Cable TV audiences seem to prefer watching water boil over tuning in to prime-time host Kaitlan Collins and her CNN colleagues, at least according to the latest Nielsen ratings.
CNN’s viewership has plunged to new lows in recent weeks, with numbers so dismal that the Food Network—buoyed by its steady lineup of baking and cooking shows—has now surpassed the struggling news outlet in total audience.
July audience ratings place CNN in a distant 14th, trailing well behind Fox News—which maintained its position in the top three—as well as major networks like NBC, CBS, and ABC. Even MSNBC, despite recent cost-cutting moves that included slashing Rachel Maddow’s salary and laying off formerly prominent hosts like Joy Behar and Mehdi Hasan, managed to secure a seventh-place finish.
Viewership for “the most trusted name in news” now averages just over half a million, far below Fox’s 2.6 million and NBC, which sits in second place with just under 4 million viewers on average. Viewership for “the most trusted name in news” now averages just over 500,000—well behind Fox News, which draws 2.6 million, and NBC, holding second place with just under 4 million average viewers. The Fox network is in first place, averaging nearly 6.9 million viewers.
After taking an aggressive editorial stance against President Donald Trump during his first term, CNN executives have instructed producers to take a more restrained approach this time. According to a directive issued earlier this year by CEO Mark Thompson, on-air personalities are now discouraged from “pre-judging” Trump based on his prior criminal and civil cases.
Nonetheless, conservative media figures continue to scrutinize the network, closely monitoring and highlighting every misstep by its anchors.
Host Erin Burnett drew widespread criticism during last week’s Manhattan shooting coverage after incorrectly describing the suspect as “likely white.” Meanwhile, CNN correspondent Jeff Zeleny appeared visibly frustrated as he covered former President Trump’s renewed focus on the Russia hoax—an issue now nearly a decade old.
On Tuesday, CNN published a piece titled “Top Trump officials will discuss Epstein strategy in Wednesday meeting at Vice President JD Vance’s residence.” But the ‘scoop’ has neither aged well nor stood up to scrutiny.
In its initial report, CNN stated that Vice President J.D. Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche were expected to gather at the vice president’s residence to discuss “the administration’s handling of the Epstein case, as well as the need to craft a unified response.”
That claim, which was supposedly based on a number of anonymous sources, turned out to be false. “The CNN story is pure fiction,” William Martin, communications director to the vice president, said in a statement obtained by Blaze News. “There was never a supposed meeting scheduled at the vice president’s residence to discuss Epstein strategy.”
