CNN Closes Out October…Off The List Of Top 30 Cable Channels

by Steve Krakauer | 10:28 am, November 4th, 2009

We’ve written about CNN’s ratings drop in October, specifically in prime time.

Using another metric, it was made even more clear – in the final week of October, CNN did not crack the top 30 cable networks in prime time.

For the first time in more than two years, CNN fell out of the top 30 cable channels last week in prime time (total viewers). Fox News ranked 3rd, behind USA and ESPN, while MSNBC was 26th. It was the 43rd consecutive week Fox News finished in the top 5 cable channels in prime time.

In total day, FNC was #5, CNN #27 and MSNBC #31.

CNN has pressed that prime time is just one of many metrics the network uses to measure audience data. And that’s true. But seeing the network dip out of the top 30 for the first time in years is a telling sign something isn’t working in prime time – and it’s something that will have to be corrected to pull the network back into the top of the cable news, and general cable, ranks.

We’ll see what happens with last night’s ratings – CNN aired a largely election-focused prime time, even more so than FNC and MSNBC during the 8pmET hour. Will it translate to better ratings? We’ll find out in a few hours…

Click here to see the full ranker from last week.

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CNN, fnc, fox news, msnbc, Ratings

8 comments

Sarah says:

November 4, 2009 at 1:32 pm

Is anyone really surprised by this? Most people are disgusted by these douchebags as well as the vitriol and lies that msnbc puts out.

Maybe if they got rid of that felon, larry king, and that guy with the IQ of a nat, cooper, they could rise into the bottom 10% of the rankings at least…

patriotparty1 says:

November 4, 2009 at 3:31 pm

CNN was JUST TERRIBLE last year during the election. I tried to watch them, but each week they got more partisian and more partisian. They kept having the back stabbing Donna Brizelle on, and Roland Martin was just foaming at the mouth at anyone who even tried to say anything against Obama. Campbell Brown was horrible about Hillary. It was just too plain that the FIX was in with them.

Then what they did to Lou Dobbs. He USED to voice his opinions on his show and have good guests on. Then they told them no more talk radio hosts on any show, and now he says “to hear my views listen to my radio show”. I hope he goes to Fox like is rumored, then I will have no reason to watch CNN at all and I can just clear them off of my channel selection.

davidfbfla says:

November 4, 2009 at 3:48 pm

CNN has been doing news re-runs all day like Headline News used to do. I miss the old CNN, CNN International & CNN Headline News. What they are serving now is a lot of crap. Watch mostly FOX now, original, up-to-the-minute. I check in on MSNBC once in a while to see if Keith Olbermann is still ranting. He is a MUCH better sportscaster. He just drags MSNBC down,down,down.

TfT says:

November 4, 2009 at 4:17 pm

CNN still claims they do “real journalism” and they blame that on why they don’t get high ratings in prime time. But that is a lie, they do “real spin” in prime time and they need to admit it. CNN has gone down ever since Campbell Brown’s personal and vicious attack on Palin, then CNN lied about it. Anderson’s little “teabagging” quip didn’t help, and having Carville and Begalla on while they are working for the DNC is just plain stupid. Gergan doesn’t help either — they claim he is balanced, but he leans way left.

Unless and until they admit their problems, they aren’t going to solve them.

First things first — the fish rots from the head, fire the head and maybe they will see some better results.

thecanimal says:

November 4, 2009 at 4:37 pm

This is clearly a textbook case of cable news racism.

Richard Ravarino says:

November 4, 2009 at 6:06 pm

CNN needs to figure out that they continue to fail for the same reason as American newspapers. People can see through their propaganda. People are hungy for real news. CNN’s month-long plus embrace of the story of Michael Jackson’s death, a sad and pathetic individual, universally hated by parents across this country, was pitched as news.
Granted Fox was in on the action as well, but at CNN it was a downright frenzy. . . Especially the first few days after his death when nothing less important than the “Cap and Trade” bill sailed through congress with probably the same amount of news coverage as the founding of the Federal Reserve did some 90 years ago. . . “Yawn!”
There is only so much cotton candy people can be fed, before the sweetness becomes sickening and the body hungers for something more sustaining.

StewartIII says:

November 4, 2009 at 6:10 pm

ChickaBOOMer: CNN’s Prime Cuts
http://chickaboomer.blogspot.com/2009/11/cnns-prime-cuts.html

TexGEOas says:

November 4, 2009 at 6:44 pm

As long as CNN thinks James Carville and Paul Begala represent OPPOSING viewpoints, CNN will remain in the dumper. CNN is second only to MSNBC as a propaganda arm of the liberal agenda. When Joy Behar was hired for HLN, I’ll bet CNN’s ratings dropped another 10 points. NOBODY wants to listen to that kind of crap. CNN lives in an echo chamber and only hears its own voices. CNN simply cannot understand that viewers have brains and can take in GOOD objective news coverage and decipher it for themselves. FOX is the only channel that treats viewers with respect by having CREDIBLE guests to represent both sides. YES… we know Fox has opinion programming! But their straight news and overall balance is outstanding. It is not an accident that CNN has tanked. Unfortunately, they don’t have anyone who can correctly analyze their problem because they all have the disease. Look how they treated Lou Dobbs… the only thing good they had. Goodbye, CNN.

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