CNN’s King Charles falls flat: Barkley prime-time debut is network’s lowest in a decade

CNN’s newest prime-time show, King Charles, featuring CBS Mornings host Gayle King and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, drew its lowest prime-time debut audience in a decade.

According to Nielsen ratings data, King Charles drew just 501,000 viewers in its prime-time premiere, finishing a distant third behind its cable news competition of Fox News and MSNBC.

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The show first aired last Wednesday at 10 p.m. and reportedly uses the same studio space that was once home to Cuomo Prime Time, which was hosted by Chris Cuomo before his show was canceled and he was let go in December 2021.

King Charles features a late-night talk show feel as culture and news are discussed while taking calls.

While CNN has been trying to right its ratings slump of 2023, King Charles did little to move the ratings needle. Fox News continued to dominate prime-time audience ratings with 1,954,000 total viewers and 218,000 viewers in the key 25-54 age demographic this past week.

MSNBC, however, saw its worst nonholiday week of the year, averaging just 94,000 prime-time viewers in the key demo.

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Fox News’s The Five earned the top spot among all cable news shows, drawing an average of 2,774,000 total viewers and 228,000 viewers in the 25-54 age demographic.

Last Thursday’s Hannity special that saw Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) face off against each other in “The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate” drew an average of 4.75 million total viewers and 742,000 in the 25-54 demographic.