Cable TV Audience

CNN Headline News

If CNN’s main channel headed into 2006 concerned over its standing, its sister channel, CNN Headline News, had reason to cheer.

In 2005, Headline News overtook MSNBC in ratings and has become, for all intents and purposes, the third channel out of four rather than an afterthought. In February 2005, it replaced its typical headlines-only “wheel” format with prime time programs such as “Showbiz Tonight,” an entertainment show; Nancy Grace’s justice-themed interview/debate show, and “Prime News Tonight,” an hour-long program that looks at the day’s headlines at 9 p.m. on weeknights. By the end of that month, Headline News had passed MSNBC in ratings for both prime time and daytime viewership. It kept up the pace throughout the year, with its strongest rated shows being Nancy Grace and “Prime News Tonight.”8

Headline News also out-performed MSNBC in cumulative audience. According to data received from CNN, it averaged 50.1 million unique viewers per month versus MSNBC’s 46.2 million in 2005.9

Cable News Cumulative Audience, 2005

Number of Unique Viewers, including CNN Headline News

Design Your Own Chart

Source: Nielsen Media Research, data provided by CNN

* CNN Headline News

If the trend continues, the relationship between Headline News and CNN will be one to watch. Early statements from corporate executives suggest the channel is trying to create its own distinct identity, different from CNN and competing with Fox News. Indeed, Ken Jautz, President of CNN Headline News, was quoted as saying that “Headline News wants to look and feel very different from CNN” and that “there are no plans to use Headline News to incubate programs for CNN.”10