CNN plummeted from the top to rock bottom over the course of 2021

The Daily Beast

"At the beginning of 2021, CNN was on top of the cable news world," says Justin Baragona. "The network, which revolutionized round-the-clock news coverage when it launched more than four decades ago, had finally retaken the ratings crown from Fox News and pushed its conservative rival to third place for the first time since 2000. Less than a year later, CNN’s viewership has shrunk—the channel is buried in third place, behind Fox and MSNBC after a series of controversies and scandals that ostensibly struck a blow to the news network’s credibility. In fact, just this past week, the network averaged a paltry 585,000 total viewers in primetime, placing CNN all the way back in 17th place among all basic cable. Worse yet, the channel’s 120,000 viewers in the key primetime demographic were only good enough for 31st place among cable stations. In other words, the future isn’t all that bright for CNN heading into 2022—and it’s not clear if there’s anything it can do to pull itself from the morass." As Baragona notes, the Trump presidency end its end delivered big numbers to CNN. "CNN’s 2020 growth was explosive, especially compared to its two main rivals," he says. "For example, the network’s total day audience in the key demo grew by 90 percent, compared to MSNBC’s 33 percent and Fox News’ 46 percent bump. In primetime, CNN’s key demographic viewership rose by a whopping 102 percent, and its total viewership in those 8 to 11 p.m. hours jumped 83 percent. After starting 2021 as the most-watched cable network, CNN is ending the year with just one timeslot in the Top 25 of all cable news shows -- the one previously occupied by the fired Chris Cuomo.