Anderson Cooper on Radio Andy studio at SiriusXM on Dec. 15, 2025. (Noam Galai / Getty Images)
By Nicole Silverio March 23, 2026 at 6:30am
CNN attempted to rebrand longtime host Anderson Cooper as a podcaster Thursday as the network’s primetime ratings have plummeted.CNN changed the layout of “Anderson Cooper 360” to make it appear like a podcast. The reorganization came as CNN’s primetime ratings significantly dropped in the past year.
CNN’s primetime viewership fell by 42 percent in the third quarter of 2025, and the network has also lost one-third of its primetime viewership since 2016. The number of primetime viewers dropped from roughly 1.3 million in 2016 to 553,000 as of February.
Podcasts gained relevance during the 2024 election cycle, particularly when President Donald Trump appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “This Past Weekend With Theo Von” and other prominent podcasts that reached younger viewers.
Cooper’s program has remained a top performer for CNN. In the third quarter of 2025, it averaged 616,000 total viewers and 573,000 in July 2025, according to AdWeek. The show garnered over 1 million viewers on Monday, according to the TV Ratings Guide.
The network changed the set design of Cooper’s program over the past two days, according to CNN’s Brian Stelter.
Despite the downfall in primetime ratings, Cooper secured a deal with the network in December to continue his employment, which reportedly surprised many. The deal allowed Cooper to focus more on digital outreach and creating content for viewers who subscribe to online services, according to Variety.
Cooper has been with CNN since 2001 and currently earns a salary of $18 million, according to The New York Post.
CNN’s ratings have consistently remained lower than Fox News and MS NOW. In the first week of March, CNN garnered 1 million average primetime viewers, MS NOW finished with 1.3 million and Fox News came out on top with 3.1 million average viewers, according to TV Insider.
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