CNN's March Ratings So Far: More Lamb than Lion

More evidence that CNN is going to have to find a new strategy fast or risk becoming a cable news also-ran: In the month of March so far, the Time Warner-owned network has come in fourth place in prime time among adults 25 to 54, the key demographic for advertisers, more often than not.

Through March 17, CNN trailed not only Fox News and MSNBC but also its own sister network, Headline News, on nine out of 17 days. On one day, March 13, CNN even drew fewer 25-to-54 viewers than CNBC -- the first time that's happened since November 2007. And of the eight days it finished higher than fourth in the demo, five were either Saturdays or Sundays, typically the lowest rated nights for the news networks.

Asked about the trend, a CNN spokeswoman offered a statement that emphasized the network's long-term ratings growth -- while ignoring the even sharper gains made by Fox News and MSNBC -- and its claim to being No. 1 in total reach. (As I've noted before, that claim is based on CNN's "cume," or cumulative audience, a measure generally considered less important to advertisers.)

CNN is having its best March in prime time among total viewers since 2003 (Iraq war) and its second best March in adults 25-54 (also since 2003/first best 2008). CNN is not blowing with the political winds, but is continuing to grow by providing reliable, respected journalism and we will continue to offer straight forward reporting that includes a broad range of information, opinion and fact.

On TV, CNN reaches the most viewers every month, averaging 75.7 million compared to FOX's 61.3 million and MSNBC's 55.8 million. CNN.com averages more than 30 million unique users each month and HLN averages another 52.8 million viewers.

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