CNN has best ratings day ever for Capitol attack
CNN had its most-watched day in the network's 40-year history with last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The attack on the U.S. Capitol last week brought more viewers to CNN than any other single day in the network's 40-year history.
CNN averaged 5.2 million viewers last Wednesday, eclipsing its previous high of 5.1 million on Election Day 2016, the Nielsen company said. The network had 4.47 million viewers on Sept. 11, 2001, Nielsen said.
During the storming of the Capitol itself on Wednesday afternoon, CNN averaged nearly 9 million viewers. CNN also led all of the cable news and broadcast networks during prime-time that evening, when Nielsen estimated more than 33 million people tuned in to watch Congress go back into session to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
MSNBC averaged 4 million viewers on Wednesday and Fox News Channel had 3 million.
NBC led by a strong NFL playoff game Sunday night between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, was the top broadcast network last week, averaging 8.6 million viewers in prime time. CBS had 5.7 million, ABC had 3.8 million, Fox had 2.5 million, Univision had 1.4 million, Ion Television had 1.1 million and Telemundo had 920,000.
CNN averaged 4.11 million viewers in prime time, beating all the cable networks. MSNBC had 3.67 million, Fox News Channel had 3.1 million, HGTV had 1.12 million and Hallmark had 1.05 million.
ABC's “World News Tonight” led the evening news ratings race, averaging 9.2 million viewers. NBC's “Nightly News” had 7.9 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.8 million.
For the week, the 20 most-watched programs in prime time, their networks and viewership:
1. NFL Football: Cleveland at Pittsburgh, NBC, 24.78 million.
2. “NFL Postgame" (Sunday), CBS, 19.33 million.
3. “NFL Pregame,” NBC, 16.01 million.
4. “NFL Postgame” (Saturday, 8:13-8:19 p.m.), Fox, 14.91 million.
5. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 14.8 million.
6. “NFL Postgame” (Saturday, 8:19-8:25 p.m.), Fox, 9.47 million.
7. “Anderson Cooper 360” (Wednesday), CNN, 8.87 million.
8. “Cuomo Prime Time” (Wednesday), CNN, 8.79 million.
9. “Capitol Attack” (Wednesday, 8:06 p.m.), MSNBC, 8.49 million.
10. “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” ABC, 8.15 million.
11. “CNN Tonight” (Wednesday), CNN, 7.8 million.
12. “The Rachel Maddow Show” (Wednesday), MSNBC, 7.77 million.
13. “Last Word” (Wednesday), MSNBC, 6.79 million.
14. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 6.56 million.
15. “The Chase,” ABC, 6.49 million.
16. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 6.21 million.
17. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Wednesday), Fox News Channel, 6 million.
18. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 5.89 million.
19. "Magnum, P.I., CBS, 5.87 million.
20. “Anderson Cooper 360” (Thursday), CNN, 5.8 million.