Despite being attacked by the President of the United States seemingly ad nauseam, CNN continues to draw significant audiences across the total day, 6 a.m. – 6 a.m. daypart.
The network finished No. 9 across basic cable in total day audience in November 2017, which marks the fourth consecutive month CNN has ranked in the top 10 among total viewers in total day.
The network continues to perform especially well among the ad-friendly A25-54 set. In fact, CNN’s daytime shows have defeated MSNBC’s for 45 straight months among adults 25-54.
Programs like Early Start with Christine Romans and Dave Briggs, The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Smerconish, Inside Politics with John King, State of the Union with Jake Tapper, Fareed Zakaria GPS and Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter all defeated MSNBC this month in the demo.
The network’s performance on weekends was strong in November as well. CNN ranked No. 1 in cable news every hour on Sundays from 1 – 8 p.m., 9 p.m.- midnight and 3-5 a.m.
But CNN was the No. 3 cable news network in prime time this past month, both among total viewers and in the key A25-54 demo. New Day also slipped to third in the demo behind Morning Joe in the cable morning race.
The network was predictably down double digits versus November 2016 in prime time, a presidential election month, but up +30 percent in prime time viewers and +30 percent in the prime time demo from November 2015.
The ratings for November, 2017 (Nielsen Live + Same Day data):
- Prime time (Mon-Sun): 855,000 total viewers / 301,000 A25-54
- Total Day (Mon-Sun): 690,000 total viewers / 228,000 A25-54
Here’s the press release from CNN:
CNN BEATS MSNBC FOR 41st STRAIGHT MONTH
IN NOVEMBERCNN Ranks Top 10 in All of Cable for Fourth Straight Month
2017 Pacing to be CNN’s Highest Ratings on Record and Youngest Audience in Nine Years
CNN once again surpassed MSNBC in Total Day, daytime and on weekends for the month of November among adults 25-54. CNN has now bested MSNBC in Total Day for 41 straight months in the key demographic 25-54 (229k vs. 211k), the longest monthly streak since 2010.
CNN also beat MSNBC by wide margins throughout daytime programming, averaging a +29% advantage in the key demo (244k vs. 189k). All of CNN’s daytime programs posted higher demo 25-54 audiences than MSNBC’s. CNN has now topped MSNBC during the daytime hours (9am-4pm) for 45 straight months among 25-54.
In addition, CNN easily outperformed MSNBC during weekend programming in both Total Day (191k vs. MSNBC’s 130k) and prime time (233k vs. MSNBC’s 133k). MSNBC ranked third in weekend Total Day and prime time.
In November, CNN beat MSNBC for 16 out of 24 hours on weekdays, 22 out of 24 hours on Saturdays, and 24 out of 24 hours on Sundays among adults 25-54. CNN ranked #1 in cable news every hour on Sundays from 1-8pm, 9pm-12am and 3-5am.
Key CNN programs such as Early Start with Christine Romans and Dave Briggs, The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Smerconish, Inside Politics with John King, State of the Union with Jake Tapper, Fareed Zakaria GPS and Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter all easily surpassed MSNBC this month, posting higher demo 25-54 audiences.
Among ALL cable networks, CNN ranked #9 among total viewers in Total Day. This marks the fourth straight month that CNN is a Top 10 cable network among total viewers in Total Day.
Of Note;
When comparing to a year ago, please note for context, the presidential election was last November where CNN had unprecedented and record-high viewership including the most-watched Election Night in cable news history among both adults 25-54 and total viewers.CNN Original Series and Films:
CNN Original Series continued to post strong ratings during the month of November:
• Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 10 (10/1-11/26/17, Sun 9p) posted its second highest fall season delivery ever among total viewers and adults 25-54. The Bourdain series ranked #1 among adults 25-54 across cable news in its time period, outperforming the combined delivery of Fox News and MSNBC. Every episode this season ranked #1 among 25-54 across cable news in the hour.
• This is Life with Lisa Ling Season 4 (10/1-11/26/17, Sun 10p) posted its highest season performance ever among both adults 25-54 and total viewers. The program also ranked #1 among 25-54 across cable news in its time period.
• The Wonder List with Bill Weir Season 3 (10/7-11/11/17, Sat 9p) posted its second highest season performance among total viewers. The Weir-led Original Series beat MSNBC in the hour by +56% in 25-54 and +6% in total viewers.CNN Films: Anthony Bourdain Presents: Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent premiere (11/12/17) ranked #1 among adults 25-54 across cable news in its time period.
CNN November Exclusives/Firsts:
This month, CNN correspondents and reporters reported the following news exclusives/firsts:
11/20/17 Whitefish is halting Puerto Rico power repairs, claiming it’s owed $83 million, By Leyla Santiago, Khushba Shah and Rachel Clarke
11/20/17 We surveyed 112 Puerto Rican funeral homes to check the accuracy of the hurricane toll. This is what we found. Leyla Santiago, John D. Sutter and Khushbu Shah
11/16/17 Exclusive: Steyer’s latest $10M anti-Trump ad buy takes aim at GOP tax plan, By Eric Bradner
11/16/17 First on CNN: New George H.W. Bush accuser says he groped her during 1992 re-election campaign, By Athena Jones
11/14/17 Rohingya Muslims risk lives to cross border, By Clarissa Ward
11/13/17 CNN Exclusive: Attorney for Gloria Deason, one of Roy Moore’s accusers: ‘We will never be quiet again. Not ever again’ By Don Lemon
11/13/17 First on CNN: Trump admin taking quiet steps on seizing border land, report says, By Tal Kopan
11/12/17 Binali Yildirim, Prime Minister of Turkey on former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn & extradition attempts for Fethullah Gülen By Fareed Zakaria
11/10/17 Exclusive: Melania Trump reflects on Asia trip and the past year, By Kate Bennett
11/9/17 CNN: Mueller interviews top White House aide, By Pamela Brown, Gloria Borger and Evan Perez
11/2/17 ‘House of Cards’ employees allege sexual harassment, assault by Kevin Spacey, By Chloe Melas
11/2/17 Exclusive: Carter Page testifies he told Sessions about Russia trip, By Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb
11/2/17 First on CNN: Ivanka Trump nods to ‘womenomics’ in Japan, By Betsy KleinYear-to-Date:
Year-to-date, 2017 is pacing to be CNN’s highest year on record in Total Day among total viewers and adults 25-54. 2017 is also pacing to be CNN’s second largest audience since 2008 in prime time among 25-54 and total viewers. New Day with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota, The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett Outfront, Anderson Cooper 360 and CNN Tonight with Don Lemon are all on track to have their highest adults 25-54 and total viewer deliveries on record this year.Median Age:
Year-to-date, CNN continues to attract an audience that is five years younger than Fox News and MSNBC in total day, and seven years younger than Fox News and six years younger than MSNBC in prime time. CNN is tracking at its youngest yearly median age since 2008 in Total Day, while MSNBC is at its oldest on record.###