You are reading an exclusive WrapPRO article for free. Want to level up your entertainment career? Click here to subscribe.
CNN’s New Year’s Eve programming with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper rang in 2024 with a 12% uptick in total viewers as compared to last year’s celebration.
On CNN alone, the boozy festivities were the No. 1 most-watched program across cable on New Year’s Eve, with the celebration delivering 2.33 million total viewers and 802,000 in the key cable demo among adults 25-54, according to Nielsen figures.
Not only did total viewership for the special increase 12% as compared to last year, it also marked the annual event’s second-largest total audience since it started airing in 2007, behind only 2020.
As the Times Square-set telecast turned its attention to the ball drop at midnight ET, viewership on CNN grew to 3.41 million total viewers — up 14% from last year — and 1.27 million demo viewers — up 3% from last year’s event — from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. During this interval, CNN remained the most-watched cable channel, and similarly drew the second largest audience the event has seen, behind only 2020.
When combining CNN viewership with that of its live streaming counterpart, CNN Max — which is available to Max subscribers — viewership for 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ET period reached a combined average audience of 3.44 million, according to Nielsen linear and internal CNN Max data.
The special boosted CNN to reach a cumulative audience of 16.2 million viewers across cable and streaming throughout the day, with New Year’s Eve 2023 marking CNN Max’s most-watched day since its Sept. 27 launch.
The added digital live streaming on CNN Max increased the network’s average viewership for the day by 29,000 viewers — or 0.8%.
Following the ball drop, CNN’s late-night programming, titled “New Year’s Eve with Sara Sidner and Cari Champion,” which aired live from Austin, Texas, maintained CNN’s cable ratings win in both demos as the special scored 422,000 demo viewers and 1.08 million total viewers.
Featuring interviews with Patti Labelle, Jeremy Renner, Neil Patrick Harris and Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, the CNN event also showcased performances by Enrique Iglesias, Maroon 5, Jonas Brothers, Flo Rida, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker and Rod Stewart.
