The Manila Times

CNN ratings tank during turnaround

NEW YORK CITY: CNN’s leadership is preaching patience even though thousands of viewers are abandoning the network during its attempted turnaround, with no indication yet whether it will be rewarded.

Cable news ratings are down across the board compared to 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was fresh in the news. CNN’s dip is most dramatic — 61 percent in prime time in March, with Fox News Channel down 27 percent and MSNBC off by 12 percent, according to the Nielsen company.

Fox averaged 2.09 million viewers in prime time in March, with MSNBC at 1.14 million and CNN at 473,000, Nielsen said. In the key 25 to 54 age demographic for advertisers, CNN is seeing some of its lowest numbers in decades.

CNN is a year into new corporate management with Warner Bros. Discovery, which hired exCBS producer Chris Licht to run the network. The chief goal has been to rebuild trust as a nonpartisan news brand after years of criticism by former president Donald Trump and his followers, at a time Fox and MSNBC have profited handsomely by appealing to specific points of view.

Licht’s biggest programming move to date, a revamp of “CNN This Morning,” hasn’t borne fruit in the ratings and has been beset by bad publicity, including cohost Don Lemon’s ham-fisted reference to a woman’s prime years.

Changes to CNN’s daytime look are imminent. Licht’s vision for prime time is months away, though, and only beginning to take shape.

His plans are to couple news coverage with hosts from different worlds, including entertainment, who can talk about the news without a specific partisan take. Licht is exploring several possibilities, and CNN is reportedly close to deals with CBS’ Gayle King and former NBA star-turned-sportscaster Charles Barkley for shows that will air once a week, although the network wouldn’t confirm that.

If Licht’s bet pays off, CNN will strengthen its reputation as a news brand while also attracting viewers who are now watching Netflix or HGTV — not just competing news networks.

As those plans develop, CNN’s prime-time lineup has largely been in flux after Anderson Cooper’s hour at 8 p.m. Eastern. The network has experimented with some interviews, events and subject-focused hours at 9 p.m. Eastern. They include talks with first lady Jill Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and town halls with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and one focused on the Ohio train derailment.

The news hours that follow, at least for now, are led by Alisyn Camerota and Laura Coates.

“Viewers are a bit confused with all of the changes, particularly in the prime-time lineup,” said Jennifer Thomas, a former CNN producer who now teaches journalism at Howard University. She said CNN needs more news that impacts viewers and less analysis.

CNN expresses pride in some of the efforts, while admitting some are duds. Last Friday, for example, only 295,000 people watched Jake Tapper’s interview with “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis. It was less than a quarter of the people who saw Alex Wagner’s MSNBC show at the same 9 p.m. Eastern time slot, Nielsen said.

David Zaslav, president and chief executive officer of Warner Bros. Discovery, delivered a pep talk to hundreds of CNN managers earlier this month to reinforce the message that he wanted to see a network focused on the news that didn’t lean any way politically.

CNN saw strong ratings under the leadership of Licht’s predecessor, Jeff Zucker, and Zaslav said he recognized that a more partisan approach could bring more viewers and money, but that “it’s not what I came here to do,” according to a transcript of Zaslav’s speech.

He said he hoped the network would be able to figure out what is working and what isn’t. He urged the managers to not worry about outside noise.

“Ratings be damned,” he said. “Let’s focus on who we are. This is our mission. This is our legacy. And this is our journey together.”

Foreign Business

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2023-04-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-04-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://manilatimes.pressreader.com/article/281934547211452

The Manila Times