CNN‘s exclusive interview with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic candidates for 2024 election, snared 6.3 million viewers on Thursday night, according to from Nielsen, marking one of the Warner Bros. Discovery cable outlet’s best showings in the 9 p.m. hour in recent history.
The interview, moderated by anchor Dana Bash, also lured an average of 1.2 million viewers between the ages of 25 and 54, the demographic most favored by advertisers in news programming.
The big “get” marked the second of the summer for CNN, which has struggled to match the ratings of its two main competitors, Fox News Channel and MSNBC, while under the aegis of its parent company. CNN also broadcast a pivotal debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, which ultimately proved to undermine confidence in Biden’s ability to lead the nation.
CNN’s interview nabbed more viewers — an average of 6.305 million — in the 9 p.m. hour than either Fox News, which captured an average of 2.65 million, or MSNBC, which lured an average of 1.367 million.
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During the interview, Bash quizzed Harris and Walz on what their agenda would be on their first day in office, and sought to get a better sense from Harris why she has appeared to moderate some of her views on topics such as border control in recent weeks. Harris surprised some viewers by choosing not to respond to a question about Trump’s efforts to use topics pertaining to race and gender. “Next question, please,” said Harris.
CNN raised some eyebrows by airing a graphic during the interview that said the conversation was taking place in real time. In fact, the interview was taped, and only Bash’s intros and outros from various segments appeared to be broadcast live.
And the ratings spike did not prove sustainable for the rest of the evening. CNN’s 10 p.m. hour did not beat Fox News’ broadcast that hour of “Gutfeld!”
