July #’s: “CNN Still Has A Long Way To Go”

Variety’s ratings recap: “CNN saw sharp audience increases in July as war broke out in the south of Lebanon. Net was up 29% in total viewers and 46% in the 25-54 demographic during the month — the biggest increase for any cable news network.

Fox News Channel was down 6% in total viewers and flat in the 25-54 demo. It suffered a more precipitous decline in primetime, losing 19% in total viewers and 16% in the demo.

Despite FNC’s declines, it still beat CNN handily in primetime, averaging 1.5 million viewers to CNN’s 864,000; CNN still has a long way to go before it can be considered a serious ratings challenger.”