Well, well, well, look who’s trying to shake things up over at CNN. They thought they hit the jackpot pairing up Charles Barkley, the NBA legend, with Gayle King from CBS for a weekly show called “King Charles.” A match made in primetime heaven, right? Well, not exactly.
It seems CNN’s attempt to revive their dismal ratings by throwing this oddball duo into the mix has fallen flatter than a pancake. The New York Post had a field day reporting that the latest Wednesday broadcast of “King Charles” got trampled by reruns of “South Park” and “Seinfeld.” Yes, you heard that right, reruns!
Now, Barkley and King are no strangers to the limelight, holding their own on their respective shows. But apparently, when you put them together on CNN, the magic just doesn’t happen. The show kicked off with 500,000 viewers, not too shabby, but fast forward a bit, and those numbers have taken a nosedive.
According to Nielsen (you know, the folks who keep tabs on these things), the Jan. 31 episode only managed to pull in 400,000 viewers. Ouch! And let’s talk demographics, shall we? “King Charles” struggled to hit 89,000 in the coveted 25-54 age range, a far cry from its early days.
But here’s the real kicker – reruns of “South Park” and “Seinfeld,” broadcast in the wee hours of the morning, outshone “King Charles.” Yep, you read that correctly; a show featuring two prominent personalities couldn’t hold a candle to late-night reruns. How’s that for a slap in the face?
And what’s CNN’s response to this glorious failure? Oh, they’re disputing the Nielsen numbers, of course. A “close” source to CNN insists that these ratings don’t reflect the show’s actual viewership, and they’re quick to highlight that you can stream “King Charles” on-demand on MAX. Because, you know, people subscribing to a streaming service for top-notch content are dying to watch CNN. Sure, that makes total sense.
CNN’s defenders argue that “King Charles” is all about diversity and brings in more minority viewership than its competitors. Well, congratulations on the diversity front, but last place in the cable news ratings? That’s a real winner, CNN.
Meanwhile, over at Fox News, “Gutfeld!” is laughing all the way to the top, smashing the competition with 2.2 million viewers and 241,000 in the coveted demo. It looks like the conservative crowd prefers some genuine laughs over CNN’s attempt at a royal mismatch. Better luck next time, CNN – or maybe just stick to reruns.
Thomas Cooper