Key CNN Programs Including The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett Outfront, Anderson Cooper 360 and Don Lemon Tonight All Outperform MSNBC by Wide Margins in Demo

 

New Day with John Berman and Brianna Keilar Tops MSNBC’s Morning Joe for the Second Consecutive Month in Demo

 

CNN is a Top Five Cable Network in Total Day and Dayside in Total Viewers 

 

CNN Films: Navalny Ranks #1 in Cable News in Demo & Younger Viewers  

 

For the third straight month, CNN surpassed MSNBC across all dayparts including Total Day, Prime Time, Dayside and on weekends in the key demo adults 25-54 according to Nielsen data.  Key CNN programs including The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett Outfront, Anderson Cooper 360 and Don Lemon Tonight beat MSNBC by wide margins in April among adults 25-54.  For the second consecutive month,  CNN’s New Day beat MSNBC’s Morning Joe in the key demo adults 25-54.  This month, CNN is a Top Five cable network (not just news) across Total Day and Dayside in total viewers and a Top 10 network in the demo adults 25-54.

Competitively, MSNBC ranked #3 in all dayparts in the demo and had its lowest performance in Total Day since 2004 and had its lowest demo performance in M-Su/M-F Prime since 2015.

CNN reaches more people in the U.S. than any other news brand across TV and digital among 25-54 (85 million) and ranks second among 18-34 (40 million). The network has the third largest reach among total people (174 million)*. In addition to reaching the largest audience, CNN also attracts the youngest audience in cable news in Total Day, M-Su Prime and in M-F Prime.

 

April Dayparts 

• In Total Day (6am-6am), CNN easily beat MSNBC in the key demo adults 25-54 (133k vs. MSNBC’s 76k) in April.  CNN has now outperformed MSNBC for the 29th consecutive month in Total Day demo 25-54.  MSNBC had its lowest Total Day since 2004 (76k) in the demo.
• In Prime Time (M-Su 8-11pm), CNN outperformed MSNBC (171k vs. 128k), now for the fourth straight month among adults 25-54.  MSNBC had its lowest demo delivery in M-Su prime (128k) and M-F prime (161k) in the key demo since 2015.
• In Weekday Prime Time (M-F 8-11pm), CNN beat MSNBC (190k vs. 161k) for the third consecutive month in the demo.
• During Dayside (9am-4pm), CNN outperformed MSNBC for the 98th straight month, averaging (159k vs. 75k) in the demo.  During the day, CNN ranked #2 in all of cable (not just news) in total viewers and the demo in April.
• On Weekends, CNN beat MSNBC for all 24 hours on Saturdays and Sundays.  In Total Day, CNN outperformed MSNBC  (6am-6am) in total viewers (554k vs. 386k) and in the demo 25-54 (109k vs. 43k). In weekend prime time, CNN beat MSNBC in total viewers (610k vs. 439k) and adults 25-54 (124k vs. 46k).  All of CNN’s Sunday morning programs topped MSNBC in total viewers and the demo 25-54 in April.

 

April Weekday Program Ratings

• New Day with John Berman and Brianna Keilar (6-9am) topped MSNBC’s Morning Joe for the second straight month (103k vs. 96k) in the demo for the first time since October 2017.  New Day outperformed MSNBC by +7% among 25-54.  Early Start with Christine Romans and Laura Jarrett (5-6am) ranked #2 among 25-54 (70k), ahead of MSNBC’s Way Too Early (49k) by +43%.
• All CNN dayside programs (9am-4pm) beat MSNBC in both total viewers and the demo 25-54 including CNN Newsroom with Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto (10am), At This Hour with Kate Bolduan (11am), Inside Politics with John King (noon), CNN Newsroom with Ana Cabrera (1pm) and CNN Newsroom with Alisyn Camerota and Victor Blackwell (2-4pm).  
• The Lead with Jake Tapper topped MSNBC this month at 4pm  (173k vs. 99k, +75% advantage) now for the 26th straight month in the demo.  At 5pm, the Tapper-led program had a +81% lead over MSNBC’s Deadline: White House (185k vs. 102k) and has now surpassed them for the 12^th consecutive month in adults 25-54.  This month, The Lead at 4pm had its second largest advantage over MSNBC in the demo 25-54 since April 2017 (last month was the largest).
• The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer (6pm) outperformed MSNBC this month in the key demographic adults 25-54 (191k vs. 110k), posting a +74% advantage. The Blitzer-led program has now outperformed MSNBC for the 26th consecutive month.
• Erin Burnett Outfront (7pm) outperformed MSNBC’s ReidOut in April in the key demo 25-54 (220k vs. 126k), averaging a +75% advantage.   The Burnett-led program has now surpassed MSNBC for the 33^rd straight month. Erin Burnett Outfront was CNN’s highest-rated program in the demo (220k) in April.
• Anderson Cooper 360 (8pm) topped All in With Chris Hayes (217k vs. 137k) this month, now outperforming MSNBC for the 28^th consecutive month in the demo 25-54, posting a +58% advantage. AC 360 was CNN’s highest-rated program in total viewers (856k) in April.
• CNN programming at 9pm (includes AC 360 and CNN Tonight) delivered 186k among adults 25-54 and 732k among total viewers.
• Don Lemon Tonight (10pm) beat MSNBC’s Last Word in April (167k vs. 142k, +17% advantage) now for the third consecutive month in the demo 25-54.  At 11pm, the Lemon-led program had a +23% lead over MSNBC’s The 11^th Hour (134k vs. 109k) and has now surpassed them also for the third straight month in 25-54.

 

April Weekend Program Ratings

New Day Weekend with Christi Paul and Boris Sanchez surpassed MSNBC in both total viewers and the demo adults 25-54 during its respective time periods on both Saturdays and Sundays.  Smerconish topped MSNBC at 9am on Saturday mornings in total viewers (756kvs. 557k, +36%) and in the key demo 25-54 (139k vs. 55k) by an impressive +153%.   On weekend mornings/afternoons/evenings, CNN Newsroom with Christi Paul and Boris Sanchez, CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield, CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta and CNN Newsroom with Pamela Brown all outperformed MSNBC in each hour on Saturdays/Sundays in both total viewers and the demo 25-54.

On Sunday mornings, all CNN programs including Inside Politics with Abby Phillip (8am), State of the Union with Jake Tapper/Dana Bash (9am, noon), Fareed Zakaria GPS (10am, 1pm) and Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter (11am) outperformed MSNBC in April in both total viewers and the demo 25-54.

 

CNN Films and Special Programming

• CNN Films: Navalny  (4/24/22 9-11pm) was most-watched in cable news in the key demo 25-54 (254k) and among younger viewers 18-34 (57k), up versus the prior four Sundays by +105% and +148% respectively . In total viewers, Navalny ranked #2 ahead of MSNBC by an impressive +197% and was up +96% vs. the prior four.
• CNN Films: Roadrunner:  A Film About Anthony Bourdain (4/10/22 9-11:30pm) was most-watched in cable news in the key demo 25-54 (175k) and in younger viewers 18-34 (34k) during its time period, and averaged 814k in total viewers, easily surpassing MSNBC by +58%.
• Being… with Dana Bash: Barry Manilow (4/16/22 11pm-12am) delivered 313k total viewers and 59k among adults 25-54. 

 

(Note: CNN Films data represents most recent Live+3 and Live+7 blended data)

*Multiplatform Reach Source: Comscore Xmedia Total view Audience Analysis Report. Reach includes TV & Digital (computer & mobile). Live +7. Period: January 2022 (average monthly).

Based on P25-54, P18-34 & P2+.

Of note:  Nielsen’s month of April is from March 28, 2022-April 24, 2022.  Last April (2021), CNN had record ratings highs due to increased viewership from the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who was found guilty of murdering George Floyd. During that time of breaking news and as a news organization, CNN increased the most.  Therefore, it is not surprising that this April, cable news viewership is down vs. last year’s highs. 

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