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.
Boeing lands $20B-plus Navy deal for sixth-generation fighter to deliver ‘absolute air superiority’
‘F— her’: Jasmine Crockett torched by ex-Dem colleague over who she left off endorsement list
Woke, Anti-Trump Classic Rocker Todd Rundgren Nukes Taylor Swift: ‘Apotheosis of Mediocrity’
Trump Sets the Record Straight After ‘Hoax’ Report on What He Offered Iran
Supreme Court takes up fight over Trump’s third-country illegal alien deportation policy
FBI’s Andrew Bailey blasts exit ‘lies’ as he reveals real reason he’s leaving agency
‘American Idol’ alum Caleb Flynn convicted of murdering his wife
Newly Uncovered Docs Blow Up Jack Smith’s Story About How His Investigation Into Trump Began
Breaking: Jack Smith Admits to Secretly Gathering Banking Info of Thousands of Trump Donors
Man found dead on tracks at Brooklyn subway station after his bag reportedly gets stuck in closing doors
Office of Personnel Management uncovers $500M in fraud and waste in federal health benefits programs
Soros nephew divulges how family’s power helped bankroll El-Sayed’s education during secretive fundraiser
Rivals skeptical as Netanyahu warns of ‘attack’ against Israel before Oct. 27 election
‘Instead of Enforcing the Law’: Dem Connecticut Faces 2A Court Fight with Major Gun Maker for Banning Popular Pistol
Hawks or Hawkeyes? Eric Schmitt’s Jack Smith grilling runs into basketball mix-up
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.
