CNN RECORDS BEST MONTH OF 2024, HIGHEST TOTAL DAY AUDIENCE IN OVER TWO YEARS
CNN’S LIVE COVERAGE OF THE DNC TOPS ALL NETWORKS IN KEY DEMO
TOP 5 HIGHEST-RATED NETWORK IN ALL OF CABLE
#1 DIGITAL NEWS OUTLET IN THE US
NEW YORK, NY— (August 27, 2024) — CNN finished the month of August delivering a strong performance among audiences across linear, digital and streaming platforms, marking CNN’s best month of the year on TV and the biggest total day audience in over two years among total viewers. Additionally, CNN continued to be a top destination for cable television viewers, ranking in the top five of all cable networks.
In August, CNN delivered its strongest Total Day audience levels in over two years among P2+ with 620k, its best since the start of the Ukraine War in March 2022. Among P25-54, CNN delivered its highest since the start of the Israel-Hamas War (October 2023) with 124k, ahead of MSNBC for the third consecutive month (124k vs. 123k).
Across all of cable in August, CNN ranked #3 among P2+, its fifteenth consecutive month in the top 5. Among P25-54, CNN ranked in the top 5 in all of cable. In M-Su Prime (8p-11p), CNN was also a top 5 cable network with 1.094 million P2+ and 242k P25-54. This was CNN’s strongest prime performance among both demographics in over 2 years, since the start of the Ukraine War in March 2022.
Compared to August 2023, CNN was by up by double digits in both Total Day (P2+: +13%; P25-54: +18%) and M-Su Prime (P2+: +49%; P25-54: +64%). For the month of the DNC, CNN posted higher year-over-year growth in August than MSNBC in both dayparts (MSNBC +8% in Total Day among P2+ and +13% P25-54; in Prime, +18% P2+ and +44% P25-54).
In daytime programming, CNN surpassed MSNBC by +21% (119k vs. 98k) for the 126th consecutive month. CNN was a top 5 cable network in the daypart with 674k P2+ and 119k P25-54, posting its highest levels since the start of the Israel-Hamas War (October 2023).
Further, CNN continues to reach the most viewers in cable news with 53.1 million P2+ and 15.8 million P25-54 in August.
Broadcasting live from Chicago, CNN ranked #1 in all of TV among P25-54 with 985k for the 2024 Democratic National Convention (8/19-8/22, common coverage block), ahead of MSNBC (963k), broadcast networks by double-digits (ABC: +29%, 763k; NBC: +51%, 651k; CBS: +87%, 527k), and Fox News by triple digits (+186%, 344k). Among P2+, CNN ranked #2 in all of TV with 3.68 million, ahead of broadcast (ABC: +8%, 3.411 million; NBC: +42%, 2.587 million; CBS: +65%, 2.228 million) and Fox News by +68% (2.184 million). In Prime (8p-11p), CNN averaged 893k among P25-54 and 3.463 million among P2+. This was CNN’s strongest Mon-Thu primetime performance since the week of President Biden’s inauguration (Mon, 1/18 – Thu, 1/21/21). In Total Day, CNN registered its strongest Mon-Thu average in over 2 years with 1.233 million P2+ and 285k P25-54 (best since the start of the Ukraine War, 2/28-3/03/22). On streaming platforms, CNN Max saw the 2024 DNC make up 4 of the live stream’s top 10 days since launching last fall and 2 of the top 5. On CNN.com, CNN also saw 2 million live video starts on our owned and operated platforms every day of the DNC.
Across CNN’s digital platforms, CNN once again saw the most unique visitors in the United States, according to the latest Comscore metrics. According to Comscore, CNN reached 133 million multiplatform U.S. unique visitors in July, retaining the #1 digital news platform ranking for more than eight years running. CNN’s lead in unique visitors was 18 million over #2 NBC News for July. July domestic data is the most recent Comscore data available.
In August, CNN continued to attract the youngest audience among cable news networks with a Total Day median age of 67 years, -3 years younger than MSNBC (70) and -2 younger than Fox News (69).
TV Source: The Nielsen Company. Live+7D blended with the best available current viewing types. August-24 (7/29/24 – 8/25/24). DNC Common Coverage Block by Day: Mon, 8/19: 10p-12:30a, Tue, 8/20: 10p-12a, Wed, 8/21: 9p-12a, Thu, 8/22: 9p-11:30p.
Max Source: Internal Data
Digital Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Desktop & Mobile, Custom-Defined List, July 2024, U.S. Based on CNN.com entity compared to a custom list of single brand competitors that are also in the News/Information Category. CNN Brand entity used prior to October 2018.