In First Four Months Of 2023, CNN’s Ad Revenue Has Dropped 39%

In the wake of CNN Chairman and President Chris Licht’s departure from CNN this week, MediaRadar, an ad intelligence company, reported in the first four months of 2023, ad spend dropped precipitously. From January through April this year, advertisers spent $312.6 million across CNN platforms (both television and digital). This represents a 39% decline over the same time frame in 2022, when CNN’s ad revenue totaled $513 million.

Moreover, the year-over-year ad revenue fall-off has been accelerating. In April 2023, CNN’s ad revenue numbered $80 million, compared to $153 million in April 2022, a decline of 48%. Overall, the average monthly ad revenue in the first four months of 2023 stood at $78 million, in contrast to $128 million from January to April 2022. Licht took over CNN on May 2, 2022.

The analysis also found, so far this year, a sizable drop in the number of CNN advertisers. In the first four months of 2023, MediaRadar reported CNN had a total of about 2,100 advertisers. In contrast, from January-April 2022, there had been about 2,700 CNN advertisers, a decline of 23%. Moreover, many advertisers have been reducing their ad commitment to CNN. Through April 2023, 17 companies had invested $2+ million on CNN’s ad platforms, a 75% fall-off from 68 companies the previous year. Among the companies reducing their ad commitments on CNN by over 90% include; Thumbtack, Apple
AAPL
, Cisco Systems
CSCO
, and The Walt Disney
DIS
Company.

MediaRadar had analyzed a data sample of ad spend from national TV broadcasts and digital advertising for CNN, numbering over 2,000 companies. In its press release, Todd Krizelman, CEO & co-founder of MediaRadar said, “Our data analysis suggests a significant downward trend in CNN’s ad revenue during Chris Licht’s tenure, reflecting substantial declines both in total spend and in the number of advertisers.”

These dismal ad revenue figures came at a time when CNN’s new parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery
WBD
, is trying to pare down its debt load of $56 billion, a figure greater than the media company’s market cap. Discovery Communications’ $43 billion acquisition of the AT&T
T
owned WarnerMedia was finalized in April 2022.

It has been reported by multiple sources that CNN generated $1 billion in profits every year from 2016 to 2020. In 2021 it was estimated that CNN’s profits totaled $1.25 billion. Last year, CNN’s profits dipped to an estimated $750 million. Part of the loss in profits, can be attributed by WBD’s decision, in April 2022, to drop direct-to-consumer CNN+, one month after its launch. This resulted in a reported one-time loss of $200 million.

Besides a sluggish ad economy, another reason for the decline in CNN ad revenue has been declining television ratings. In first quarter 2020, with the Presidential election heating up, with early primaries and debates, CNN tallied an average prime time audience of 1.47 million viewers. For the total day, CNN averaged 901,000 viewers.

In first quarter 2021, CNN benefited from a steady diet of newsworthy events. These include the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol (the highest rated day in the network’s 40-year history), the incoming Biden administration, the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine and a second Trump impeachment trial, CNN, once again, became a destination channel for late breaking news. In the first three months of 2021, the news network averaged 1.94 million viewers in prime time and 1.35 million in total day.

In first quarter 2022, with the top news story Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, CNN’s average audience fell to 857,000 in prime time and 653,000 in total day. In first quarter 2023, CNN’s audience delivery declined further, to 568,000 in prime time and 478,000 in total day. CNN’s declines in audience delivery have also been prevalent with rival cable news networks. Both Fox News and MSNBC have also experienced double-digit declines in audiences this year.

Another factor in CNN’s revenue and ratings decline has been the number of changes made with their programming lineup. Even before Licht’s tenure began, Andrew Cuomo, the 9 p.m. (ET) anchor of their top-rated show, ad been let go in December 2021. CNN President Jeff Zucker soon followed in February 2022.

With Licht’s arrival he had been criticized for being slow in making programming changes. In November 2022, six months after he joined the network, Licht debuted CNN This Morning, with co-hosts Poppy Harlow, Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins. Licht had previously been an Executive Producer of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and CBS This Morning. The three-hour program was beset by poor ratings and turmoil between co-hosts Lemon and Collins. Don Lemon was fired six months after the show debuted. In May, Kaitlan Collins was named permanent anchor to the 9 p.m. time slot, nearly eighteen months after Cuomo’s departure. With only Poppy Harlow remaining as a permanent host, CNN This Morning will need to be revamped again.

In May, Kaitlan Collins hosted a live Town Hall interviewing Donald Trump. The “special” became a rating highlight, averaging over 3.3 million viewers. In the aftermath of the Town Hall and ensuing backlash, the ratings lowlight came two days later. On May 12, CNN’s total three-hour primetime block averaged only 335,000 viewers, falling below Newsmax. CNN has hosted other political Town Halls with Republican Presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Mike Pence.

Also impacting ratings has been the decision made by David Zaslav, the CEO of WBD with cable mogul and WBD board member John Malone. They want CNN to return to a more news focused and political centrist network. This is contrast to the more political activist network it was under Zucker. Early on Brian Stelter, the host of Reliable Sources and frequent Trump critic, left the network. In addition, more Republicans have been invited to appear on CNN.

David Zaslav has called CNN the “greatest journalistic organization on earth.” We will see what he will do next.