As a gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen my fair share of ups and downs in the world of entertainment. The recent turmoil at cable news networks like MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN is a familiar sight to me – it’s like watching a game of Risk, where the territories keep changing hands every few years.
The alarming headlines concerning a particular cable news network’s dramatic decrease in viewers are causing quite a stir: Over the past few weeks following the presidential election, the network’s evening viewership has plummeted roughly by half, leading to numerous articles discussing the network’s apparent struggles.
2024 could see MSNBC on air, but so did Fox News in 2020, CNN in 2016, and a mix of all three in 2012. It’s important to note that the decline in viewership at MSNBC is indeed genuine: After the November 5 election, the network averaged around 661,000 primetime viewers, which is less than half of what they had in October. However, it’s worth mentioning that such significant drops in ratings are not uncommon after a presidential election. This trend appears across different news networks.
Ever since I became a regular viewer back in 2004, I’ve noticed a pattern: the prime-time ratings for networks like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC take a significant hit, around 38% on average, after an election compared to October of that year. This observation is based on an analysis of Nielsen ratings.
This year, Fox News has been an exception, experiencing a slight increase of approximately 7% in primetime viewership compared to its October average, following the election. On the other hand, CNN and MSNBC have seen significant drops with CNN declining by 46% and MSNBC by 52%. The primetime coverage of the presidential election on November 5th attracted an average of 42.29 million viewers across 18 cable and broadcast networks from 7 to 11 PM ET, according to final same-day ratings from Nielsen. This represents a substantial decrease of 26% compared to four years ago, which had 56.92 million viewers – the lowest number since Nielsen started tracking total viewers in 2000.
As a devoted news enthusiast, I must admit that on Election Night this year, the usual suspects – CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC – experienced quite a significant dip compared to 2020, with a staggering 31% drop in viewership (from approximately 21.43 million viewers to 31.13 million). However, it’s important to note that all three networks reported robust performance on their digital platforms.
Four years ago, following Joe Biden’s victory over Trump, Fox News experienced a significant drop in its primetime audience. Right-leaning viewers momentarily turned away from Fox News due to its early call of Arizona for Biden, causing a 49% decrease in viewership the month after the election when compared to October 2020. Interestingly, CNN has historically suffered the most post-election, with a decline of 50% or more in three out of the last five periods following an election. If past trends continue, both MSNBC and CNN might regain some of their viewers starting in December and further increase once a new administration takes office.
By March 2017, around two months into Trump’s presidency, CNN and MSNBC managed to recover a significant portion of their lost viewers, with MSNBC even surpassing its pre-election audience levels. However, it’s important to note that neither network is guaranteed a prosperous future. For instance, MSNBC may be facing an uncertain future due to its parent company Comcast’s plans to divest several cable properties. On the other hand, CNN has been experiencing a ratings decline throughout most of 2024, in addition to the challenges all cable networks face, such as cord-cutting and the ongoing rise of streaming platforms.
Regarding the post-election rating slump, they’ve each navigated through similar challenges on multiple occasions.
In the latest gaming world scoop, I stumbled upon an interesting tidbit that was published in the December 4th edition of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. If you’d like to stay up-to-date with such insights, consider subscribing by clicking here.
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2024-12-07 17:25