Chris Wallace’s CNN celebrity talk show debut tanks in ratings

US

Chris Wallace’s debut as the host of his own celebrity interview talk show on struggling cable news outfit CNN proved to be a dud in the ratings.

Sunday night’s premiere of “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace” was watched by just 401,000 viewers — which is down 29% from the 2022 average for the 7 p.m. Eastern time hour, according to the latest television ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

Wallace’s show also drew just 44,000 viewers in the advertiser-coveted demographic of viewers between the ages of 25 and 54, according to Nielsen. That’s 64% off of the average for that hour.

In his debut episode, Wallace, who apparently is trying to rebrand himself into a broadcaster who goes beyond just politics, received less-than-stellar reviews for singing along with Shania Twain to the tune of her hit single “Man, I Feel Like a Woman.”

Next week’s episode features Wallace quizzing retired baseball slugger Alex Rodriguez over his dating history.

The ex-“Fox News Sunday” host was trounced by the competition at his former workplace.

Wallace’s debut drew just 44,000 viewers in the coveted demographic of viewers between the ages of 25 and 54, according to Nielsen.
CNN+

Former congressman Trey Gowdy, who hosts “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy,” generated an audience of 1.3 million — more than three times Wallace’s viewership, according to Nielsen.

In the 25-54 demographic, Gowdy nearly doubled up Wallace, drawing 78,000 viewers.

The Post has sought comment from CNN and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Fox News is a subsidiary of the Fox Corporation, the sister company of The Post’s corporate parent, News Corp.

Wallace decamped from his longtime home, Fox News, last year for CNN after moderating “Fox News Sunday” for 18 years.

Chris Wallace
Wallace, who was lured away from Fox News last year, has had a bumpy start to his CNN tenure.
POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The son of late “60 Minutes” correspondent Mike Wallace was a prize acquisition by CNN’s then-boss, Jeff Zucker, who would eventually resign after it was learned that he had been carrying on a consensual relationship with his top marketing deputy, Allison Gollust.

Wallace came on board at CNN for a reported annual salary that ranges between $8 million and $10 million.

But the departure of Zucker as well as the abrupt shutdown of the streaming service CNN+ by the company’s new corporate parent just weeks after its launch reportedly had Wallace second-guessing his decision to migrate to the network.

Zucker’s successor, Chris Licht, moved Wallace’s show to Sunday nights on the cable network.

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