CNN Closes Out 2025 as a Global Multiplatform Leader in News Across TV, Streaming and Digital Platforms
#1 US DIGITAL NEWS BRAND FOR 10 YEARS RUNNING; 122 MILLION MONTHLY GLOBAL UNIQUE VISITORS IN 2025
#1 NEWS BRAND IN MOBILE IN U.S.; PRIMARY PLACE AMERICANS GET THEIR NEWS
TOP 5 MOST-WATCHED NETWORK IN ALL OF CABLE FOR SIX CONSECUTIVE YEARS
NEW YORK, NY— (December 17, 2025) — CNN ended 2025 informing and connecting with audiences across television, digital and streaming platforms all around the world, underscoring successful strides towards a future-focused digital transformation. As media habits continue to change and the industry evolves, CNN’s trusted and fact-based journalism reached audiences where they are and how they like to consume the news in over 200 countries and territories, including in more than 379 million television households around the planet, on CNN.com, CNN’s mobile app, connected TV devices, audio platforms, social media and more than 40 partner platforms.
CNN is in the top two global English language news brands and reached an average of 154 million people every month in 2025 YTD around the world. It is also the #1 multiplatform cable news brand in the U.S. for the 8th consecutive year with 107M average monthly P2+ reach, 33% of the U.S. population.
On television in the United States, compared to 2024, which included a presidential election in the U.S., CNN consistently outperformed competitors in key dayparts. CNN finished the year ranking as a top 5 cable network in Total Day among P2+ for the 6th consecutive year. In daytime programming, CNN was #2 in all of cable among P2+ and #3 in the P25-54 demo, holding a rank within the top 5 networks in all of cable for the 10th consecutive year. For the second consecutive year, CNN also ranked in the top 10 of all cable in M-F Prime among P2+.
Further, CNN ranks among the top five cable networks across diverse audiences—including Black, Hispanic, Asian viewers, and those inside the Beltway. Among P25-54 viewers in Washington, D.C., CNN is the #2 cable network, second only to ESPN.
CNN International and CNN en Español are also available and enjoyed by additional audiences in markets and territories all around the world, which is not captured by Nielsen.
Continued Digital Dominance and Engagement Gains
Bolstered by the launch of CNN’s streaming subscription offering, CNN’s digital platforms saw 122 million average monthly unique visitors globally* and ranked #1 in the United States YTD with an average monthly unique user count of 94 million people for the tenth year in a row.** Amidst an industry-wide shift to mobile news consumption, CNN was the #1 news outlet in the U.S. in mobile visitors with 67 million average monthly users.***
CNN’s new streaming subscription tier gained the most new subscriptions on U.S. Election Day in November with robust coverage of consequential elections in California, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. The top five days in 2025 for livestream starts across CNN platforms were:
- Hurricane Melissa and the launch of CNN’s streaming subscription service – October 28
- Pope Leo XIV Elected as the First American Pope – May 8
- Inauguration of President Donald J. Trump – January 20
- President Trump’s Address to Congress – March 4
- U.S. Election Day – November 4
Content across all beats resonated with audiences this year regardless of format: video, text, live stories, subscriber-only articles and beyond. CNN.com’s most-read story of the year globally followed the breaking news of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, while the most-watched video was of the Oval Office argument between President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. The top subscriber-only stories that drove new CNN subscriptions include a feature profile of an atheist who questioned his views on the afterlife once he began taking care of the dying, a story about the mysterious deaths of 19-year-old twin brothers, and an interview with a woman who regrets leaving the U.S. to live in Germany.
Digital live coverage also took the form of live text stories that updated audiences with the latest developments during breaking news moments. The top live stories of 2025 were:
- Charlie Kirk’s Assassination – September 10
- Washington, D.C. Plane Collision – January 30
- Israel-Iran conflict; day after U.S. strikes Iran – June 22
- Israel and Iran exchange strikes – June 13
- Israel and Iran strikes; Trump announces ceasefire – June 23
Audience engagement with CNN’s digital content continued to grow through the year, with a 3% increase YOY in average multiplatform minutes per viewer and 7% YoY increase in average desktop minutes per viewer (January–October 2025 vs. the same period in 2024).**** CNN was also prominently featured in Chartbeat’s annual list of Top 100 Most Engaging Stories, with 13 out of the 100 stories, which Chartbeat assesses by the total amount of time visitors spend actively reading a story.
In August, CNN unveiled its new, refreshed programming schedule for the network’s domestic FAST channel, CNN Headlines. With more than 13 hours of original content, CNN’s FAST Channel reaches up to 30 million viewers a month. Since launching, viewership has steadily grown, with significant YTD increases in time spent viewing on CNN.com and connected televisions, as well as regularly crossing the 1-million-minute views per hour.
Breaking News and Events Drove CNN’s Top 10 Days in 2025
On U.S. television, breaking news around the world alongside big political events drove CNN’s best days of 2025.
In U.S. politics, CNN ranked #1 in all of cable among P25-54+ and P18-34 during primetime for this year’s Election Night in America coverage. This was CNN’s best primetime delivery of the year and the best since the 2024 election among both demos. Furthermore, CNN’s coverage of the Second Inauguration of Donald Trump ranked #2 in all of cable. CNN viewership also peaked during Trump’s Oath of Office and Inaugural Address, [RB10] with 2.023 million among P2+. The event had a multiplatform worldwide reach of 38.19M. CNN’s coverage of Trump’s Address to Congress in March was also among the most-watched in all of cable (#2).
Audiences also turned to CNN for a range of notable news moments this year, such as the papal conclave.When Pope Leo XIV was introduced and addressed the world for the first time, CNN ranked #2 in all of cable among both demos in the United States, with additional audiences tuning in around the world. The event had a multiplatform worldwide reach of 25.8 million.
CNN saw consistent strong audience engagement around the year’s biggest breaking news events. The top 10 days of the year in 2025 for CNN U.S. television were:
- Israel-Iran Airstrikes – June 14
- Inauguration of President Donald J. Trump – January 20
- President Trump’s Address to Congress – March 4
- U.S. Election Day – November 4
- Los Angeles Wildfires – January 9
- U.S. strikes Iran (Day two coverage) – June 22
- Israel-Iran conflict; U.S. strikes Iran – June 21
- Washington, D.C. Plane Collision – January 30
- CNN New Year’s Eve Programming – December 31
- RFK Jr.’s Confirmation Hearing – January 29
Top Destination for Live News Events, Original Programming
In addition to breaking news, CNN had a strong year of special programming that audiences engaged with deeply. CNN’s highly watched New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen was #1 in all of cable when the ball dropped at midnight on January 1 kicking off the year. This marked the event’s best performance in the time period since 2021.
Over the summer, the special live presentation of Broadway’s Good Night, and Good Luck was #1 in all of cable across the entire day among P2+ (2.011 million) and had a multiplatform worldwide reach of 7.51 million. Most recently, CNN’s second annual Thanksgiving in America special broadcast registered double-digit growth vs. 2024 among P25-54.
CNN also continues to find new audiences with its slate of Original Series and Films. CNN’s premiere of Luther: Never Too Much registered the best performance among P25-54 for a CNN Film since the broadcast of Navalny in 2022 and since Little Richard premiered in 2023 among P2+. It was up triple-digits in its time-period among both demos.
Kobe: The Making of a Legend was CNN’s top Original Series of the year among P25-54. It was up triple digits in its time-period vs. the prior 4 Saturdays among P25-54 and up double digits among P2+. Live Aid: When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took on the World was CNN’s top Original Series of the year among P2+. It was up double digits in its time-period among both P2+ and P25-54. Have I Got News For You has been a top 10 cable show in its time period since launch in September 2024 and season 3 rose in rankings to be a top 5 cable show among P2+.
Content and distinctive journalism across platforms and in markets around the world collectively delivered a strong year for CNN.
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2025 To-Date Linear Source: Nielsen, Big Data + Panel data. Live+7 blended with most current data, incl. OOH. Adult Swim and Nick-at-Nite Excluded from Total Day All of Cable Due to Only Airing in Prime Hours. Washington, D.C. All of Cable Claim Based on Panel Only.
Linear New Year’s Eve Live, Conclave & Good Night, and Good Luck Source: Nielsen, Panel Only. Live+Same Day, incl. OOH.
Linear Luther, Kobe, Live Aid HIGNFY S1 & S2 Source: Nielsen, Panel Only. Live+7, incl. OOH.
Linear Election & Thanksgiving in America 2025 Source: Nielsen, Big Data + Panel. Live+Same Day, incl. OOH. Prior years comparisons based on Panel Only.
HIGNFY S3 Source: Nielsen, Big Data + Panel. Live+7, incl. OOH.
Digital Worldwide Rollup Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Desktop and Mobile, Average Unique Visitors, January – October 2025, Worldwide Rollup, Custom-Defined List including BBC, CNN.COM, MSN News, Yahoo News, The New York Times Brand, CBSNEWS.COM, Fox News Digital, NBCNEWS.COM, USATODAY.COM, THEGUARDIAN.COM, NYPOST.COM, WASHIGNTONPOST.COM, DAILYMAIL.CO.UK, HuffPost Global, CNBC, The Sun, INDEPENDENT.CO.UK, ABCNEWS.COM, NPR.ORG*, Bloomberg.com, MEDIUM.COM, MIRROR.CO.UK, ELEGRAPH.CO.UK, Sky News, VOX.COM, SFGATE.COM, EURONEWS.COM, CHRON.COM, BUZZFEEDNEWS.COM, VICE.COM NYDAILYNEWS.COM.
Digital US Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Desktop 2+ and Total Mobile 13+, Total Digital Population, Average Unique Visitors, January – October 2025, United States, Custom-Defined List including BBC, CNN.COM, MSN News, Yahoo News, The New York Times Brand, CBSNEWS.COM, Fox News Digital, NBCNEWS.COM, USATODAY.COM, THEGUARDIAN.COM, NYPOST.COM, WASHIGNTONPOST.COM, DAILYMAIL.CO.UK, HuffPost Global, CNBC, The Sun, INDEPENDENT.CO.UK, ABCNEWS.COM, NPR.ORG, Bloomberg.com, MEDIUM.COM, MIRROR.CO.UK, , TELEGRAPH.CO.UK, Sky News, VOX.COM, SFGATE.COM, EURONEWS.COM, CHRON.COM, BUZZFEEDNEWS.COM, VICE.COM NYDAILYNEWS.COM.
*Digital Mobile Source: Comscore Mobile Metrix®, Total Mobile Persons 13+, Total Mobile, Mobile Web and App, Average Unique Visitors, January – October 2025, United States. Custom-Defined List including BBC, CNN.COM, MSN News, Yahoo News, The New York Times Brand, CBSNEWS.COM, Fox News Digital, NBCNEWS.COM, USATODAY.COM, THEGUARDIAN.COM, NYPOST.COM, WASHIGNTONPOST.COM, DAILYMAIL.CO.UK, HuffPost Global, CNBC, The Sun, INDEPENDENT.CO.UK, ABCNEWS.COM Sites, NPR.ORG, Bloomberg.com, MEDIUM.COM, MIRROR.CO.UK, TELEGRAPH.CO.UK, Sky News, VOX.COM, SFGATE.COM, EURONEWS.COM, CHRON.COM, BUZZFEEDNEWS.COM, VICE.COM NYDAILYNEWS.COM.
****Digital Video Source: Comscore Video Metrix® Multi-Platform, Video Type: Content, Total Digital Video and Desktop, Minutes per Viewer, January 2024 – October 2025, United States, CNN.COM.