CNN’s bet to pair loudmouth basketball commentator Charles Barkley with morning news star Gayle King in prime time was a ratings disaster, losing out to reruns of old “Friends” and “South Park.” Ta.
“King Charles,” a weekly telephone talk show that airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Warner Bros. Discovery’s News Network, has seen ratings drop 20 percent since it began airing in late November.
The show’s first broadcast attracted 500,000 total viewers and 139,000 in the 25-54 age group coveted by advertisers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
But because the show was on hiatus last week, its most recent broadcast on January 31 drew just 400,000 total viewers and 8 in the 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen statistics. There were 9,000 people.
The January 31st episode was the first episode of “King Charles” to fail to exceed the 100,000 viewership threshold in the 25-54 demographic.
The show lost out in ratings to reruns of hit comedies such as “Friends” and “Modern Family,” which aired on sister station TBS, part of Warner Bros. Discovery.
According to Nielsen statistics, Comedy Central’s 2:30 a.m. rerun of “South Park,” as well as “Seinfeld” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” also ranked “King in the ratings.”・Exceeded “Charles”.
It was a distant third among the largest cable news channels in terms of total viewers, and the lowest ranking among CNN’s prime-time debuts this year.
The debut episode finished well behind MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” which drew 1.6 million total viewers, but “King Charles” finished with a 25-54 demo of 139,000. It was a win, with only 132,000 viewers. Look at O’Donnell.
Fox News’ comedy show “Gutfeld!” took the top spot with 2.2 million total viewers and 241,000 viewers in the 25-54 demographic.
Sources close to the network told the Post that the numbers don’t accurately reflect the full picture, given that the show will be streamed on Warner Bros.’ Discovery’s MAX service in addition to the linear cable network. Told.
The official added that “King Charles” boasts the youngest, wealthiest and most diverse audience of its competitors in the 10 p.m. time slot.
According to Nielsen, 43% of “King Charles” viewers are nonwhite, compared to just 7% on Fox News Channel and 27% on MSNBC.
The source also added that “King Charles” clips often go viral, racking up millions of views on CNN digital platforms and YouTube.
Fox News is owned by Fox Corp., a sister company to News Corp., the parent company of The Post.
The Post has reached out to CNN for comment.
CNN’s former CEO Chris Licht, who was fired from his role last summer after a damning magazine expose revealed him as a shallow executive who alienated the network’s public and star casters, did not give up on the show. I came up with an idea. Berkeley and King appear.
Barkley, a 60-year-old former basketball Hall of Famer, has carved out a niche for himself as a major TV commentator and media personality on CNN’s sister station TNT’s NBA coverage.
But the star power of its former “Round of the Mound of Rebound” hasn’t trickled down to CNN’s prime-time lineup, which has struggled to maintain ratings with rivals MSNBC and Fox News.
King, 69, co-hosts CBS Mornings, CBS’s flagship morning news show.
Licht’s successor, Mark Thompson, began putting his own stamp on the network. Last week, he announced a major overhaul of CNN’s morning lineup, removing Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly from the anchor desk.
Mr Thompson, a former BBC director, is tasked with pulling CNN out of its ratings slump.
Recent data from Nielsen shows that the ratings-troubled network’s total prime-time viewership has lagged behind the History Channel and INSP, an unknown cable network that airs Western TV shows and movies. I’m taking it.
