CNN fell to fourth place in primetime on Friday, just two days after achieving a rare ratings victory by hosting a town hall with former President Donald Trump.
Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, Trump aided the struggling network dominate its competition from Fox News, MSNBC, and Newsmax.
Mediaite reported a total of 3.3 million viewers for the New Hampshire town hall where the former president sparred with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
Fox News and MSNBC each attracted 1.3 million viewers, while Eric Bolling of Newsmax attracted 394,000 viewers.
CNN immediately paid a price, as many on the left were displeased that the network gave Trump a platform.
Conservatives did not reward Collins or her network by returning to watch the program without the former president.
Two days following the town hall, CNN fell to fourth place at 8 p.m. ET.
Anderson Cooper 360” attracted only 447,000 total viewers for the evening — behind even Newsmax, which brought in 467,000 viewers, Mediaite reported.
Monday’s tweet from the young conservative network celebrated its victory.
BREAKING: NEWSMAX smashes CNN in prime time ratings! Read more: https://t.co/XKw2LQ3gy1 pic.twitter.com/fHrBDytNa3
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) May 16, 2023
Fox News dominated the evening after “Fox News Tonight” attracted 1.3 million viewers.
Chris Hayes of MSNBC ranked second with 1.1 million viewers.
The Fox News victory must be contextualized.
Tucker Carlson’s position, which he held for more than six years, regularly attracted 3 million viewers before he was fired on April 24 without warning or explanation.
While 1.3 million was sufficient to position the network in first place for the hour on Friday, the replacement for “Tucker Carlson Tonight” drew a fraction of the audience that 8 p.m. would have likely attracted a few weeks prior.
Fox News is still adjusting to Carlson’s dismissal, which has led to an increase in Newsmax’s viewership.
Recent cable news drama has had minimal impact on MSNBC’s viewership.
More on this story via The Western Journal:
CNN has long struggled to compete with both Fox News and liberal counterpart MSNBC. CONTINUE READING…
