CNN's Late-Night Gamble Fails to Deliver Initial Ratings
CNN's ambitious venture into live late-night news programming is facing significant challenges as its new anchor Elex Michaelson struggles to attract viewers, with his programme failing to even outperform the network's own reruns of established shows like Anderson Cooper 360.
The Story Is with Elex Michaelson, which debuted on October 27th 2025, has managed an average of just 213,000 total viewers nightly with only 35,000 in the crucial 25-54 advertising demographic according to Nielsen data covering the period through November 21st.
Competitive Landscape Proves Challenging
Michaelson's two-hour broadcast, airing at midnight ET/9pm PT, finds itself in a distant third place behind competing cable networks. Fox News's post-midnight repeats of Jesse Watters Primetime and The Five have dominated with 676,000 total viewers and 80,000 in the key demographic.
MS NOW, previously known as MSNBC, has also outperformed CNN's new live offering with their reruns of The Rachel Maddow Show and other programmes attracting 411,000 total viewers and 50,000 in the 25-54 demographic.
Perhaps most concerning for CNN executives is how the new programme compares to what it replaced. The network's late-night reruns during the third quarter of this year averaged 242,000 viewers overall and 41,000 in the key demographic, meaning Michaelson's show is underperforming even compared to the repeats he criticised.
Historical Context and Recent Trends
The comparison becomes even more stark when examining year-over-year data. At the same time in 2024, CNN's midnight to 2am ET repeats averaged 387,000 total viewers and 124,000 in the advertising demographic, representing a dramatic 72 percent decline among younger viewers for The Story Is.
Industry analysts note that the 2024 figures were inflated by the intense interest in the presidential race and Donald Trump's election, which boosted ratings across all news networks. However, the scale of the decline remains significant for CNN's new programming strategy.
There are some faint signs of improvement. After averaging just 197,000 total viewers in its first two weeks, the programme attracted 242,000 viewers and 41,000 in the key demographic last week, matching CNN's late-night performance from the previous quarter.
Broader Industry Challenges
The struggles facing Michaelson's programme reflect wider trends affecting cable news networks. The combination of cord-cutting, competition from streaming services, and younger audiences turning to online news sources has created significant headwinds for traditional broadcasters.
During the third quarter of 2025, CNN experienced a 42 percent drop in total primetime viewers and a 58 percent decline in the 25-54 demographic compared to the same period last year. MSNBC saw similar declines of 46 percent in total primetime audience and 64 percent in the key demographic.
Even Fox News, which enjoyed a post-election ratings boost following Trump's victory, has begun to see erosion, declining nine percent in total viewers and 34 percent in the advertising demographic compared to last year.
Michaelson, who joined CNN in September after building a respected career in Los Angeles local news, had expressed enthusiasm about his new role, calling it a dream job. The eight-time Emmy winner had previously scored interviews with major political figures including Trump, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris during his time at KTTV-Fox 11.
CNN's late-night experiment continues as the network seeks to adapt to changing viewer habits and increasing competition from digital news sources, with all eyes on whether Michaelson can build the audience the network desperately needs.
