CNN Ratings Plunge, Lowest in a Decade

Things just keep getting worse at CNN.

The cable news network is absorbing another round of dismal ratings numbers, with primetime viewership down 35 percent and falling off a cliff with a 42 percent drop with viewers aged 25-54, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Daily ratings are now the lowest in more than a decade at 319,000 for the average total viewers, a 35 percent drop and 129,000 adults 25-54, a 45 percent drop.

The primetime shows of Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan are getting especially battered, seeing overall averages down to 446,000 and just 129,000 with adults 25-54, the Reporter said, which represent 35 and 41 percent drops from the second quarter in 2011. In individual primetime broadcasts, Cooper's 8 p.m. show was down 23 percent in the demo and Morgan sank to 33 percent in adults 25-54.

MSNBC and Fox News Channel also were down in primetime, but by much less. Fox held 1.79 million viewers and MSNBC had 689,000 total viewers, according to the Reporter.

Time Warner is reportedly looking to replace executives at CNN in order to curb the unprecedented ratings slide. Those who run the publicly traded Time Warner, the second largest media and entertainment conglomerate in terms of revenue, have no choice but to take action. Senior executives at the multinational media corporation have put together a list of possible candidates to head CNN Worldwide, according to the New York Post.