A primetime special about UFOs aired by NewsNation on Sunday dunked on a show produced by NBA great LeBron James for ratings-challenged CNN, according to the latest Nielsen ratings.
The NewsNation special “We Are Not Alone: The Historic Hearing” drew some 106,000 total viewers, eclipsing the 65,000 who tuned into CNN’s docu-series “See It Loud: The History of Black Television” at 9 p.m., the Nielsen data showed.
NewsNation also beat out CNN in the 25-54 demographic coveted by advertisers, attracting 39,000 viewers to CNN’s 32,000, according to Nielsen.
CNN’s ratings defeat to the upstart channel encapsulates the difficulties facing the once-mighty cable news leader, which ousted network boss Chris Licht in June.
The Post has sought comment from CNN.
There was one bright spot in the Sunday ratings for CNN. Anderson Cooper’s news magazine “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper” at 8 p.m. scored 727,000 overall viewers and 78,000 in the 25-54 demo, beating MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan, who managed an audience of 490,000 total viewers and 53,000 in the 25-54 demo.
But Cooper’s overall audience was less than half of that which watched Fox News’ Mark Levin, whose “Life, Liberty, and Levin” show was viewed by 1.461 million people on Sunday, according to Nielsen data.
Levin’s show pulled in an audience of 87,000 in the 25-54 demo.
NewsNation was able to capitalize on blockbuster new claims made last week to Congress by a former Air Force intelligence officer who alleged the US government has been concealing a covert program that entails recovering unidentified flying objects.
While the study of mysterious aircraft or objects often evokes talk of aliens and “little green men,” Democrats and Republicans in recent years have pushed for more research as a national security matter due to concerns that sightings observed by pilots may be tied to US adversaries.
“See It Loud” was produced by The SpringHill Company, a media venture co-founded by Lakers superstar James and his business partner Maverick Carter.
The Post has sought comment from SpringHill.
The five-episode series has not been a total bust for CNN.
The first three episodes aired last month averaged 88,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo — ranking No. 1 ahead of rivals MSNBC, Fox News Channel and NewsNation.
Fox News is owned by Fox Corp., the sister company of The Post’s corporate parent, News Corp.
The final episode of “See It Loud” is scheduled to air this Sunday night at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
CNN has been in turmoil since it was scooped up by Warner Bros. Discovery as part of a $43 billion merger last year.
Its future ownership has been the subject of speculation, particularly in light of a controversial Variety report which claimed that former CNN boss Jeff Zucker has approached billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Roman Abramovich, Alex Soros, and Laurene Powell Jobs about potentially buying the network.
Zucker’s camp has adamantly denied the claims and demanded that Variety retract the story.
Warner Bros. Discovery has insisted that it has no plans to sell CNN.
With Post Wires
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