CNN Faces Highs and Lows in Ratings as well as Competition

CNN's ratings are increasing in some areas while in others they are declining, leaving viewers and insiders in a tizzy.

According to an article on Variety.com, "The oldest, and by purist standards, the most prestigious cable news network, the channel's full, 24-hour schedule has achieved ratings growth of late, attracting viewers with an increasingly rare nonpartisan approach to news and information. However, CNN is losing ground competitively in prime time, where rivals continue to successfully carve out turf with strong, polarizing voices, including Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, the biggest ratings beast in the cable news game right now."

Following this past election year, CNN came in second in ratings behind CBS on the historic November evening where the United States elected its first African-American President, Barack Obama. Yet, the network faced radically dropping ratings in prime time during the first quarter of the year.

The Variety.com article gives a breakdown of just how much ratings have declined in specific demographic areas, "From January through March, the news net saw a 23% drop in its core demographic of adults 25-54 from 8 to 11 p.m., and a 10% audience drop in total viewers during that daypart."

With previous rival, Fox News, no longer a viable threat, it seems CNN's only competition is MSNBC, which during the first quarter, surpassed CNN in prime-time viewership among adults 25-54 for the first time since its debut more tha 12 years ago. Even Headline News is breathing down the neck of CNN in terms of ratings with Headline News up 64% in 25-54, trailing CNN.

"You have to give credit to MSNBC," says Carat USA media buyer Andy Donchin. "[NBC's Keith] Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are pulling nice numbers in prime time. I think the story is more how well MSNBC is doing as opposed to how not well CNN is doing."

Yet, it seems the bigwigs at CNN aren't the least bit concerned about the prime-time dip. They state that the channel's just-completed first quarter is the most successful they have had since the 1991 Gulf War coverage, with total viewership up 17 percent.