Despite a busy news day of bad weather and the mourning of Nelson Mandela, Friday night was not kind to CNN and its primetime hosts Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan. Cooper’s AC 360 hit not just its lowest viewership and demo results for the year to date but its worst numbers since moving to the 8 PM time slot in August 2011. At 8 PM, the CNN show 
pulled in 255,000 total viewers with just 58,000 in the adults 25-54 demo, according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, Cooper’s lead-out Piers Morgan Live at 9 PM had its second-worst result all year with 252,000 total viewers and 56,000 adults 25-54. Overall, the Jeff Zucker-run network had its third-worst primetime result of 2013 and its worst Friday viewer numbers since he took over. Just 277,000 were watching the cable news network on average from 8-11 PM — that’s way behind Fox News’ 2.098 million overall viewers and 373,000 in the demo and MSNBC’s 493,000 and 112,000. CNN’s worst overall primetime viewership result came on November 28, when it had 256,000 viewers overall — and Cooper and Morgan didn’t have a show on. The cable news network’s second-worst primetime was October 28 with 259,000 viewers overall.
Related: CNN’s Jeff Zucker: “We Need More Shows & Less Newscasts”
The Cooper hosted-show’s previous overall viewership low this year was June 11, when AC 360 drew 294,000 viewers. The previous demo low was August 16, when the recently re-upped host’s broadcast had 59,000. The new lows are far behind Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor, which had 2.423 million viewers overall and 447,000 in the news demo Friday. AC 360 drew less than half what MSNBC’s usually struggling All In With Chris Hayes got with 557,000 viewers and 115,000 among adults 25-54. Looking back a year, AC 360 was down 60% in total viewership and 67% in the key demo from its December 6, 2012 performance. Morgan’s worst overall viewership night of 2013 remains November 25, when he drew 243,000. The show’s worst demo performance of the year remains September 23, when just 52,000 adults 25-54 tuned it.
Recent Comments
How long until people admit that liberal propaganda is no longer relevant or wanted?
So you’re saying only Conservative propaganda is “relevant” and “wanted”? Hardly. CNN’s problem is less about a so-called liberal agenda and more to do with an unexciting line-up of programs that are afraid to take a stand — Conservative or Liberal.
What’s not relevant or wanted is being in the bland, boring middle. Screamers at either end of the political spectrum is what’s in vogue nowadays. Whether you think that’s a good or bad thing is up to the individual.
They both hit lows because they both stink. Very simple.
Nothing insanely liberal about CNN. They need more inspired talk, maybe some specialty programming built around an issue or lifestyle. Zucker is a smart guy but one year in he needs something good to happen or Ben Silverman could….never mind
I would have thought Piers Morgan, albeit just a few eyeballs below Anderson Cooper, would have had the worst ratings and, I might add, deservedly so. Why does Morgan have an interview show in the first place when he doesn’t listen to anyone but himself. Watched Christiane Amanpour, a superb correspondent, and Anderson reporting this evening from South Africa. No Morgan on the scene.
Next, the Piers Morgan show came on here with Dan Rather as a guest. Morgan went on about how Mandela was “tough” and “hard” (There is, of course, a distinction, an important one, between the two, which apparently eludes Morgan) about Mandela. Then, Morgan went on about Mandela’s “forgiveness,” information Morgan apparently gleaned from the movie, “Invictus.”
Rather could hardly get a word in as he tried to explain to Piers about “reconciliation,” apparently another concept that eludes Morgan. Entirely disgusted and also flabbergasted by Morgan’s flabby mind, I tuned him out. No wonder Morgan is almost never at the center of the big story, but sitting on his perch talking at second helping, so to speak, guests. Of what value is Morgan to CNN?
This chap is no “perfect specimen” in either the mind or body. He’s a clunker. By the way I am quite certain President Obama, our first black President, was not overjoyed by Morgan conferring this title, “perfect physical specimen,” on him–even while discussing how Chris Christie’s girth could affect his chances as a Republican Presidential candidate. Maybe Morgan was confusing the President with the young Ali or the late Jesse Owens.
Both CNN and HEADLINE NEWS (not “HLN”) should just go back to hourly headlines and quit trying to daypart altogether, with the exception of Anderson nightly and the Sunday shows. All these cable channels start out great, then try to daypart and make shows to sell ads. And PLEASE ship Piers Morgan home ASAP. His numbers are worse than Larry King’s. When I’m in London, I don’t see American talk-show hosts on their TV. CNN should just deliver NEWS like they used to in the 90s. When something breaks we all turn to CNN first. Go back to that. Enough already.
Amen! Get back to news, CNN. None of these people speak with experience or authority. I find myself asking, “Why do I care what you think?” The news game is personality-driven, and it doesn’t take long for viewers to want to go deeper than the one inch these people can take us. Ted Turner was right — “news is the star.”
Well, conservative point of view is alive and well. Just look at the ratings for Fox news.
No one can be surprised about this. Ever since Jeff Zucker took over, I can’t watch CNN, nor can anyone I know. We all used to love the network, but it’s changed for the worse. I actually watch MSNBC, now, for the first time in my life.
good old jeff zucker…hes done it again
Give John Berman a prominent primetime slot. He is hugely bright,
articulate and experienced as a journalist. Jake Tapper is also excellent.
The vile Piers Morgan has destroyed the marketship of viewers it took Larry King decades to build. The endless verbal assaults on pop queen Madonna border on some strange fetish. The sexist rants about her toned arms to the stupid revelation that he tossed a bread roll at her that started their feud sound like a two year olds conversation. Can anyone really take this network seriously if this is the garbage they offer their viewership?
MSNBC Takes a stand and their rating are worse than CNN’s. These two networks refuse to report some news because of their liberal bias. Hiding the real news is just as bad as bad reporting. E.G. On the young blacks doing the knockout game. CNN reported them as young men. Not young black men. Afraid to make a black or gay look bad is one of the reasons nobody trust them.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire! Why wouldn’t you see what Fox is about first?