back on top for the first time since February among adults 25-54.  In August, CNN averaged 427k in prime time, ahead of MSNBC’s 415k (Fox News had 472k).  CNN grew the most in cable news in prime time, increasing +55% compared to last August.  CNN has now topped MSNBC for 33 of the past 38 months in M-Su prime.  During M-F prime time, Anderson Cooper 360 and Erin Burnett Outfront posted higher demo audiences than MSNBC, and CNN Tonight with Don Lemon posted its highest delivery on record this month among adults 25-54.

CNN also dominated MSNBC each and every hour during dayside programming (9am-4pm) in the key demo 25-54 (249k vs. MSNBC’s 186k).  CNN was up +26% vs. last year, and has now topped MSNBC for the 42nd consecutive month during the day.

For the first time since 2008, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer ranked #1 in cable news at 5pm among adults 25-54.  Several other key CNN programs also ranked #1 this month outperforming both Fox News and MSNBC including, The Lead with Jake Tapper, Early Start with Christine Romans and Dave Briggs, State of the Union with Jake Tapper, Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter and CNN Newsroom on Saturdays and Sundays.

CNN was the #1 network in cable news in weekend prime time (S/S 8-11pm) among adults 25-54, which includes CNN Original Series (The Nineties, The History of Comedy and Declassified). The network was #1 during weekend Total Day in the key demo as well.

CNN is back to being a Top 10 cable network this month.  Among ALL cable networks, CNN was #5 in Total Day and #7 in prime time among total viewers in August.

And finally, year-to-date, CNN is on track to post its best yearly performance on record among both adults 25-54 and total viewers in Total Day.

August Program Highlights and Growth:

Morning/Dayside:

  • Early Start with Christine Romans and Dave Briggs (4-6am) ranked #1 across cable news with 156k among adults 25-54. Fox News was behind with 152k and MSNBC trailed with 117k.  Early Start grew +14% in the demo and +9% in total viewers vs. a year ago.
  • New Day with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota (6-9am) also saw robust ratings growth this month, increasing +38% in the demo and +28% in total viewers vs. last year.   Fox & Friends posted its lowest monthly total viewers share of the cable news audience since February 2007.
  • CNN dayside (9a-4p): CNN topped MSNBC each and every hour during dayside this month, averaging a +34% lead in the demo adults 25-54 (249k vs. 186k).  CNN has now topped MSNBC for 42 straight months during dayside among adults 25-54.

Late Afternoons:

  • The Lead with Jake Tapper (4pm) ranked #1 in cable news among adults 25-54 with 311k viewers, Fox News followed with 290k and MSNBC had 244k this month. The Tapper-led program grew +33% in the demo and +10% in total viewers in August vs. a year ago.  The Lead has ranked No. 1 in cable news at 4pm for three out of the last four months.
  • The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer was #1 at 5pm for the first time since December 2008 among adults 25-54.  In August, the Blitzer-led program averaged 333k, Fox News followed with 329k and MSNBC trailed with 268k. The Sit Room grew vs. last year, increasing +38% in the demo and +15% in total viewers.  At 6pm, the show easily topped The Beat with Ari Melber (358k vs. MSNBC’s 271k) among adults 25-54, growing +42% compared to a year ago.

Evening/Prime Time:

  • CNN prime time (M-Su, 8-11pm) is now back on top this month, beating MSNBC 427k vs. 415k among adults 25-54.  CNN prime also grew vs. last year, up +55% in the demo and +42% in total viewers.
  • CNN weekday prime time (M-F, 8-11pm) had significant ratings growth every hour vs. a year ago, averaging +43% in the demo and +32% in total viewers.
  • Erin Burnett Outfront (7pm) is back on top of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews this month, beating MSNBC 396k vs. 357k among adults 25-54.   The Burnett-led program has now topped Matthews for 37 out of the last 38 months.   EBOF also grew double digits from last month, increasing +43% in the demo 25-54 and +22% in total viewers.
  • Anderson Cooper 360 (8pm) is also back on top of MSNBC this month, beating All in with Chris Hayes in the key demo adults 25-54 (448k vs. MSNBC’s 423k). AC 360 has now topped MSNBC for 36 out of the last 38 months.  AC 360 had strong ratings growth vs. last year, increasing +39% in the key demo 25-54 and +24% in total viewers.
  • Despite MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show’s ratings increases at 9pm, CNN’s 9pm programming (mostly AC 360) surged +45% among 25-54 and +29% in total viewers vs. a year ago.
  • CNN Tonight with Don Lemon (10pm) posted its highest monthly delivery on record among adults 25-54 (474k) and its second highest ever in total viewers (1.305m).  The Lemon-led program was up +45% from a year ago among adults 25-54 and +32% among total viewers.
  • CNN weekend prime time (S/S, 8-11pm) was #1 in cable news, averaging 367k, Fox News was second with 275k and MSNBC was third with 150k. CNN weekend prime was up the most in cable news, increasing +103% in the demo and +84% in total viewers.

Saturdays:

  • CNN ranked #1 in cable news each hour from 11am through 10pm on Saturdays among adults 25-54.
  • New Day Saturday (6-9a) ranked #2 in cable news among adults 25-54 and total viewers in August, MSNBC was either 3rd or 4th.
  • Smerconish (9am) ranked #2 in the demo 25-54 (281k vs. MSNBC’s 181k) and among total viewers (948k vs. MSNBC’s 743k).  The program was up +44% in the key demo and +32% among total viewers vs. a year ago.
  • CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield (11am-3:00pm) ranked #1 in cable news each hour in the demo, growing double digits vs. a year ago.  MSNBC was 3rd.
  • CNN Newsroom with Ana Cabrera (3-6pm) was also #1 in cable news each hour among adults 25-54, growing double digits compared to August, 2016.  MSNBC ranked third.

Sundays:

  • CNN ranked #1 in cable news each hour on Sundays from 11am-1pm and from 2p-2a in the key demo 25-54.
  • Inside Politics with John King (8am) ranked #2 in both adults 25-54 (267k) and total viewers (874k).  MSNBC ranked 3rd. The King-led program grew +57% among adults 25-54 and +33% in total viewers from last year.
  • State of the Union with Jake Tapper (9am) ranked #2 in cable news in both adults 25-54 (319k) and total viewers (989k). The program grew +44% in the demo 25-54 and +30% in total viewers compared to August of year last year. The noon edition ranked #1 in cable news in the demo with 317k, Fox News followed with 267k and MSNBC was third with 208k, growing +56% from a year ago.  MSNBC was a distant third at both 9am and noon.
  • Fareed Zakaria GPS beat MSNBC at 10am in the key demo 25-54 (308k vs. 242k) and in total viewers (1.099m vs. 947k), ranking #2 in cable news. The Zakaria-led show was up +31% in the demo and +22% in total viewers compared to August 2016.  At 1pm, GPS was #2 in cable news among adults 25-54 (256k), up +29% from last year.  MSNBC trailed by wide margins at both 10am and 1pm.
  • Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter ranked #1 in cable news at 11am for the 2nd month in a row averaging 320k, Fox News’ Media Buzz had 297k and MSNBC’s AM Joy had 236k among adults 25-54.  Reliable ranked #2 in total viewers, also topping MSNBC (1.044m vs. MSNBC’s 964k).  Compared to last year, the Stelter-led media program was up +47% in the demo and +23% in total viewers.
  • CNN Newsroom on Sunday afternoons ranked #1 in the demo from 2pm-8pm, growing double digits vs. last year.

August Original Series, CNN Films and CNN Special Report Highlights:

  • CNN’s The Nineties (7/9-8/20/17):  Is the most-watched CNN Original Series-to-date (thru 8/27/17) among 25-54 and 2nd most-watched among total viewers. The show ranked #1 among both demos across cable news in its time period, outperforming the combined 25-54 delivery of Fox News and MSNBC.  Every episode ranked #1 among 25-54 across cable news in its time period, outperforming the combined delivery of the other two cable news nets.
  • CNN’s The History of Comedy Season 1 (2/9-8/13/17): Ranked #1 among 25-54 across cable news in its time period.  Versus the prior four time period average, HOC posted the largest growth across cable news in the hour among both 25-54 and total viewers.
  • CNN’s Declassified: Untold Stories of American Spies Season 2-to-date (7/22-8/19/17): Ranks #1 among 25-54 across cable news in its time period.  Pacing above its Season 1 average on Sundays at 10p by double-digit percentages among both 25-54 and total viewers.
  • CNN Films: Elian premiere (Thu 8/24/17, 10p-12a) ranked #1 among adults 18-34 across cable news in its time period.  The film grew +26% in adults 25-54, +21% in total viewers, and +29% in adults 18-34 from Live to Live+3 viewing.
  • CNN Special Report: Diana: Chasing a Fairytale premiere (Sun 8/27/17, 10p-12a) reported by Clarissa Ward ranked #1 across cable news in its time period among adults 25-54.

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