Recent figures reveal that CNN has experienced a dramatic decline in its primetime audience, losing nearly two-thirds of its viewers over the past ten years.

The network’s viewership has plummeted from approximately 1.3 million in 2016 to just 553,000 today, sparking speculation about a potential sale of CNN. However, the network’s parent company, which is currently open to offers, has firmly denied these rumors.

According to Nielsen’s latest data, this month’s viewership marks an improvement from January. During that month, prominent anchors such as Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett, and Kaitlan Collins only managed to attract 488,000 viewers.

CNN’s daytime programming has faced a similar downturn. Notable figures like Wolf Blitzer have seen their audiences decrease from 752,000 to 433,000.

Comparing these numbers to the same period in 2021, there is a noticeable drop, with primetime viewership down by 71 percent and daytime numbers falling by 73 percent.

Several executives within CNN have expressed concerns about these troubling trends, acknowledging the challenges they pose within the broader context of industry-wide shifts.

A CNN source, meanwhile, blamed the poor showing on audiences consuming news through alternative means.

‘The reality is that people just consume news differently now than they did ten years ago, and we’re adapting to address that, reaching large audiences all over the world,’ the source said.

However, a rival executive pushed back on that theory.

CNN has lost nearly two-thirds of its primetime viewers over the past decade, even with fresh figures like Kaitlan Collins leading coverage

The poor results are actually up from January, when mainstays such as Jake Tapper failed to move the needle

‘While linear ratings are mostly in decline, there are still a few bright spots in the industry where that is not the case. That said, if streaming numbers are not picking up the slack, I’d be worried,’ they said.

CNN rolled out All Access – billed as ‘a new way’ to stream the network’s shows – back in October, nearly four years on from the spectacular flameout that was CNN+.

The network carried out a round of layoffs at the start of 2025, meant to herald in its long-promised move to digital.

CEO Mark Thompson touted the plan to his old employer, The New York Times, following the more than 200 firings from CNN’s once-seminal TV division in January of last year.

‘You can use your thumb to flick from a CNN news story to a CNN anchor to a reporter,’ he said of a then-planned shift to vertical videos, which has since slowly been implemented over the course of a year. 

The long-in-the-works restructuring plan followed a failed leadership stint from then-CEO Chris Licht, which lasted barely 12 months.

Licht, a former showrunner for Stephen Colbert, replaced longtime lead Jeff Zucker. The latter masterminded the network’s shift to more opinionated content in the 2010s, right around the time of Donald Trump’s first presidency.

Trump’s rise ramped up interest in previously languishing cable channels, CNN included.

The network went from 711,000 primetime viewers in 2015 to 1.3 million the following year. The spike continued until 2017, led by anti-Trump anchors including Jim Acosta, Don Lemon and Brianna Keilar.

Several CEOs and lineup changes later, CNN’s lack of success during Trump’s second presidency is noticeable, sources said.

Then-moderators Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett at the October 2019 Democratic Presidential Debate in Ohio remain with the network, which is grappling with the current media landscape

Fixtures like Wolf Blitzer have experienced similar drop-offs during the day, fueling rumors the network will soon be sold. Parent company Warner Bros Discovery – which is up for sale – has denied those rumors

‘It’s not surprising that CNN’s constant leadership void, which has largely rendered the cable network irrelevant with historic ratings declines, is leading ownership to explore yet another sale,’ one said.

‘Ownership at CNN is once again looking to jump ship just like the network’s viewers have for the last decade after seeing its 2025 ratings slump to historic lows.

‘Mark Thompson should have stayed in retirement as nothing can right the sinking ship that is CNN.’

The Daily Mail has approached CNN for comment. The network’s website still attracts 120 million monthly users.

As of writing, Netflix has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Warner Bros Discovery minus its cable assets, in which case CNN will be cast off to a completely separate publicly traded company.

Paramount – the owner of CBS – has placed an offer as well. The company ramped up a hostile bid this week in hopes of preventing the Netflix transaction.