It’s been a rough start for Don Lemon on his new CNN morning show alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.
“CNN This Morning” aired to fewer than 390,000 viewers this week after the network advertised heavily following the cancellation of its predecessor, “New Day.”
The numbers pale in comparison to the show’s competition, including “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, which drew 793,000 viewers. “FOX and Friends” saw 1.5 million viewers.
“CNN This Morning” also averaged 50,000 fewer viewers than “New Day,” with just 71,000 viewers considering the network’s demographic.
Poppy Harlow (left), Don Lemon (centre) and Katilan Collins looked excited for their first day on CNN This Morning on Tuesday, where viewership was thin
The new CNN CEO Chris Licht is responsible for the restructuring of the station
During its last show, “New Day” drew just over 350,000 visitors. That number still saw just 75,000 from the network’s main demographic of adults aged 25 to 54.
On November 1, “Morning Joe” had 114,000 in the same category and “FOX and Friends” saw 236,000.
Before the show lost viewers en masse, the show averaged 413,000 viewers in 2022.
The numbers signal trouble for the network, which has reportedly cleaned up journalists too distant from the political left and too critical of Donald Trump and the GOP.
At the time of announcing Lemon’s move from his primetime show, the host called the reshuffle a “promotion.”
Lemon said in October the network hadn’t persuaded him to change his left-leaning views.
“This isn’t someone saying you have to move to the right, Don Lemon, and not give too much of your perspective. None of that happened,” Lemon said. “All of this is fodder for Twitter.”
“This is an opportunity for me to create something around me and I get to work with two great ladies.”
The show was offered to potential viewers as a “more relaxed approach” to the morning news.
Kaitlan Collins (left) and Poppy Harlow (right) co-host CNN This Morning with Lemon.
Lemon seemed excited to wake up in the early hours for his first day on the new show
Although he looked upbeat and happy about his new schedule in the Instagram video, the CNN host’s fans have been begging him to return to his night show
Lemon took to Instagram on Tuesday, the day the show debuted, to share his “excitement” at the start of the new era.
The CNN host posted a video on Instagram Reels showing him getting ready for his first morning shift with the show.
Despite the happy mood in the video, commentators on the video weren’t shy when it came to asking him to back off.
‘Excuse me! CNN made a mistake here. You need to renegotiate and get your PRIME spot back ASAP!’ said one person.
“Great first day BUT I don’t like it when you get silenced in an AM program slot. You need to get back to prime time where you can discuss the issues, get to the heart of the matter and make your point!’ another wrote.
“I miss you at night on CNN. Please go back to the 10pm time slot,” one said Tuesday.
“Well, I wish you the best, but it doesn’t look like you’re a news anchor anymore! CNN is turning into the view,” exclaimed another.
Don Lemon (left) insisted his move to the mornings was not a downgrade and just an attempt to “shake things up”.
“There is no stronger combination of talent than Don, Poppy and Kaitlan to deliver on our promise of a groundbreaking morning news show,” CEO Chris Licht wrote in a statement in October.
“You are uniquely intelligent, reliable and persuasive; together they have a rare and tangible chemistry. Combined with CNN’s resources and global news gathering capabilities, we offer a smart, bold and refreshing way to start the day.’
The call is one of Licht’s most important decisions as it seeks to move the outlet away from “opinion-based partisan news” and anchors slamming Conservatives and the GOP.
Lemon spent 16 of his 40 years in journalism at CNN.
Collins (left) is known for covering the White House for CNN, including during former President Donald Trump’s tenure
News of the disappointing reviews for Lemon’s new show comes as Licht is reportedly telling staff to brace for big changes in the coming weeks and months.
In a letter to employees sent on Wednesday, CNN’s CEO said there were “widespread concerns” about the global economy, which will affect “people, budgets and projects.”
After just six months in the position, Licht’s recent review of the company found that some departments within the 4,500-strong workplace are “bloated.”
The CEO said he and other executives wanted to find out who “will be cut by the end of the year so that we can start 2023 when we feel reassured and ready for the future.”
CEO Chris Licht (above) has signaled that CNN will see big changes in the coming weeks and months as the news source looks to “shed the fat.”
Licht is reportedly hoping to change CNN’s reputation for being an “awakened” media source
Licht also has a “hands off” style that is reportedly worrying employees as he and others involved in the process begin to evaluate who gets on the chopping block.
Despite the “disturbing” changes, the new boss said he hopes CNN will tell stories that families would discuss around the table, with less of a focus on politics.
Licht took over after the retirement of Jeff Zucker, a network star who quit because of an undisclosed consensual relationship with ex-CNN exec Allison Gollust.
That came after former star Chris Cuomo – a close friend of Zucker’s – was removed from his CNN show for informing his brother Andrew – the disgraced ex-governor of New York – about how he was making allegations of sexual abuse can survive harassment.