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.
Firebrand conservatives set to duke it out in GOP Texas AG debate
Remembering Rush Limbaugh, Five Years to the Day After His Passing
ALERT: Gunman Arrested at Capitol Today – Carrying Loaded Shotgun, Wearing Tactical Vest
Dem governor’s ‘dangerous’ anti-ICE law ignites backlash after alleged box cutter attack by illegal alien
Keir Starmer announces investigation into Labour smear campaign alleging journalists part of Russian conspiracy
BREAKING: Federal Judge Rules ICE Cannot Re-Detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Latina House Republican asks Supreme Court to block Dems’ bid to ‘racially gerrymander’ her out of Congress
Springsteen jabs Trump as ‘wannabe king’ as famed rocker launches concert tour ‘in defense of America’
Cheer mom, daughter dead in apparent murder-suicide after years-long custody fight: docs
Will Conservative Supreme Court Justices Step Down While Trump Can Still Replace Them? Midterm Results Might Force the Issue
Abrego Garcia to remain free from ICE custody as judge OKs travel for Tennessee hearing
Five injured, including firefighter, in church explosion following reported gas leak in upstate New York
Vance and Rubio would give GOP ‘potent one-two punch’ for 2028 ticket: Joe Concha
NBC News Buries Background of Latest Trans Mass Shooting Suspect – He ‘Also Went by the First Name Roberta’
Obama dragged for ‘headache’-inducing presidential center update that has visitors squinting
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.
