Massive layoffs, a cancerous fake news crisis, and the humiliating (and expensive) implosion of its digital platform, appear to be the least of CNN’s problems. Because on top of all that, when compared to last year, the far-left cable channel has lost -30 percent of its primetime viewers and -23 percent of its total day viewers.
The viewership problems for the anti-Trump outlet are breathtaking, especially when compared to its competition. Throughout the week of February 5, CNN could only scrape together an average 674,000 total day viewers. During the all-important primetime hours, CNN averaged only 888,000 viewers.
Those numbers not only put CNN in last place behind MSNBC and Fox News, it puts the 24/7 Trump-hating channel in last place by a country mile.
In total day, the openly left-wing MSNBC averaged 972,000 viewers (compared to CNN’s paltry 674,000). Fox News, however, nearly beat both CNN and MSNBC combined with 1.529 million average viewers.
During primetime, MSNBC smoked CNN by nearly a million viewers — 1.747 million (compared to CNN’s 888,000). Fox beat both MSNBC and CNN combined with a whopping 2.605 million.
While the pro-North Korea CNN lost nearly a third of its primetime viewers, MSNBC actually gained in total day (+26 percent) and primetime (+22 percent).
While retaining its King of the Hill status by a wide margin, Fox’s audience dip was only about half that of CNN’s.
No one can argue that the news cycle is not every bit as intense in February of 2018 as it was in February of 2017. No one can argue that the population has declined.
So why is CNN imploding while its competition continues to thrive?
It probably comes down to a combination of fake news and hate fatigue.
To begin with, MSNBC does not lie to its viewers. It advertises itself as an openly left-wing network, while CNN — which is even further to the left than MSNBC — continues its ridiculous pose as objective and unbiased.
Worse still, CNN cannot seem to stop lying to its viewers. CNN chief Jeff Zucker has created a veritable Fake News Factory over there, a wildly hypocritical one that has undermined all of its reporting and moral authority. If you are going to pose as a news outlet, your reporting must have credibility. Nobody believes anything CNN reports, nor should they.
Lastly, CNN’s 24/7 contribution to the Climate of Hate in this country is not only dangerous, it is simply exhausting. No matter what time of day you turn the failing channel on, it is TRUMP IS HITLER and REPULICANS ARE RACIST and WORSE THAN WATERGATE and I’M OUTRAGED and I’M STILL OUTRAGED and CHRISTIANITY IS BIGOTRY AND HATE and GIMME YOUR GUNS and MOCK US AND WE WILL DESTROY YOU and GIVE UP YOUR FREEDOM TO CENTRAL GOVERNMENT and TRUMP IS CRAZY and and LET’S WHIP UP SOME VIOLENCE and, finally, LET ME LECTURE YOU ON DECENCY EVEN THOUGH I MYSELF AM A SERIAL LIAR.
Even if you agree with CNN’s monstrous worldview and appalling politics, the hate machine’s shrill and sanctimonious presentation is so hysterical, so neurotic, so smug and one-note, it is just not attractive to watch.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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