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Why Are Thousands of Viewers Abandoning CNN?

2023-03-30 21:07:32Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Why Are Thousands of Viewers Abandoning CNN?
CNN and the challenges of regaining viewership

David Bauder - Associated Press

CNN executives are urging patience even as thousands of viewers are abandoning the network as it tries to turn around the programming it broadcasts, but there is still no sign of whether its efforts will pay off.

Cable television viewership is generally down compared to 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine was in its infancy. CNN's decline is more dramatic, down 61% in March in the primetime slot from 9 to 11 p.m., while Fox News Channel is down 27% and MSNBC is down 12%, according to Nielsen. The latter provides analytical data on the audience.

Fox News averaged 2.09 million viewers during its evening primetime in March, followed by MSNBC at 1.14 million and CNN at 473,000, according to the Nielsen Company. In the key 25-54 demographic, CNN is experiencing some of its lowest numbers in decades.

For a year, the CNN television network has been under the management of the Warner Bros. corporation. Discovery, which has hired former CBS producer Chris Licht to run the network. The main objective has been to rebuild trust in television as a nonpartisan news brand after years of criticism from former President Donald Trump and his followers, at a time when Fox News and MSNBC have benefited greatly by appealing to an audience with specific perspectives.

Mr. Licht's biggest programming move to date has been the reimagining of the morning program "CNN This Morning," which, however, has not paid off in terms of viewership while also facing instances of bad publicity, including comments that widely criticized one of the hosts of the breakfast show Don Lemon about the Republican candidate for the White House Nikki Haley. He said the 51-year-old was not "in her prime".

Changes to CNN's daily broadcasts are inevitable. However, Mr. Licht's vision for the mainstream programming is months away, and is just beginning to take shape.

His plans are to provide news coverage with anchors from various fields, including the entertainment industry, who can talk about the news without a particular partisan viewpoint. Mr. Licht is exploring options, and CNN is reportedly close to deals with CBS' Gayle King and former basketball star turned sportscaster Charles Barkley for once-a-week programs. However, the network has not confirmed such a thing.

If Mr. Licht's project comes to fruition, CNN will strengthen its reputation as a news brand while also attracting viewers who already tune in to Netflix or HGTV rather than just competing news networks.

While those plans are moving forward, CNN's lineup of anchors appearing in primetime evenings has largely been in flux, following anchor anchor Anderson Cooper's 8 p.m. Washington time slot. The network has experimented with certain interviews, events and topics at 21:00. They have included a conversation with First Lady Jill Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as conversations between the public and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin or a conversation focused on the accident in Ohio, the derailment of a train carrying chemicals.

The newscast, at least for now, is hosted by Alisyn Camerota and Laura Coates.

"Viewers are a little disoriented with all the changes, especially prime-time programming for a broadcaster," says Jennifer Thomas, a former CNN producer who now teaches journalism at Howard University. She says CNN needs more news that affects viewers and less analysis.

CNN expressed satisfaction with some of the network's efforts, while admitting that some other efforts did not bring results. Last Friday, for example, only 295 thousand people watched journalist Jake Tapper's interview with the main character of the comedy "Ted Lasso", actor Jason Sudeikis. That was less than a quarter of the people who watched MSNBC's Alex Wagner at the same time, 9 p.m., according to Nielsen.

David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery gave a speech to hundreds of CNN executives earlier this month to reinforce the message that he wanted to see a news-focused network that doesn't lean toward a particular political wing.

CNN enjoyed strong ratings under Mr. Licht's predecessor, Jeff Zucker, and David Zaslav said he understands that a more partisan approach could bring in more viewers and money, but that "I didn't come here for that." ", says a transcript of Mr. Zaslav's speech.

He said he hoped the network would be able to figure out what works and what doesn't. He urged managers not to worry about the noise generated outside the channel.

"Let's focus on our identity. So who are we? This is our mission. This is our heritage. And this is our common journey," he said.

The question for Mr. Licht and his team, as it often is in similar situations, is "how much time do they have?" says Mark Whitaker, a former executive at CNN and NBC News.

If there's a lot of viewership, then there's a lot of revenue and more money to spend on the shows, Mr. Whitaker says.

The viewership of cable news shows is often driven by the trends and habits of viewers, who are drawn to personalities they know and trust, Mr. Whitaker says. In the first three days of this week, CNN had three different hosts at 9 p.m., Erin Burnett, Pamela Brown and Kaitlan Collins.

CNN has to wonder if viewers will lose the habit of following shows with different hosts as they wait for the network's true personality to emerge under Mr. Licht. There is not likely to be a new schedule for the most watched shows until the fall.

It doesn't help that many CNN viewers have long considered it a broadcaster that is mostly watched when there are big events, and now it's a relatively quiet period. An important test will be how many viewers will reflexively turn to CNN during major developments, where it has often dominated.

MSNBC, citing its biggest lead over CNN in nearly four years, said its viewers watched an average of 381 minutes a week during the first three months of 2023. CNN watched an average of 183 minutes during this period.

"They are fighting against the toughest enemy," says Rick Kaplan, former president of the CNN network. "They are fighting against the short attention span of the audience. They are fighting against the fact that we are a people so divided, so angry with each other, that if you don't reflect that anger, people don't have time for you."

Poor viewership "destroys the fabric of the network, if you produce great shows and no one watches you," he says.

Mr. Kaplan believes CNN has the right leadership under Mr. Licht, who has a strong track record as a successful anchor.

"If there is a good way, he will find it," he said.


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