Jeff Zucker - H 2012
Getty ImagesCNN’s bad night ended up being part of a very bad week.
The cable news network suffered its lowest Monday-Friday primetime average in over a year for the week of Oct. 28 to Nov. 1. Averaging just 385,000 viewers and 95,000 adults 25-54, both key measurements marked CNN’s worst showings since the 20-year record lows last August when the network suffered particularly against coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
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Also the lowest-rated week since Jeff Zucker took the reins at the beginning of the year, it happened to coincide with a surplus of breaking news. In addition to ongoing coverage of the Affordable Care Act hearings, Friday’s shooting at the Los Angeles International Airport drove viewers to competitors Fox News Channel and MSNBC.
Easily topping all other networks for the week, FNC averaged 2.367 million viewers during the 8-11 p.m. primetime block. And in the targeted adults demographic, FNC’s 377,000 viewers nearly outrated CNN’s entire audience.
MSNBC, coming in second place for the week, averaged 683,000 viewers and 150,000 adults 25-54.
CNN narrowly topped sister network HLN in the demo, besting it by a margin of 6,000 viewers for the week after following below it (and CNBC) on Wednesday night.
