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How do CNN's ratings compare to other news networks with perceived liberal or conservative leanings?
Executive Summary
CNN’s linear cable‑news ratings trail Fox News and generally sit below MSNBC in total primetime audience but often outperform MSNBC in the key adults 25–54 demo; CNN’s primetime demo strength contrasts with its weaker total‑day footprint. Recent quarter‑by‑quarter Nielsen snapshots show Fox dominating overall viewership, MSNBC and CNN vying for second depending on metric, and CNN demonstrating relative stability even when its raw audience is smaller [1] [2] [3].
1. What the source material claims — a blunt extraction of the headlines
The supplied analyses consistently claim that Fox News leads cable‑news ratings by a wide margin, owning most of the Top‑15 programs and delivering multi‑million primetime audiences, while CNN lags behind in total viewers but sometimes beats MSNBC in the adults 25–54 demo. One dataset reports CNN’s top series averaging modest audiences—Anderson Cooper 360 at roughly 616,000 viewers and NewsNight at 111,000 in the demo—and asserts Fox placed 14 of the Top 15 shows [4]. Quarterly Nielsen snapshots repeat a pattern: Fox at roughly 2.4–3.0 million primetime viewers, MSNBC around 0.8–1.26 million, and CNN near the 0.5–0.7 million band, with CNN occasionally outperforming MSNBC in the demo but not in total viewers [1] [2] [5].
2. Quarter‑by‑quarter Nielsen picture — winners, losers, and the important demos
The Q3 2025 snapshot shows Fox leading primetime with about 2.48 million viewers and 243,000 in the 25–54 demo, MSNBC at roughly 802,000 and 66,000 demo, and CNN at 538,000 and 87,000 demo; CNN therefore placed second in the primetime demo but third in total viewers [1]. Q2 2025 numbers tell a similar story with Fox at 2.63 million primetime and 304,000 demo, MSNBC at 1.01 million and 91,000 demo, and CNN at 538,000 and 105,000 demo; CNN’s demo results improved but it remained well behind Fox in raw audience [2]. These figures show a persistent Fox advantage in scale and CNN’s relative strength in the advertiser‑valued demo even when overall reach is smaller, a distinction that matters to networks and advertisers alike [1] [2].
3. Trend lines: growth, decline, and relative stability across quarters
Quarterly comparisons in the provided analyses show divergent trajectories: Fox posted notable gains year‑over‑year in some periods, while CNN’s totals sometimes fell modestly and at other times rose—one report lists CNN primetime at 707,000 with a 20% year‑over‑year increase, while other quarters show declines of single digits [5] [3]. MSNBC experienced sharper declines in several snapshots, dropping double‑digit percentages in primetime and total‑day audiences in at least one report [3]. Importantly, one Q3 analysis highlighted CNN as the only major network not to lose primetime total viewers that quarter, signaling relative stability even when absolute numbers remain lower than Fox and intermittently below MSNBC [1].
4. Program‑level rankings — the Top‑15 reality and what it reveals
At the program level, the materials emphasize Fox’s dominance: one source reports 14 of the Top 15 shows across total viewers and the key demo were Fox programs, with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow as the lone non‑Fox entrant [4]. CNN’s flagship programs appear much lower in the rankings; Anderson Cooper 360’s 616,000 average and Abby Phillip’s NewsNight demo of 111,000 did not crack the Top 15 in that compilation [4]. This program‑level disparity explains why Fox converts network‑level scale into concentrated marquee shows that attract highest cumulative audiences, whereas CNN’s viewership is more dispersed across multiple, lower‑ranking programs [4] [1].
5. Digital traffic and bias context — audience reach beyond cable
AllSides’ analyses of web traffic indicate that lean‑Left outlets, including CNN, register among the most‑visited news sites, often outpacing many conservative outlets in online visits and overall digital reach; left‑leaning sites collectively logged substantially more visits than right‑leaning sites in past measurements [6]. The AllSides media‑bias framework also underscores that perceived political lean matters for audience segmentation: bias ratings and web traffic don’t map perfectly onto linear TV ratings, but they show that CNN’s online footprint can be large even while linear cable audiences are smaller than Fox’s [7] [6]. That divergence highlights different consumption habits across platforms and age cohorts.
6. Missing pieces, methodological caveats, and what to watch next
The supplied analyses rely primarily on Nielsen Live+Same‑Day cable ratings and site‑traffic snapshots; they do not fully account for streaming, delayed viewing, or platform cross‑pollination that can materially change a network’s total audience picture. Some reports present slightly different period baselines and sample definitions, producing variation in CNN’s relative standing [1] [2] [5]. Advertisers and analysts should therefore treat linear ratings as an important but incomplete metric, and monitor combined linear + streaming audience releases and month‑over‑month trends to see whether CNN’s demo strength translates into sustainable reach or if Fox’s scale continues to widen the gap [1] [2].