CNN’s net worth was nearly sliced in half between 2021 and 2023, according to financial metrics shared at the network’s defamation trial on Friday.
The network’s net worth went from $4.4 billion in 2021 to $2.3 billion in 2023 — a drop of 47.7% — according to what the company shared.
CNN’s annual revenue also dropped from $2.2 billion to $1.8 billion from 2021 to 2023, per the company’s internal metrics.
Free Beacon’s Jessica Costescu shared a CNN revenue graphic from the courtroom on X:
“The numbers represent the Plaintiff’s interpretation of a subset of data as presented in litigation, and they do not represent financial data for the whole of CNN’s business,” a CNN spokesperson told TheWrap.
The financial metrics put a spotlight on CNN’s conspicuous decline in recent years. And following the 2024 election, the network, along with MSNBC, has seen its ratings take a major hit. TheWrap reported in November that CNN’s viewership declined 27% in the weeks following Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris, with CNN averaging 367,000 total viewers post-election.
CNN’s finances were reported after a Florida jury on Friday found that CNN defamed a U.S. Navy veteran when it implied he illegally profited from helping Afghans flee the country during a 2021 segment on “The Lead With Jake Tapper.” The network was ordered to pay Zachary Young $5 million in compensatory damages for libel, and the jury is still deciding on how much the network must now pay in punitive damages.
The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr was the first to report the steep 2021-2023 decline.
