Cable News Ratings: ‘CNN This Morning’ Debut Fails to Compete With ‘Morning Joe,’ ‘Fox & Friends’

The debut of “CNN This Morning” failed to compete with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” CNN’s new morning show earned the lowest total viewership and viewership in the cable advertiser-coveted 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen’s live plus same-day figures.

“CNN This Morning,” which airs from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, came in last place of the three cable networks in the early morning by drawing in a total viewership of 387,000 and 71,000 viewers in the demo on average. In the 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. time slot, Fox News took first place with 1.5 million total viewers and 236,000 viewers in the demo, while MSNBC came in second with 793,000 total viewers — doubling CNN’s total viewership — and 114,000 viewers in the demo on average.

The show’s premiere had a lot running on it, as CNN CEO Chris Licht handpicked the co-host combo of Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow and Katilin Collins to deliver a win with his morning show reboot. The early morning shows are near to Licht’s heart, as he emphasized his goal to “reimagine” mornings after taking over the position in the spring.

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In May, Licht declared that he wanted to make CNN “a disrupter of the broadcast morning shows in this space” — suggesting he wants to compete more directly with “Morning Joe,” a show Licht co-created in 2007 when he was at MSNBC.

The new show aims to improve CNN’s morning show ratings, as CNN’s “New Day” averaged just 414,000 total viewers — its smallest morning audience since 2015 — compared with 839,00 for MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and 1.36 million for FOX News’ “Fox & Friends” in the past year.

Here’s how early morning went down hour by hour:

In the 6 a.m. time slot, “Morning Joe” doubled CNN’s total viewership and viewership in the demo by earning 774,000 total viewers and 96,000 viewers in the demo. Compare that to “CNN This Morning’s” total viewership of 297,000 and 46,000 viewers in the key demo on average. “Fox and Friends” took first place with 1.1 million average total viewers and 203,000 average viewers in the demo.

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“Morning Joe” continued to double CNN’s total viewership in the 7 a.m. slot, though “CNN This Morning” edged closer to MSNBC in terms of viewers in the demo. “Morning Joe” received a total viewership of 766,000 and 115,000 viewers in the demo on average, compared to “CNN This Morning’s” total average viewership of 356,000 and viewership in the demo of 70,000 on average. “Fox and Friends” earned over four times as many total viewers as “CNN This Morning,” earning 1.5 million total viewers on average and 258,000 viewers in the demo.

As the audience for morning shows grew larger audiences at 8 a.m., “CNN This Morning” fought its way up, though still receiving the lowest total viewership and viewership in the demo of the pack. “Fox and Friends” came in first place for the hour, garnering 1.7 million viewers on average and a viewership in the demo of 246,000 viewers. “Morning Joe” came next, with 839,000 total viewers and 132,000 viewers in the demo on average, continuing its lead on “CNN This Morning,” which earned 508,000 total viewers and 97,000 viewers in the demo on average.

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