CNN Ranks As Top 5 Network in All of Cable TV in January

In the first month of this US presidential election year, CNN delivered a strong performance across linear, digital and streaming platforms. In January, CNN continued to be a top destination for cable television viewers, ranking in the top five of all of cable among P2+ for the eighth consecutive month. Further, CNN reached the most viewers in cable news in January among both P2+ and P25-54 (P2+: CNN: 42.8m, Fox News: 42.1m, MSNBC: 32.9m; P25-54: CNN: 10.8m, Fox News: 10.2m, MSNBC: 8.0m).

The 24/7 streaming feed CNN Max also delivered a solid performance, building off of the New Year’s Eve programming’s success with CNN’s Iowa Republican Presidential Primary Debate and coverage of the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary driving the live stream’s largest audiences in January.

On digital platforms, CNN was once again the most visited digital destination in both the latest domestic and global unique user metrics. According to Comscore, CNN reached 106 million multiplatform U.S. unique visitors in December retaining the #1 digital news platform ranking for more than 8 years running. Audiences engaged deeply with core coverage in addition to distinct entertainment content. CNN’s leads #2 CBSNews.com in unique visitors by 14.3 million unique users for December. Globally, CNN Digital also was the #1 digital news outlet in November with 148 million multiplatform global unique visitors, ahead of #2 BBC by 16 million. December domestic data and November global data is the most recent Comscore data available.

CNN beat MSNBC in Total Day, Primetime, Dayside, and Weekend programming in January. Among adults 25-54, CNN beat MSNBC in Total Day (+10%: 86k vs. 78k) for the fifth consecutive month and in M-Su Prime (+15%: 126k vs. 110k) for the fourth consecutive month. In Dayside, CNN continues to post a strong advantage vs. MSNBC, ahead by +30% (100k vs. 77k), the 119th straight month CNN has beaten MSNBC in the daypart. On the weekends, CNN was ahead of MSNBC in both Total Day (+44%; 62k vs. 43k) and Prime (+64%; 54k vs. 33k).

The CNN Original Series premiere of The Many Lives of Martha Stewart (Sun, 1/28, 9p-11p) ranked #1 in cable news among P25-54, +16% ahead of Fox News (71k vs. 61k) and +82% vs. MSNBC (39k). Among P2+, the premiere delivered 499k, +35% ahead of MSNBC (370k). The two-hour premiere was also up +86% vs. the prior 4 non-holiday Sundays among P2+ (269k) and +65% among P25-54 (43k).

CNN continues to have the youngest audience among cable news networks with a Total Day median age of 67 years, -3 years younger than MSNBC (70) and Fox News (70) in January.

TV Source: The Nielsen Company. January 2024 (1/1/24-1/28/24). Martha Prior 4 Sundays: 12/17, 1/7, 1/14, 1/21. Based on most current Live+7 data streams, including OOH.

Digital Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Desktop & Mobile, Custom-Defined List, December 2023, U.S. Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Total Digital Population, Custom-Defined List, November 2023, 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.