CNN was back in second place for the third quarter in both primetime and total day, in Total Viewers and younger viewers. But the network slipped to third place, behind MSNBC, for the month of September.

In Monday - Friday primetime, CNN topped MSNBC by 13% among Total Viewers (1.051 million vs. 929k) and 7% among A25-54 viewers (319k vs. 298k). CNN is down 30% in primetime Total Viewers and down 39% in primetime A25-54 demo viewers compared to the election-heavy Q3 2008.

"Larry King Live" topped MSNBC's Rachel Maddow for the quarter and by the largest A25-54 margin since Maddow's MSNBC show premiered last September - 17%.

"Anderson Cooper 360", meanwhile, had the biggest declines of any cable news show year-to-year down 56% in Total Viewers and down 64% in the A25-54 demo.

CNN continues to reach more viewers than any cable news network. In September, CNN reached 102,835,000, FNC reached 93,136,000, HLN reached 86,290,000 and MSNBC reached 81,959,000.

Click continued to read CNN's press release...

CNN Back on Top Among Prime 25-54 Demo in Q3

Most Primetime (M-Su/M-F) Growth of any Network Versus Prior Quarter
Larry King Has Biggest Advantage Among 25-54 Over Rachel Maddow Ever

CNN

In Q3, CNN outperformed MSNBC in both total day and prime (M-Su and M-F) among both total viewers and adults 25-54 demo.

In primetime (M-Su), CNN outperformed MSNBC by 19% among total viewers (949k vs. 795k) and 5% among adults 25-54 (288k vs. 275k). In M-F prime comparisons, CNN topped MSNBC by 13% among total viewers (1.051 million vs. 929k) and 7% among adults 25-54 (319k vs. 298k).

In total day, CNN averaged 610k in total viewers, 54% more than MSNBC's 395k, and posted 183k among adults 25-54, 26% ahead of MSNBC's 145k.

Compared to prior quarter (Q2 09), CNN posted the largest primetime growth of any cable news network, up 12% among total viewers and 22% among adults 25-54 (M-F).

CNN program highlights:

- CNN's American Morning outperformed MSNBC's Morning Joe in total viewers (447k vs. 357k) and adults 25-54 (160k vs. 123k).

- Larry King Live topped MSNBC's Rachel Maddow by the largest margin ever (17%) among adults 25-54 (350k vs. 298k). Larry King Live has had the most newsmakers of any show with guests including singer Chris Brown, filmmaker Michael Moore, and several world leaders during the U.N. General Assembly session, among others.

- At 10p, Anderson Cooper 360 easily outperformed MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann among total viewers (1.005 million vs. 683k) and adults 25-54 (326k vs. 237k).