Since the 2024 election, ratings at the far left cable news networks CNN and MSNBC are way down. Joy Reid is even looking at a potential pay cut to stay on the air. It’s easy to see why.
These networks told their faithful viewers that there was no way Trump could win, right up until they were forced to admit on election night that Trump had not only won, but that he had won big.
Their viewers felt betrayed, and a massive number of them simply walked away and have not returned.
MSNBC is down more than 50 percent. CNN is down 45 percent. FOX News is the only cable news network that has gained viewers in the same period.
Post-election prime-time cable ratings:
MSNBC 54%
CNN 45%
FOX News 15%Nearly three out of four viewers of cable news are watching FOX. pic.twitter.com/jQ1uFJZG5d
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) December 26, 2024
The Associated Press reported on this today:
The differences are far starker for the TV networks that have been consumed by political news.
After election night through Dec. 13, the prime-time viewership of MSNBC was an average of 620,000, down 54% from the pre-election audience this year, the Nielsen company said. For the same time comparison, CNN’s average of 405,000 viewers was down 45%.
At Fox News Channel, a favorite news network for Trump fans, the post-election average of 2.68 million viewers is up 13%, Nielsen said. Since the election, 72% of the people watching one of those three cable networks in the evening were watching Fox News, compared to 53% prior to election day…
MSNBC’s slide is steeper than it was in 2016; and there’s some question about whether Trump opponents will want to be as engaged as they were during his first term. People are also unplugging from cable television in rates that are only getting more rapid, although MSNBC believes it has bucked this trend eating away at audiences before.
CNN and MSNBC are both slipping into the danger zone.
Even these ratings make it hard for cable providers to keep MSNBC and CNN even with the forced cable bundle. https://t.co/rWvIrF1hNd
— Kevin McKeever (@bankofkev) December 27, 2024
Turns out if you lie to everyone all the time, they stop tuning in. https://t.co/xvdoXr8CfC
— B P (Borimor) (@BBorimor) December 26, 2024
There are plenty of conservatives who no longer watch FOX News, so it’s impressive that they have been able to grow their numbers through all of this. MSNBC and CNN on the other hand, will be lucky to survive.
