‘CNN This Morning’ ratings rose 5 percent during Don Lemon’s absence
Don Lemon’s three-day hiatus from “CNN This Morning” resulted in a 5% increase in viewership for the struggling cable news show, which was thrown into turmoil by the co-host’s sexist remarks about GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley last week.
Viewership of “CNN This Morning” reached a total of 617,000 households on Feb. 17 — the first day of Lemon’s absence. The next day, viewership reached 678,000 total households during the three-hour block this past Monday, according to data provided by Samba TV, the analytics firm that provides real-time data on audience measurement for streaming services.
“CNN This Morning” attracted an even larger audience on Tuesday, when it drew 709,000 households, according to Samba TV. Lemon returned on Wednesday.
“Following the backlash from his remarks on presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s age, Lemon’s two-day absence from the studio actually appears to have boosted the network’s average ratings,” Dallas Lawrence, a senior vice president at Samba TV, told The Post.
“Average viewership the two days following his comments was up 5% compared to the average daily viewership the week before,” Lawrence said.
“In fact, two out of the three most-watched days in the past eight analyzed were the days in which Lemon was absent.”
Samba TV’s numbers contradict those of Nielsen, which showed that viewership of “CNN This Morning” dipped during Lemon’s hiatus.
The average viewership of the show on Friday, Monday and Tuesday was 324,000 people — which is down compared to the three days before his absence.
During the four days Lemon co-hosted before his sexist outburst, the show was averaging 355,000 viewers, according to Nielsen.
Interestingly, the number of female viewers who normally tune in to “CNN This Morning” dropped by some 20% during the three days Lemon wasn’t on the air, according to the figures released by Nielsen.
The Post has sought comment from CNN.
A chastened Lemon returned to the airwaves on Wednesday morning. Before taking his seat alongside co-host Poppy Harlow, Lemon posted an apology on Twitter.
“I appreciate the opportunity to be back on @CNNThisMorning today,” he wrote amid calls for him to have been fired.
“To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience — I’m sorry.”
“I’ve heard you, I’m learning from you, and I’m committed to doing better. See you soon,” he wrote.
During Wednesday’s return, Lemon never made mention of the controversy on air.
Lemon sparked outrage during the Feb. 16 broadcast of “CNN This Morning” when he told Harlow and fellow co-host Kaitlan Collins that the 51-year-old Haley was “not in her prime.”
The remark prompted Harlow, 40, to storm off the set in disgust. Later that day, Lemon tried to clarify his comments, saying they were “inartful and irrelevant.”
Lemon’s boss, CNN CEO Chris Licht, reprimanded him for his comments and arranged for the ex-primetime star to explain himself to other staffers in an editors’ call.
Lemon phoned in to CNN staff while he took a brief vacation in Florida during his three-day hiatus.
Before returning to the air on Wednesday, CNN had Lemon undergo “formal training,” though the specifics were unclear.