CNN primetime ratings plummet after Trump bump: Fall behind Newsmax

CNN’s Trump bump came to an abrupt halt.

In its three-hour block of prime time on Friday, the ratings-challenged cable network attracted just 335,000 viewers in average — putting it behind Fox, MSNBC and even fringe outlet Newsmax.

These shocking figures come just two days after CNN’s controversial town hall featuring former President Donald Trump attracted its highest ratings for two years.

The fact that the Republican lightning rod was given a platform to repeat his conspiracy theories, including his claim the 2020 election is “rigged,” led to an internal outcry as well as a backlash among its left-wing viewers.

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Anderson Cooper, CNN’s most watched anchor, appeared on air on Thursday to tell his angry viewers that it was their right not to watch CNN ever again.

Many of them seemed to have taken him up on his offer.

The Cooper-hosted edition of “AC360”, which aired at 8 pm on Friday, drew only 447,000 viewers. This is well below the Cooper’s usual audience.

Mediaite reports that the ratings continued to decline throughout the evening. At 9 p.m., only 293,000 viewers tuned in to “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace”, and just 263,000 watched “Who’s Talking to Anderson”. This was the lowest rating hour since the show debuted on CNN in September.

Fox News, CNN’s main rivals, won the primetime war with an average of 1.44 million viewers. MSNBC was second at 1.08 million.

Newsmax, a right-leaning channel launched in 2014 — more than 30 years after CNN’s founding — averaged 357,000 primetime viewers.

CNN spokesperson said that the surge in viewership seen on Newsmax is not related to CNN’s low ratings following the Trump town hall. He noted that Newsmax’s viewership has increased since Fox parted with Tucker Carlson in November.

Matt Dornic, a spokesperson for The Post, told The Post that “the phenomenon you have identified is not connected to CNN.” “Fox News’ viewership has dropped by double digits, as viewers are flocking to Newsmax.”

CNN did not fare any better than Fox or MSNBC in the 25-54 age group, which is a key demographic for advertisers. It only attracted 87,000 viewers.

It managed to surpass Newsmax in the demo, where it raked in 45,000.

Dornic stated that CNN is focusing on the 25 to 54 demo. This was up from the previous Fridays, while Fox and MSNBC both were down.

The drop in CNN’s rating after the town hall on May 10, which attracted 3.3 million viewers, illustrates the challenges that network boss Chris Licht faces as he tries to turn around the news channel since Warner Bros. acquired the company. Discovery gave him the job over a year before.

CNN reported in March a dramatic 61% drop in viewers — the largest among the three major cable news giants.

CNN ended April with a loss. This was the month Licht celebrated one year in his CEO role, and fired longtime host Don Lemon for making misogynistic comments on air.