CNN’S HISTORIC JUNE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE MARKS CNN’S HIGHEST RATED PROGRAM IN 44-YEAR HISTORY
#1 US DIGITAL NEWS BRAND FOR 9 YEARS RUNNING AND #1 GLOBAL DIGITAL NEWS BRAND FOR 3 YEARS RUNNING
#1 ON CHARTBEAT’S MOST ENGAGING STORIES OF 2024 LIST; CNN HOLDS ONE-THIRD OF ALL TOP 100 ONLINE NEWS STORIES FOR THE YEAR
REACHES THE MOST VIEWERS IN CABLE NEWS IN BOTH KEY DEMOS
TOP 5 CABLE NETWORK FOR 5 YEARS RUNNING
NEW YORK, NY – (December 17, 2024) – Loyal and engaged global audiences deeply invested their time with CNN’s distinctive reporting and analysis over the course of 2024 across platforms, leading CNN to be the top digital news outlet in the world and a leader among all cable networks. As media habits change and the industry evolves, CNN is delivering essential news and information with distribution across linear (in over 200 countries and territories), digital and streaming platforms.
On television, CNN ranked again as a top 5 network in all of cable in Total Day among P2+ for the 5th consecutive year (#4 with 493k) and in the top 10 among P25-54 (#6 with 93k). CNN’s standing among cable networks has risen markedly over the past 15 years.For comparison, CNN ranked #27 in all of cable among total viewers in 2010, entered the top 10 in 2016, and first ranked as a top cable 5 network in 2020. CNN’s strength on television is driven in part by its broad reach, reaching 49.6 million total viewers every month in 2024 and 14.2 million per month among P25-54 – the most in cable news.
In M-F Primetime, CNN also ranked as a top 5 cable network in 2024 among P2+ (#5 with 800k) and in the top 10 with P25-54 (#7 with 181k). Among both age groups, CNN grew by double digits compared to 2023: up +24% among P2+ and +28% among P25-54. This marked CNN’s strongest P2+ performance since 2021’s historic levels. In M-Su Prime, CNN was a top 10 network this year (P2+: #8 with 719k; P25-54: #9 with 154k), growing +21% year-over-year among P2+ and +20% in the P25-54 demographic.
CNN was a top destination on television for the 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle, which helped to drive its strong primetime performance this year. In June, CNN’s Presidential Debate between Presidents Biden and Trump was not only the biggest program in CNN’s 44-year history, but it also changed the course of history (52.7 million P2+). For the August 2024 Democratic National Convention, CNN ranked #1 in all of TV among the key 25-54 demo (961k). Building on its election related programming successes throughout the year, CNN exclusively aired the first television interview with Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov Tim Walz, ranking #1 in all of TV among P2+ (6.3 million). Two weeks before election day, CNN’s Presidential Town Hall with VP Kamala Harris ranked #1 in all of cable (3.3 million P2+). On Election Day 2024, CNN posted its strongest Total Day viewership in nearly 4 years among both P2+ and P25-54 (2.1 million P2+ and 808k P25-54, best since the inauguration of President Biden, 1/20/21). Across TV, streaming and digital platforms, more than 44 million people consumed CNN’s Election Day coverage.
Viewers continue to rely on CNN in breaking news moments. During coverage of the Solar Eclipse, CNN ranked #1 in all of cable among P25-54 (304k). Then on the weekend of former President Trump’s first assassination attempt, CNN saw its best weekend prime performance since January 2021 among P2+ (Sa,1/16-Su,1/17/21) and since the outbreak of the Ukraine war among P25-54 (Sa, 2/26 – Su, 2/27/22).
This year, CNN Originals included a range of program topics that broke through and resonated with audiences. On Sundays, United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper and Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight registered significant double- and triple-digit audience growth vs. their respective prior 4 week time-period averages (Scandal: P2+: +91%, P25-54: +118%; Columbia: P2+: +53%, P25-54: +83%). Furthermore, Space Shuttle Columbia posted CNN’s strongest P25-54 viewership for a CNN Original Series since 2022.
On Saturdays, CNN’s new topical entertainment block with CNN’s airing of the HBO series Real Time with Bill Maher at 8p and the comedy panel show Have I Got News for You at 9p, grew their respective time periods by double-digits (Maher: P2+: +56%, P25-54: +10%; HIGNFY: P2+: +55%, P25-54: +38%). Maher also ranked as the network’s most watched show on Saturdays among P2+.
CNN’s digital platforms once again ranked #1 in the world and in the United States YTD with an average monthly unique user count of 147 million people globally and 117 million in the United States. CNN Digital maintained the #1 rank in U.S. unique visitors across desktop and mobile web in every month of 2024 YTD. In a US Presidential election year, CNN also registered as the #1 digital source for political news.
CNN.com’s highest performing story and video of the year was the exclusive reporting around a video of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs physically assaulting Cassie Ventura in a hotel in 2016.
Further, CNN again was recognized in Chartbeat’s annual list of Top 100 Most Engaging Stories of 2024. Claiming 33 out of the 100 stories, CNN had both the top story and the most stories of any brand/publisher on the list, which Chartbeat assesses by the total amount of time visitors spend actively reading a story.
On the Max streaming platform, CNN Max’s top 5 CNN programming days for the year include the 2024 Presidential Election (11/5), the CNN Presidential Debate (6/27), New Year’s Eve (12/31), the day after the 2024 Presidential Election (11/6), and the final day of the DNC (08/22).
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Source: Max Internal Data. Total Day 3a-3a concurrents.
TV Source: The Nielsen Company Panel Only Data. Live+7D blended with the best available current viewing types. 2024 To-Date (1/1/24 – 12/15/24).
Reach Source: The Nielsen Company Panel Only Data. Total Day M-Su 6a-6a. Live+7D blended with the best available current viewing types, In-Home Viewing Only. Reach 1 min qualifier. 75% unification. 2024 To-Date (1/1/24 – 12/15/24).
Digital Global Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Desktop & Mobile, January to October 2024, Worldwide Rollup, Custom-Defined List including BBC, CNN.COM, MSN News, Yahoo News, The New York Times Brand, CBSNEWS.COM, Fox NewsDigital, NBCNEWS.COM, USATODAY.COM, THEGUARDIAN.COM, NYPOST.COM, WASHINGTONPOST.COM DAILYMAIL.CO.UK, HuffPost Global, CNBC, The Sun, INDEPENDENT.CO.UK, ABCNEWS.COM, NPR.ORG, Bloomberg.com, MEDIUM.COM, MIRROR.CO.UK, CBC, TELEGRAPH.CO.UK, Sky News, VOX.COM, SFGATE.COM, EURONEWS.COM, CHRON.COM, BUZZFEEDNEWS.COM, VICE.COM NYDAILYNEWS.COM, Alijazeera Media Network, Epoch Times
Digital US Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Desktop & Mobile, January to November 2024, United States, Custom-Defined List including BBC, CNN.COM, MSN News, Yahoo News, The New York Times Brand, CBSNEWS.COM, Fox News Digital, NBCNEWS.COM, USATODAY.COM, THEGUARDIAN.COM, NYPOST.COM, WASHIGNTONPOST.COM, DAILYMAIL.CO.UK, HuffPost Global, CNBC, The Sun, INDEPENDENT.CO.UK, ABCNEWS.COM, NPR.ORG, Bloomberg.com, MEDIUM.COM, MIRROR.CO.UK, CBC, TELEGRAPH.CO.UK, Sky News, VOX.COM, SFGATE.COM, EURONEWS.COM, CHRON.COM, BUZZFEEDNEWS.COM, VICE.COM NYDAILYNEWS.COM, Alijazeera Media Network, Epoch Times.
Digital Mobile Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Custom-Defined List, Total Mobile Persons 13+, January – November 2024 monthly average, U.S. 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.
Digital Politics Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, News/Information – Politics, Desktop & Mobile – Desktop 2+ and Total Mobile 13+, January– November 2024 monthly average, U.S.
