MS NOW and CNN both saw a ratings boost in the week following President Donald Trump's ongoing press ban against outlets he says have reported "fiction and lies" from the White House. According to an Adweek report citing Nielsen data for the week of September 21, CNN saw a gain of 5 percent overall and 6 percent in the key 25-54 age demographic for total day viewers. MS NOW grew 2 percent in viewers and 2 percent in the key demo.
CNN saw an 8 percent increase in total viewers and an 11 percent increase in the 25-54 age demographic for primetime programming compared with the previous week. For the key viewing block, MS NOW grew by 2 percent in total and 11 percent in the 25-54 demographic. Looking back at the same period the previous year, MS NOW was up 9 percent in total viewers and 27 percent in the 25-54 age demographic.
CNN was up 11 percent and 14 percent, respectively. The numbers come as CNN, MS NOW and Politico have been embroiled in a legal battle in a bid to restore access to the White House after being banned and escorted off the grounds, which has drawn heightened attention to the networks, On a week-over-week basis, CNN and MS NOW gained in total viewers and in the 25-54 demographic as the midterm race for control of the House and Senate hits its final stages. Newsweek has contacted MS NOW and CNN for comment via email.
Trump announced the ban on the two networks and Politico in a Truth Social post on September 18. He said that the three outlets would not be permitted at the White House as a "result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!" "Media Outlets shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they're covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America," Trump added. Vice President JD Vance separately discussed the ban while speaking to Fox News, in a clip shared by the White House’s Rapid Response account on X.
"He's not banning media outlets," he said. "What he's doing is saying, 'We're not going to give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda.'" The ban was an escalation in Trump’s more than decade-long battle against what he calls “fake news” and has almost immediately met with a legal challenge. Newsweek has contacted attorneys for the media networks and the president via email outside of regular working hours.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a First Amendment lawsuit in a bid to restore their access. In a joint statement, the news outlets said, "This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes. "Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting.
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