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.
Watch: El-Sayed Supporters Celebrate Win with a Chant That Reveals Their True Priorities
Republican AGs stand ready as ‘last line of defense’ against leftist policies after dismal midterms for party
Watch: CNN Anchor Slips Up and Makes a Telling Admission While Gleefully Reporting Midterm Results
White House official details what gets Trump’s attention in intelligence briefings
Where Democrats could use their landslide victories to redistrict
Republicans turn on Trump after devastating midterm losses hand Democrats control of Congress
WATCH: Bodycam captures chaotic response to deadly Citibank shooting in Florida
Three executions scheduled across US on same day for second time this year
Ted Cruz says ‘blue tsunami’ took over Texas after Democrats swept statewide races
Republicans, Take Note: Ballot Measure Success in Face of Blue Wave Shows Voters Still Want Conservative Policies
JD Vance Says ‘Everyone Knows Why We Lost’ in Fiery Post-Election Message
New Jersey pre-K aide faces 61 charges, accused of filming himself sexually assaulting students at school
Grocery store cyberattacks are ‘psychological warfare’ that could strike US, former FBI agent warns
See for Yourself: As El-Sayed Was Securing Win, Advisor Hasan Piker Filmed His Most Hateful Anti-American Comments Ever
Erika Kirk channels Charlie with blunt message to conservatives after GOP midterm losses
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.
