CNN continued to struggle in July, finishing fourth in the demo in primetime.
In total day the network drew an average of 128k viewers in the 25-54 demo, placing it behind MSNBC. However the network topped MSNBC in P2+ in total day, drawing 412k. In primetime the average was 146k demo viewers, and 530k P2+.
All are down substantially from last July (430k demo viewers in prime, 1.28M P2+ in prime and 232k total day demo viewers in July ’09) though the network notes that the coverage of Michael Jackson’s death and memorial service likely led to higher than normal ratings.
Total Day (Mon-Sun): 412k total/128k A25-54
Prime (Mon-Sun): 530k total/146k A25-54
One other note: in its release, CNN now refers to Fox News Channel’s commentary programming (“Glenn Beck,” “Fox & Friends,” O’Reilly) as “non-news” programs.
CNN’s release is after the jump.
CNN
TOTAL AUDIENCE
CNN: 88.0 million viewers Fox News: 78.2 million viewers MSNBC: 78.4 million viewers
CNN Digital: 36.3 million users Fox News Digital: 15.8 million users MSNBC Digital: 31.6 million users
HLN: 81.1 million viewers
*Based on Monthly Unique TV Viewers in July and Latest Monthly Digital Users (June)
In July, CNN topped MSNBC during the daytime (9am-5pm) in both total viewers and the key demo 25-54 and in total day (6am-6am) among total viewers. In head-to-head comparisons with MSNBC’s daytime non-opinion programming – CNN had a 62% advantage among total viewers (475k vs. 294k) and a 36% lead among 25-54 viewers (131k vs. 96k). MSNBC placed fourth every hour of daytime in the demo 25-54, except at 3p where they placed third behind Rick’s List. At 4p, Dylan Ratigan placed fourth. At 5p Hardball (120k) was third behind CNN’s Situation Room (159k) in the key demo 25-54. In total day among total viewers, CNN had 412k vs. MSNBC’s 390k.
Both FNC’s news and non-news programs posted substantial audience loss when comparing July to their peak in January 2010, with the network’s audience dropping off by 20-33% every hour during the day in the demo 25-54. FNC’s non-news program Fox and Friends was down 21%, Your World with Cavuto was down 33%, Glenn Beck was off 33%, The O’Reilly Factor declined 26%, Hannity lost 29% of its audience and On the Record was down 29%. Other double-digit demo losses included the 9a hour (-26%), 10a (-20%), 11a (-27%), Noon (-32%), 1p (-26%), 2p (-26%), 3p (-30%), 6p (-32%) and 7p (-32%).
(Please note that when comparing this July (2010) to a year ago (2009), viewership for CNN was exceedingly high then due to the news of Michael Jackson’s death and memorial.)
CNN Digital
Traffic
CNN Digital remained No. 1 among ALL Global News & Current Event sites in several key metrics, beating sites such as MSNBC Digital, Yahoo! News and Fox News Digital.
* No. 1 in Total Usage Minutes: 850 million minutes, 303 million more than No. 2 MSNBC Digital and 333 million more than No. 3 Yahoo! News.
* No. 1 in Time Per Person: 23.4 minutes, the highest time spent among the top 20 News and Information sites. (Source: Nielsen Online Netview, June-10).
* No. 1 in Page Views: 1.3 billion page views, 92% ahead of No. 2 MSNBC Digital and 100% more than No. 3 Yahoo! News. (Source: Nielsen Online Netview, June-10).
No. 1 in Audience among all TV News Sites: When compared to its TV News competition, CNN Digital topped them all in terms of unique audience. With 36.3 million unique visitors in June, CNN Digital’s audience was 15% larger than MSNBC Digital (31.6 million); 130% larger than Fox News Digital (15.8 million); 204% larger than ABC News Digital (11.9 million) and 285% larger than CBS Digital (9.4 million).
Video
CNN Digital is No. 1 among ALL News and Information Properties in video for June.
No. 1 in Video Streams: 118 million stream, beating No. 2 MSNBC Digital by 3 million streams and No. 3 Yahoo! News by 47 million streams. CNN Digital increased video streams 14% over last June. (Source: Nielsen VideoCensus, StreamCensus Global, June 2010.)
No. 1 in Streams Per Visitor: 11.1 streams per visitor, more than any other property in the Top 20 of the News and Information category based on reach. (Source: Nielsen Online VideoCensus, June 2010.)
Mobile
CNN Digital is No. 1 in Mobile in news and current events for the 41st consecutive month.
With 14.5 million unique visitors to its mobile site in May, an increase of 26% over last May, CNN Digital beat the nearest competitor, Fox News Digital, by 69%. (Source: Nielsen Mobile MediaView – May 2010)
June Yields Most Live Video Streams in 2010 for CNN.com
In June, the oil spill disaster in the Gulf brought enormous traffic to CNN.com, including the most live video plays in 2010. The site served 13 million live video streams in June, a 214% increase over the prior 6-month average, due in large part to a continuous live stream from an underwater camera in the Gulf. In addition to video, CNN.com’s oil spill coverage generated more than 37 million page views, and users have submitted nearly 3,000 iReports with more than 200 vetted for use on CNN in June.