CNN Sees Second Consecutive Month of Record Performance in February
Best February Total Day on TV Since 2022 Among Both Demos
Top Five Network In All of Cable for 14 Months Running
Subscribers Continue to Climb and Increasingly Engage with Live Content
Intentional Time Spent with Video Highest Since 2022
NEW YORK, NY — (February 25, 2026) — CNN continues to see a strong start to the year as breaking news and original programming draws engaged audiences across platforms. U.S. TV audiences were up double-digits year-over-year while digital platforms saw high live video viewership in February, underscoring how audiences sought out CNN’s distinctive offerings across TV, digital and streaming platforms.
On television, CNN delivered its best Total Day performance among P2+ since the August 2024 DNC and presidential election cycle. This marks CNN’s best February Total Day among both demos since 2022, when the Ukraine-Russia war began. The gains also extend to primetime, where CNN delivered its best performance since the presidential election cycle among both P25-54 (Nov-24) and P2+ (Oct-24).
CNN ranked as a top 5 cable network in Total Day among P2+ for the 14th consecutive month and in the top 10 among P25-54 for the 2nd straight month. CNN also continues to be one of the most watched cable networks in M-F Prime, ranking in the top 5 among P2+ (in the top 10 among P2+ for 14 consecutive months) and in the top 10 among P25-54 for 2 consecutive months.
Compared to February 2025, which included the early days of President Trump’s second term, CNN posted double-digit year-over-year growth across television dayparts and shows. This includes a Total Day increase of +14% among the key demo (from 83k to 95k) and a +31% increase among P2+ (437k to 573k). In M-Su Prime, audiences were up +28% among P25-54 and up +46% among P2+. February also marked strong P2+ month-over-month growth on television compared to January 2026 (+11%).
Across CNN’s digital platforms, February delivered elevated engagement, increased video consumption, and strong performance. Breaking news and key national, global, political, and high-interest sports and entertainment storylines resulted in the highest daily search audience since June 2025, while coverage of these topics drove the highest intentional time spent with video since 2022. Pam Bondi’s appearance before the House Judiciary to discuss a range of topics from immigration to the Epstein files on February 11 delivered the highest day for live viewership on CNN platforms so far in 2026, behind only the day of President Maduro’s capture. In addition, CNN Podcasts had another strong month, resulting in 18 million downloads and streams year-to-date.
The fourth season of Have I Got News For You, part of CNN’s Saturday primetime comedy lineup, is seeing its biggest audience in the series’ history to date. The series is up by triple-digits vs. the full HIGNFY season 3 average among P2+ and by double-digits among P25-54. In addition to being ranked in the top 5 of all of cable among P2+ in its time period, the season 4 television premiere alone was the highest rated HIGNFY season premiere on record among both demos. It more than doubled its season 3 premiere audience among P25-54 and nearly doubled among P2+. The most recent episode (Sat, 2/21/26) posted a series high, with the best episode premiere on record among P25-54 and P2+, ranking in the top 5 in all of cable in its time period among both demos.
In February, CNN and Variety also presented a special town hall event featuring Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey (Sat, 2/21/26) which extended across platforms with a worldwide multiplatform reach of 8.35 million. The TV premiere (7p-8p) was also in the top 10 in all of cable in its time period.
TV Source: The Nielsen Company Big Data + Panel data as of Sep-25; Panel Only prior to Sep-25. Based on Live+7 blended with most current data, including Out of Home Viewing. P2+ & P25-54 Average Audience (000s). Nielsen Month of February: 1/26/26 – 2/22/26. Adult Swim and Nick-at-Nite Excluded from Total Day All of Cable Due to Only Airing in Prime Hours.
HIGNFY Source: The Nielsen Company. Seasons 3-4 Based on Big Data+ Panel. Seasons 1-2 based on Panel Only. Live+7, blended with most current, including Out of Home. P2+ & P25-54 Average Audience (000s). Best episode premiere on record claim based on Live+Same Day.
CNN & Variety Town Hall Source: The Nielsen Company Big Data + Panel. Based on Live+Same Day, including Out of Home Viewing. P2+ Average Audience (000s).
Digital Source: Adobe Analytics
Podcast Source: Megaphone