No, Jason, CNN is not failing

My co-host, Jason Rantz, is trying to convince me that CNN is failing. He’s wrong. His claim is based on a few days worth of ratings from last week first reported by Adweek. It’s a narrative that right-leaning sites like Newsmax and The Federalist have jumped all over. The President has even claimed their ratings are “way down.” It’s dishonest. And I am saying this as someone who wishes CNN would tank. I can’t stand the constant alerts of breaking news, the smug half grin of Jake Tapper, and the man who squandered one of the coolest names of all time, Wolf Blitzer. However, they are doing just fine.

Here’s the truth:

They are currently 10th in cable ratings. Yes, Fox News is #1 (and always will be). MSNBC is thriving at #2. So, CNN is not performing as well as they are.

But…

The network just reported its highest rated quarter (Q2) in the channel’s HISTORY. Like, ever. That’s pretty good. That’s very good.

Here are some numbers (courtesy of Politifact):

CNN Ratings
Primetime Total Viewers
2017 Q2 1,055,000
2016 Q2 959,000
2015 Q2 560,000
2014 Q2 459,000
2013 Q2 666,000

Almost 400,000 more viewers in prime than four years ago. The figures are up in every single part of the day and in every single demo as well. How is that failing?

So while CNN is everyone’s favorite punching bag at the moment, the station is being hated on by more viewers than nearly any time in its history.

Fake news, Jason, fake news.

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