All in all, CNN viewers would rather watch Don Lemon than Beto O’Rourke. The network’s hour-long town hall with the Texas congressman and Democratic presidential candidate drifted to a distant third-place finish in Tuesday night’s cable news ratings–and was down significantly from the network’s average Tuesday night ratings delivery.
According to ratings data compiled by Nielsen, the O’Rourke town hall delivered a total audience of 714,000 viewers, while MSNBC and Fox News Channel both exceeded two million viewers in the same time period: 2.196 million for MSNBC and 2.260 million for top-rated Fox News.
CNN’s ratings delivery was down nearly 30% compared to its average Tuesday night, which over the last few months has typically reached more than one million viewers. O’Rourke even failed to exceed the audience that watched a CNN town hall featuring third-tier candidate John Hickenlooper, which drew 745,000 viewers in March. The lowest-rated town hall so far this cycle was CNN’s event with Julian Castro, which reached just 654,000 viewers in April.
Madagascar’s president flees country following Gen Z protests
Ellen Greenberg’s controversial death ruled suicide again, new report ‘deeply flawed’ says lawyer
Jeffries tells Lawler to ‘keep your mouth shut’ as shutdown sparks Capitol Hill confrontations
Ex-Louisiana Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards says he won’t run for Senate
Man Charged with Killing His Daughter’s Alleged Rapist Launches Campaign for County Sheriff
Witkoff family to host fundraiser for Nate Morris, Ramaswamy to speak
Watch: Trump-Macron Handshake Turns Into a Grappling Session at Gaza Peace Summit
Investigators release video of possible abduction, showing woman screaming as she’s pulled away
Thune draws flak for ‘Native American Day’ post
Pakistan announces intention for second Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Trump over Gaza ceasefire role
Mamdani breaks silence on freed Israeli hostages in statement that doesn’t mention Trump
Trump Likened to Ancient Biblical Ruler Who Came to Aid of Israel, As Hostages Released, Peace Deal Signed
Ciattarelli team blasts opponent over ‘slanderous’ claim he profited from opioid deaths
North Carolina GOP plans vote on redrawing state’s House map
PepsiCo Announces ‘MAHA’ Makeovers for Doritos and Cheetos
Among viewers 25-54, the demographic group most valued by national advertisers, CNN’s O’Rourke town hall had 194,000 viewers, down 38% from its average Tuesday night delivery of 313,000. In the demo, Fox News finished first with 362,000 viewers, followed by MSNBC (315,000).
The poor ratings will raise questions about O’Rourke’s ability to generate buzz in a crowded field, but also about the debate among Democrats over the wisdom of going where the viewers are and appearing on Fox News. Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren recently announced she would not accept an offer to appear in a Fox town hall, while candidates like Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg have reached large audiences on FNC. Sanders’ Fox town hall remains the highest-rated town hall this cycle, with a total audience of 2.554 million viewers.
