CNN’s new show, “CNN This Morning,” had a poor debut on Tuesday. The Washington Examiner reports that approximately 387,000 people tuned in, with just 71,000 within the highly sought-after 25-54 age group. Last month, the network announced Lemon would co-host the new morning show alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. The show aired at 6:00 a.m., competing with Fox News’s Fox & Friends and MSNBC’s Morning Joe from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m.
When announcing the new show, CNN Worldwide Chairman and CEO Chris Licht stated, “There is no stronger combination of talent than Don, Poppy and Kaitlan to deliver on our promise of a game-changing morning news program.” He added that the trio would make for a “smart, bold and refreshing” show.
However, According to Nielsen data, Fox and Friends outperformed CNN with a massive 1.452 million viewers, and Morning Joe came in second with 793,000 viewers overall. Fox and Friends garnered 236,000 viewers in the coveted 25–54 age group, followed by Morning Joe with 114,000. The poor debut follows news of Jake Tapper’s “CNN Tonight with Jake Tapper” being canceled by the network. Tapper will reportedly return to his 4:00 p.m. time slot after the midterms.
