CNN's recent special about First Lady Jill Biden managed to draw fewer viewers during the crucial 9 p.m. primetime hour than what the channel normally averages as they continue to struggle in ratings.
Fox News reports "Jill Biden Abroad," which featured an interview with CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz, dropped a staggering 43 percent of viewers of CNN’s average 2023 9 p.m. viewership:
'Jill Biden Abroad' averaged a dismal 368,000 total viewers compared to 2.7 million for Fox News’ 'Hannity' and 2.3 million for MSNBC’s 'The Rachel Maddow Show,' which both aired in the same time slot. It was CNN’s worst weekday performance at 9 p.m. since June 17, 2022, with the exception of Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
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CNN’s 'Jill Biden Abroad' didn’t perform much better among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, averaging only 84,000 viewers among the key category to lose 42% of the network’s 2023 year-to-date average 9 p.m. viewership. On the same evening, 'Hannity' averaged 322,000 demo viewers and 'Maddow' managed 219,000.
CNN has been unable to secure consistent programing for their 9 p.m. hour after demoting host Don Lemon to its morning show as part of a rebrand under CEO Chris Licht. Even with moving Lemon to the morning rush hour slots, alongside Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow, "CNN This Morning" dropped to its lowest level of viewers, both in total average and in the critical 25-54 age demographic, since it was launched last fall.
Last month, it only managed to bring in 360,000 average total viewers and 73,000 average viewers in the 25-54 age demographic.