CNN suffered its worst ratings among primetime viewers in the most coveted demographic by advertisers — dealing a gut punch to embattled new boss Mark Thompson.
The cable channel, which touts itself as “the most trusted name in news,” drew just 83,000 viewers aged 25 to 54 during the week of May 13-19 from 8 to 11 p.m. — its lowest-rated week since 1991, according to Nielsen.
By contrast, Fox News garnered more than the twice the audience in the key demo, with 186,000 viewers, according to Nielsen. Left-leaning MSNBC was a distant second with 111,000, the data showed.
“Thompson better get his act together before he completely destroys CNN,” a top TV news producer told The Post.
“It seems like he’s thrown in the towel regarding cable.”
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CNN’s three-hour primetime block during the week features the network’s highest paid anchor, Anderson’s Cooper, with his show “AC360” at 8 p.m., along with “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” at 9 p.m. and “CNN NewsNight” with Abby Phillip at 10 p.m.
Its total viewership for the week was also paltry with 494,000, compared with 2 million for Fox News — which shares common ownership with News Corp, the publisher of The Post. MSNBC pulled in 1.1 million, according to Nielsen.
“CNN’s new name is Cancelled Network Now,” a media insider quipped.
“Young people are as interested in Anderson Cooper as they are in Liza Minnelli.”
A spokesperson for CNN told The Post the network’s primetime ratings are “all growing year over year” among viewers aged 25-54.
The rep added that the network’s primetime lineup, starting from “Erin Burnett Outfront” at 7 p.m. to its rebroadcast of “Anderson Cooper 360” at midnight, is “registering double-digit, year-over-year growth” in total viewers.
