CNN slipped to fourth place in the prime time demo in October averaging 190k viewers, falling behind Fox News (583k), MSNBC (239k), and sister network HLN (191k) making October the worst month this year. The network was third in Total Viewers in prime time with 679k, behind dominant FNC and second-place MSNBC.

In total day, CNN was third in the demo (142k) and second in Total Viewers (486k).

In the demo, Lou Dobbs, Campbell Brown, and Anderson Cooper were all fourth in their time slots, while Larry King was third at 9pmET. "Larry King" was the network's highest rated program for the month, averaging 846k Total Viewers and 226k in the demo.

For the first time, the 10pmET repeat of MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" bested CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" in the demo (218K vs 210K).

Wolf Blitzer's "Situation Room" bested MSNBC in Total Viewers and the demo for each of its three hours and actually grew month to month in the demo.

Since October '08 - the final days of the presidential election - CNN has seen the steepest declines in prime time, down 71% in Total Viewers and down 80% in the demo.

CNN/HLN press release after the jump.

CNN and HLN Top MSNBC in Key 25-54 Demo (Total Day), MSNBC Slips To 4TH

CNN’s American Morning and HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade Top MSNBC’s Morning Joe

CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer Outperforms MSNBC During All Three Hours

Both CNN and HLN topped MSNBC in total day in the key demo adults 25-54 during the month of October. CNN averaged 142k, HLN averaged 146k, while MSNBC slipped to fourth place with 132k. Among total viewers, CNN outperformed MSNBC by 35% in total day, posting 486k, while MSNBC followed with 361k.

This year, CNN/US continues to reach more viewers than FNC or MSNBC every month in total unduplicated viewership. In October, CNN/US topped the competition in cumulative audience with a monthly average of 98 million viewers, while FNC placed second with 88 million, HLN posted 85 million, MSNBC had 75 million and CNBC had 64 million.

In the morning, CNN's American Morning and HLN's Morning Express with Robin Meade outperformed MSNBC's Morning Joe. In the key demo adults 25-54, HLN had a 50% lead over the MSNBC program (188k vs. 125k) and CNN's American Morning had a 17% advantage over Morning Joe (146k vs. 125k). October is Morning Express's best month ever among adults 25-54.

CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer also topped MSNBC's all three hours in both total viewers and 25-54 (4pm, 5 pm & 6 pm). At 4 pm, CNN had a 45% lead over MSNBC, at 5 pm a 29% advantage and at 6 pm 1% more.

On Sundays, CNN's State of the Union with John King (9a-12noon) topped MSNBC among total viewers and the key 25-54 demo, (512k vs. 171k) and (136k vs. 91k), respectively.

At 10 pm, Nancy Grace outperforms Countdown with Keith Olbermann in the 25-54 demo (222k vs. 219k). From 10 pm to midnight, Anderson Cooper 360 tops MSNBC's Countdown/Rachel Maddow among 25-54 viewers (196k vs. 190k).

At 11 pm, HLN's Showbiz Tonight topped MSNBC's Rachel Maddow in the 25-54 demo (210k vs. 161k).

With a combined TV and online reach of more than 132 million, CNN continues to reach more people on more platforms than any cable news competitor in July, including MSNBC and Fox News. (Source: Nielsen Fusion – July 2009 – most recent data available)