Since the Warner Bros.-Discovery merger became finalized earlier this year, much restructuring and downsizing has occurred throughout the company, including at CNN.
In late October, CNN CEO Chris Licht announced their “long-term plan will no longer rely on commissioned projects with outside partners.”
A scaling back of original projects is an about-face from the programming strategy of the past decade implemented by former CNN president Jeff Zucker. Among their past notable original programs were the documentaries Blackfish (2013), and John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020) and series like Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and United Shades of America.
Sunday nights have been a destination for most of these original shows, including the recent runs of the seven-part docuseries The Murdochs: Empire of Influence and the second season of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy.
The Murdochs, which premiered on Sep. 25 and concluded Oct. 30, averaged 428,000 total viewers including 72,000 within the key 25-54 demographic for its seven original telecasts, according to Live plus Same Day data from Nielsen Media Research.
Fox News Channel, the outlet helmed by the Murdoch family, was still more viewed than the documentary. FNC’s competing programs during that period in the same slots Murdochs had aired, which included The Next Revolution and The Big Midterms Show as well as a rebroadcast of their Sunday early evening show Sunday Night in America, drew 953,000 total viewers and 107,000 adults 25-54.
CNN’s six-part Princess Diana documentary Diana from one year ago (Oct. 10-Nov. 14, 2021) also outdrew Murdochs; it delivered 764,000 viewers and 129,000 adults 25-54. Both Diana (+35%) and Murdochs (+29%, thru Oct. 23) achieved similar percentage lifts in Live + Seven Day viewership, via DVR and on demand platforms.
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is one of CNN’s most popular shows and stepped in as the network’s global tourism show following the abrupt end of Parts Unknown due to the death of Anthony Bourdain. Its inaugural season was a ratings hit: original telecasts averaged 1.45 million viewers and 309,000 adults 25-54 from Feb. 14-Mar. 21, 2021.
Its current second season has not been as potent, although faring better than its Murdochs lead-out: from May 1 thru Oct. 30, 758,000 viewers including 137,000 adults 25-54 — down 48 percent and 56 percent, respectively.
The cause of those declines pertain to the network itself and the surrounding various news cycles. The winter and early spring of 2021 featured some of CNN’s most-watched weeks in its history, with the Capitol insurrection, the Biden inauguration, Trump’s second Impeachment trial and the midst of the COVID pandemic while the first vaccines were implemented. In that brief era, CNN had ruled all of cable.
But now, despite the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections, CNN has not attracted nearly as much interest (as indicated from the weekly averages listed below), and for a while, has relegated back to third-place cable news status in total viewers and a distant runner-up to Fox News in adults 25-54.
One slight non-negative CNN tidbit: Since returning for its recent episode run on Oct. 9, Searching for Italy has relatively matched its time slot competitor, FNC’s The Next Revolution based on adults 25-54 (Sundays from Oct. 9-30: Italy 115,000, Revolution 114,000).
Nonetheless, FNC’s Sunday 9 p.m. program easily bested Tucci in Live+Same Day viewers (1.19 million vs. 663,000).
As an aside, factoring the Live+7 figures for Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, its total audience substantially jumped 73 percent to 1.16 million per episode, as of Oct. 23.
NewsNation achieved some ratings milestones during the week ending Oct. 30. The nascent news outlet surpassed the 100,000-viewer average mark in prime time, all due to its most-watched exclusive event of its brief history: the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate debate between Democratic incumbent John Fetterman and Republican challenger and former daytime talk show host Dr. Mehmet Oz from Tuesday, Oct. 25 (figures listed in the rankings below). The post-debate analysis took place on Cuomo, lifting the already No. 1 show on the network to its biggest total viewers yet, with 214,000 viewers.
Cable news averages for October 24-30, 2022:
Total Day (Oct. 24-30 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.625 million viewers; 225,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.705 million viewers; 76,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.468 million viewers; 91,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.158 million viewers; 41,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.129 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.126 million viewers; 28,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.113 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.083 million viewers; 16,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (Oct. 24-29 @ 8-11 p.m.; Oct. 30 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.557 million viewers; 329,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.056 million viewers; 104,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.557 million viewers; 110,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.177 million viewers; 57,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.174 million viewers; 41,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.144 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.110 million viewers; 20,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.090 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.064 million viewers; 10,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 10/26/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.875 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 10/24/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.749 million viewers
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 10/27/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.703 million viewers
4. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 10/26/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.697 million viewers
5. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 10/25/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.651 million viewers
6. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 10/28/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.589 million viewers
7. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 10/26/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.495 million viewers
8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 10/25/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.474 million viewers
9. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 10/27/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.467 million viewers
10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 10/24/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.395 million viewers
34. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 10/24/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.160 million viewers
173. Situation Room (CNN, Fri. 10/28/2022 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.853 million viewers
201. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 617” (HBO, Fri. 10/28/2022 10:00 PM, 58 min.) 0.749 million viewers
339. Debate Night: Fetterman/Oz (NWSN, Tue. 10/25/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.470 million viewers
346. The Daily Show (CMDY, Mon. 10/24/2022 11:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.461 million viewers
348. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 10/30/2022 11:04 PM, 35 min.) 0.455 million viewers
367. Kudlow (FBN, Mon. 10/24/2022 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.420 million viewers
388. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1309” (CNBC, Wed. 10/26/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.356 million viewers
419. Forensic Files “Elephant Tracks” (HLN, late Thu. 10/27/2022 12:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.310 million viewers
709. America’s Morning Headquarters (TWC, Thu. 10/27/2022 9:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.161 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 10/26/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.556 million adults 25-54
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 10/27/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.550 million adults 25-54
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 10/25/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.519 million adults 25-54
4. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 10/27/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.467 million adults 25-54
5. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 10/24/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.452 million adults 25-54
6. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 10/26/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.445 million adults 25-54
7. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 10/26/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.433 million adults 25-54
8. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Wed. 10/26/2022 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.424 million adults 25-54
9. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Thu. 10/27/2022 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.421 million adults 25-54
10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 10/24/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.419 million adults 25-54
77. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 10/24/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.223 million adults 25-54
108. Situation Room (CNN, Fri. 10/28/2022 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.186 million adults 25-54
111. The Daily Show (CMDY, Tue. 10/25/2022 11:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.182 million adults 25-54
121. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 10/30/2022 11:04 PM, 35 min.) 0.166 million adults 25-54
262. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 617” (HBO, Fri. 10/28/2022 10:00 PM, 58 min.) 0.105 million adults 25-54
268. Forensic Files “Oily In The Morning” (HLN, late Wed. 10/26/2022 3:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.104 million adults 25-54
286. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1309” (CNBC, Wed. 10/26/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.099 million adults 25-54
324. Debate Night: Fetterman/Oz (NWSN, Tue. 10/25/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.086 million adults 25-54
580. America’s Morning Headquarters (TWC, Thu. 10/27/2022 9:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.042 million adults 25-54
595. Varney & Company (FBN, Tue. 10/25/2022 10:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.041 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
