OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
CNN host Don Lemon couldn’t hang in prime time on the network, so he was moved to a co-host spot on the network’s morning show during a programming shakeup late last year.
But things aren’t going well for him there, either.
The Washington Examiner reported Thursday that ratings for “CNN This Morning” were the worst this week since Lemon joined in November after what he insisted on-air was a “promotion.”
The outlet added:
During the week of Jan. 16, Nielsen data show Lemon drew an average of 408,000 total viewers, with a mere average of 87,000 viewers in the key 25-54 age demographic. The ratings struggle did not help CNN. It placed 15th overall in total day viewership — the network’s smallest delivery since 2014, according to TVNewser.
Fox News continued to dominate in the ratings last week, leading ad-supported basic cable networks in total viewers with an average of 1.39 million viewers and placing second in the key 25-54 demographic, behind ESPN, with 176,000 viewers. CNN’s liberal media rival MSNBC placed third in total day viewers with 629,000 viewers.
Lemon bid an emotional farewell to his audience on his last prime-time program in October before moving to the morning slot. He showed a video montage of his time in the primetime timeslot over the past eight and a half years as the final segment of his show, which ended on a Friday.
“I was not always perfect because no one is perfect,” the host said. “There are immense pressures that come with this job and, in particular, this time slot at 10:00 o’clock when people are going to bed. So sometimes all I could do – I am going to be honest with you – was just smile and just get to the commercial break sometimes.”
“Sometimes, it was exhausting. Because some of the things that we discuss here are so personal and so consuming, all-consuming. So, I hope I made you proud. And I thank you for tuning in all these years. And I hope that you are going to join me in the morning,” he said.
“So I will simply say good night, and I will see you soon. All right, so I’m going to leave, and I am going to go upstairs,” the host said as he walked to a flight of stairs, sniffling.
That's a wrap. Thank you for tuning in for over 8 great years. @donlemon will see you in the mornings! pic.twitter.com/WfJlSl8PcO
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) October 8, 2022
The previous month, Lemon told his viewers during a hand-off segment with “CNN Tonight” host Laura Coates that he saw his move to the morning show as him being promoted.
“Hey, Don Lemon – no, should I say good morning, Don Lemon?” Coates asked.
“I am exhausted. I just got back today. What a time to be on the plane when this happened, then I get off the plane and my phone literally was blowing up, it has been heated up all day. Let me just say that it’s bittersweet for me because I work with the best team in this building, one of the best teams in this business, and we built this show out of nothing. This show was not supposed to exist,” Lemon began.
The host thanked his staff and said that the move to mornings was not a directive from management.
“This is not someone saying you must move to the right, Don Lemon, and give so much of your perspective,” the host said. “That is not real. This is fodder for Twitter. This is an opportunity. This is a promotion. This is an opportunity for me to create something around me and I get to work with two great ladies who you know.”
CNN’s @DonLemon on being demoted from primetime to the AM: “I was not demoted” pic.twitter.com/WgatfCzPLT
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 16, 2022
On Tuesday, Forbes reported that Fox News’ “The Five” was the most-watched cable news program, and that the network, overall, was simply dominating its competitors.
“In prime time, Fox News led the cable news networks with an average total audience of 1.996 million viewers—beating CNN and MSNBC combined,” the outlet noted. “Overall, Fox had fully 92 of the 100 highest-rated cable news telecasts for the week. Among viewers 25-54, the demographic group most valued by advertisers, Tucker Carlson Tonight was first with 442,000 viewers, followed by The Five (374,000 viewers), Hannity (303,000 viewers), Jesse Watters Primetime (266,000 viewers) and Special Report with Bret Baier (256,000 viewers).”
And its morning show, “Fox & Friends” crushed its competitors as well, with a total audience of 1.260 million viewers as the MSNBC show “Morning Joe” averaged 760,000 viewers and “CNN This Morning” had its worst week with 331,000 viewers.
