Parker/Spitzer down, John King USA next?
The Wall Street Journal’s Lauren A. Schucker writes about possible further tinkering to CNN’s evening lineup…(sub req.)
The course correction comes as the network considers other changes to its evening lineup to reverse steep audience declines. According to people familiar with the situation, CNN is looking closely at its 7 p.m. hour, which features a political …
February 27, 2011 at 5:32 pm
This site had it right; watched Friday night, at end of the hour Parker announced that that that was her last show. I think Eliot could do it solo. I still won’t watch except as a novelty or if they have a great guest.
February 27, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Geez, last one out please turn off the special effects gizmo and whooshing sound hologram machine.
February 27, 2011 at 5:36 pm
Is Bernie Shaw available?
February 27, 2011 at 5:38 pm
The one primetime cable news show I actually watch.
February 27, 2011 at 10:02 pm
new beginning awaits CNN in the evening.
In yet another reworking of the cable-news network’s prime-time lineup, the Time Warner0 Inc. unit will on Monday unveil a revamped version of its”Parker Spitzer” show—minus co-host Kathleen Parker.
CNN says its new 8 p.m. program—”In the Arena”—will be an ensemble show, with former New York state Gov. Eliot Spitzer and other commentators.
The course correction comes as the network considers other changes to its evening lineup to reverse steep audience declines. According to people familiar with the situation, CNN is looking closely at its 7 p.m. hour, which features a political program hosted by John King. The network also continues to express interest in “CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric, whose deal with CBS Corp. expires near the start of June.
CNN lost more than one-third of its evening viewers in 2010. It has trailed two rivals, News Corp.’s Fox News and Comcast Corp.’s MSNBC, by significant margins in the evening for years. (News Corp. also owns The Wall Street Journal).
“Parker Spitzer” began in October as part of a broader reinvention at CNN that also included a new 9 p.m. show, “Piers Morgan Tonight.” Mr. Morgan, a former tabloid editor, succeeded Larry King, whose show ended after 25 years on CNN. “Piers” has drawn about 943,000 total viewers on average since its launch in January, up 44% from Mr. King’s fourth-quarter average, according to data provided by CNN.
With Mr. Spitzer and Mr. Morgan leading CNN’s new lineup, in addition to Anderson Cooper at 10 p.m., CNN might begin to hit its stride, says Victor Neufeld, a consultant and former executive producer at CNN, ABC News and CBS News. “The most important consideration when you have any program, network or cable, is having that perfect mix of provocative content and powerful personality,” he says.
In 2010, CNN averaged 592,000 viewers during prime time; that figure is already up 13% to 670,000 during the first two months of 2011, according to market-research firm Nielsen Co.
Whether “In the Arena” will manage to draw substantially more viewers to CNN than “Parker Spitzer” remains an open question. In January, “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann left MSNBC, leaving room for a competitor to lure viewers during the 8 p.m. hour.
Mr. Neufeld says he believes “In the Arena” will work if it is focused around Mr. Spitzer. It is unclear, however, whether Mr. Spitzer will be the most prominent voice on the show, which CNN has said will include a number of other people who will rotate into the program. Conservative commentators E.D. Hill and Will Cain will be among those joining Mr. Spitzer.
“Parker Spitzer”, which had two hosts with radically differing views, was initially billed as a way to inject conflict into CNN’s sagging prime-time hours. But early on, it became mired in internal disagreements. Even before the program’s premiere, CNN executives were concerned about whether Ms. Parker was an appropriate match for Mr. Spitzer, said a person close to the situation.
Once it launched, “Parker Spitzer” failed to generate the ratings traction that CNN executives had desired. In late December, the program remained flat with its launch week in October, drawing fewer than 500,000 viewers. In January, “Parker Spitzer” averaged just 125,000 viewers between the ages of 25 to 54, the target demographic of cable-news advertisers. In February, the show drew 189,000 viewers in that age bracket, a bump that many industry observers attribute to CNN’s coverage of unrest in the Middle East.
February 27, 2011 at 10:03 pm
^ That was the WSJ article, btw (for those without a subscription)
February 27, 2011 at 11:48 pm
^ If you Google the headline, you can access the article that way. If you copy/paste that URL, it won’t work, but you can get it through Google.
February 28, 2011 at 11:44 am
So Murdoch is right when he accuses Google of stealing his content.
Anyway, I think CNN should hire Sanchez back and put him at 7. That will never happen, but Sanchez has personality and John King doesn’t. Although the Washington Bureau would freak out, like they did when Rick’s List took an hour away from Wolf Blitzer.
February 28, 2011 at 12:05 pm
– Google –
You’re right. I never thought of it that way.
February 28, 2011 at 6:42 pm
checked in to what used to be Parker-Spitzer; Monday, Feb 28m it’s now Spitzer and sans any logo, at all. What happened to this once proud CNN product?
April 4, 2012 at 2:12 am
medicine…
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