CNN plunges behind History Channel, obscure Western network in prime time ratings

Ratings-challenged CNN’s total viewership in prime time last week lagged behind the History Channel and an obscure cable network — founded by televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker — that plays Western TV shows and films, according to the latest figures released by Nielsen.

The “most trusted name in news” — which recently hired former New York Times and BBC boss Mark Thompson as its CEO — had an average of 538,000 nightly viewers in the 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. block during the seven-day period from Jan. 15 until Jan. 21, according to the most recent data compiled by Nielsen.

The weak ratings were generated despite coverage of the Iowa caucus, which saw former President Donald Trump easily rout GOP contenders in his bid to regain the White House.

CNN not only finished behind rivals Fox and MSNBC, but was the 10th most-watched channel on cable, getting beat by Hallmark, The History Channel and INSP, a South Carolina-based channel founded in the late 1970s by the Christian televangelists.

According to its web site, INSP, which has transitioned from a “non-profit ministry-focused network” to an advertiser-supported channel that plays mostly Western movies and television shows, is distributed to more than 80 million households across 2,800 cable systems as well as the DISH Network.

Nielsen figures show that INSP, formerly the Inspiration Network, generated an audience of 577,000 viewers during the week of Jan. 15 – Jan. 21 — good for eighth overall.

Fox News, whose parent company Fox Corp. is the corporate sister of The Post’s owner News Corp., topped all networks with an audience of 2.091 million in prime time, according to Nielsen.

ESPN, the Disney-owned all-sports outfit, came in second place with 1.653 million viewers in prime time during the same period — helped by last week’s NFL playoff game between the Bucs and Eagles in prime time.

MSNBC, the left-leaning cable news channel owned by Comcast, was in third with 1 million prime time viewers for the week.

The other cable networks in the top 10 included HGTV, Hallmark, TBS and TNT. HGTV, TBS and TNT are owned by CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Post has sought comment from CNN.

A source close to CNN noted that linear TV ratings are only one aspect of CNN’s audience, with its presence on the Max streaming service, and their audience on CNN.com, which reached a monthly average of more than 150 million users in 2023.

CNN has been in a period of transition since Thompson took over from the fired Chris Licht.

Licht was ousted last year after presiding over a 14-month period during which the network failed to produce impressive ratings while being bogged down in personnel drama surrounding on-air talent.

Last week, The Post reported that CNN tapped Virginia Moseley, a hard-charging, controversial executive who is known by staffers to be a “tyrant” with “no people skills whatsoever,” to head its newsroom.

In a memo circulated to staffers last week, Thompson bluntly warned of the demise of linear television. He lamented that CNN “has been slow to respond to the challenge” of dwindling audiences.

“We need to recapture some of the swagger and innovation of the early CNN,” Thompson wrote in the memo.

“It’s time for a revolution.”