NEW YORK, NY – (April 30, 2024) – CNN brought in strong audience numbers across television, streaming and digital platforms in April, ranking in the top 5 of the most watched networks in all of cable, marking the 11th consecutive month in the Top 5 for P2+. Among adults 25-54, CNN ranked in the Top 10 among all cable networks in April. CNN also reached the most viewers in cable news in April among both P2+ and P25-54 (P2+: CNN: 42.7m, Fox News: 40.4m, MSNBC: 31.6m; P25-54: CNN: 11.2m, Fox News: 9.8m, MSNBC: 7.6m). Further, CNN grew the most month-over-month in cable news among P2+ (+9% vs. -3% FXNC & +4% MSNBC) and P25-54 (+4% vs. -1% FXNC vs. +3% MSNBC). This strong linear performance is in addition to the growing audience on CNN Max and consistently strong audience engagement across CNN’s digital platforms.
Audiences continued to turn to CNN when both international and national news broke and during the big cultural moments. CNN’s coverage of the 2024 Solar Eclipse (Mon, 4/8, 1p-4p) ranked #1 in all of cable among P25-54 (304k), +45% ahead of FXNC (210k) and +155% ahead of MSNBC (119k). It was #2 among P2+ in all of cable (1.536m), +75% ahead of MSNBC (878k). CNN’s coverage of the eclipse on Max also saw CNN Max’s second-best day since the beta debuted last fall.
When news broke that Iran launched a surprise missile attack on Israel (Sat, 4/13, 4p-8p), audiences came to CNN. CNN ranked #1 in cable news and #2 in all of cable with 197k among P25-54, ahead of Fox News (193k) and nearly double MSNBC (101k). Among P2+, CNN ranked #2 in all of cable with 921k, +18% ahead of MSNBC (778k).
CNNs coverage of the 2024 White House Correspondents’ Dinner (Sat, 4/27, 8p-11p) ranked #1 in cable news and #2 in all of cable with 1.374 million total viewers, +22% ahead of Fox News (1.128 million) and +40% vs. MSNBC (979k).Further, the event grew +18% vs. CNN’s 2023 broadcast (1.162 million). Among P25-54, CNN ranked #1 in cable news with 185k, +67% ahead of Fox News (111k) and more than doubling MSNBC in the time period (81k).
Acclaimed programming from CNN Originals also continued to consistently deliver high audience engagement and results across platforms. Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight (Sun, 4/7-4/14, 9p-11p) ranked #1 in cable news among P25-54 with 157k, ahead of Fox News by +54% (102k) and more than three times MSNBC (47k). It delivered 784k among P2+, +54% ahead of MSNBC (508k). This was the strongest P25-54 performance for a CNN Original Series since season 2 of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy in 2022.
The two-episode premiere of How It Really Happened season 8 (Sun, 4/28, 9p-11p) ranked #1 in cable news among P25-54 with 116k, ahead of Fox News by +50% (77k) and more than five times MSNBC (22k). Among P2+, the season premiere was +148% ahead of MSNBC (666k vs. 269k).
On Max, the CNN FlashDoc Call Me Country: Beyonce & Nashville’s Renaissanceposted the 2nd best start for any CNN title since CNN Max launched, behind only CNN Films’ Chowchilla.
Across CNN’s digital platforms, CNN once again saw the most unique visitors in both the United States and globally in news online, according to the latest Comscore metrics. According to Comscore, CNN reached 116 million multiplatform U.S. unique visitors in March, retaining the #1 digital news platform ranking for more than eight years running. CNN’s lead in unique visitors ahead of #2 CBS News is 12.4 million unique users for March. Globally, CNN also was the #1 digital news outlet in February with 138 million multiplatform global unique visitors, ahead of #2 BBC by 2.5 million. March domestic data and February global data is the most recent Comscore data available.
CNN continued to have the youngest audience among cable news networks in April with a Total Day median age of 68 years, -2 years younger than MSNBC (70) and -1 year vs. Fox News (69).
TV Source: The Nielsen Company. April (4/1/24-4/28/24). Based on most current Live+7 data streams, including OOH. Reach: Monthly Average, 75% Unification, 1-Minute Qualifier.
Digital Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Desktop & Mobile, Custom-Defined List, March 2024, U.S. Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Desktop & Mobile, Custom-Defined List, February 2024, Global. Based on CNN.com entity compared to a custom list of single brand competitors that are also in the News/Information Category. CNN Brand entity used prior to October 2018.
Max Source: Internal Data. Eclipse claim based on Total Day (3a-3a) unique subscribers (30 second qualifier). Beyonce based on first 3 days (Fri, 4/26 – Sun, 4/28). Based on unique subscribers (2+ minute qualifier).
