CNN Press Release - CNN executive vice president Ken Jautz announces “In the Arena” ensemble program at 8:00 pm. Below are statements from Jautz, Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer.

NOTE FROM KEN TO STAFF:

I want to share with you some news today regarding our 8pm show. Kathleen Parker has decided to leave the program to focus on her writing, and we have decided to take the show in a new direction. We will be adopting an ensemble format with several newsmakers, guests and contributors joining Eliot Spitzer each night. The new program will be called, "In the Arena," beginning Monday. E.D. Hill and Will Cain will join the program as well others within and outside the CNN family.

We have been pleased with how the 8pm hour has become a centerpiece of substantive, policy-oriented conversation, and we are looking forward to building on that with this new format. Simply put, the new program will look beyond the headlines to analyze and discuss the most important stories of the day. The program will provide context and analysis through balanced and thoughtful discussions and interviews with a wide range of guests and newsmakers who cumulatively represent various points of view.

Kathleen will continue to appear on CNN occasionally to provide her insights and commentary. We thank Kathleen for her hard work and all that she has done to help us launch our new 8pm program. We respect her as a colleague and appreciate her perspective and contributions.

Statement from Kathleen Parker:

After bringing viewers a new 8pm show on CNN, I have decided to return to a schedule that will allow me to focus more on my syndicated newspaper column and other writings. While I am extremely proud of the show we created, and the subject matter and level of discourse Parker Spitzer promoted every night, it was a difficult decision to scale back my column a few months ago and, with the show going in a new direction, it is a good time to move on. I want to thank the viewers who have been so kind with their comments and support. I will continue to appear to contribute and analyze occasionally on CNN and look forward to continuing my relationship with CNN and the many talented individuals I have worked with here.

Statement from Eliot Spitzer:

I wish Kathleen all the best in continuing on with her spectacular career. It has been a joy working with her as a teammate, and I continue to be a huge fan of the wisdom that jumps from her written work and the wit, charm and insight she brings to all that she does.

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CNN Press Release: CNN PRIMETIME GROWS COMPARED TO 4TH QUARTER AVERAGE; SURPASSES MSNBC DURING DAYTIME. Piers Morgan Tonight Off to a Strong Start; Parker Spitzer Gaining Ground Post Olbermann. 105 Million People Viewed CNN in January; 15 Million More than Fox News. CNN.com Traffic Spikes in January 2011.

In January, CNN”s M-F primetime grew compared to the network’s 4th quarter average, increasing 10% among total viewers (697k vs. 631k) and 10% in the key demographic adults 25-54 (204k vs. 186k).

Launch-to-date (January 17-28) Piers Morgan Tonight at 9p is off to a strong start, averaging 978k total viewers and 279k in the demographic adults 25-54. This represents a 50% increase compared to CNN’s 9p 4th quarter average among total viewers (654k) and 65% more in adults 25-54 (169k). PMT topped MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow show since launch among younger 18-49 viewers (217k vs. 198k).

Since Keith Olbermann left MSNBC, Parker Spitzer has gained ground, increasing +54% in the key demo 25-54 (163k vs. 106k), while MSNBC’s Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell dropped -21% vs. the prior week (232k vs. 292k) – omitting Tuesday’s State of the Union coverage.

In January, CNN topped MSNBC during the daytime (9am-5pm) in both total viewers and the key demo 25-54. In head-to-head comparisons with MSNBC’s daytime non-opinion programming, CNN had a 40% advantage among total viewers (456k vs. 325k) and a 64% lead among adults 25-54 (123k vs. 75k). MSNBC placed fourth every hour during the daytime in the demo 25-54, except at 4pm where they placed third behind CNN Newsroom.

Also in January, State of the Union with Candy Crowley at noon had its best month ever among total viewers (717k). CNN’s Sunday show line up topped MSNBC in both total viewers and in the demo from 10a–2p (Fareed Zakaria GPS, Reliable Sources and State of the Union with Candy Crowley).

CNN reached a cumulative audience of 105 million viewers in January, FNC lagged behind with 90 million, and MSNBC averaged had 87 million.

(Of note: Data comparisons to a year ago (January 2010) were not used due to last’s years highly elevated news cycle resulting from the Haiti earthquake and its aftermath.)


CNN Digital

Traffic:

In January, CNN.com was up globally 10% year over year:

Breaking News: The shootings in Arizona and the protests in Egypt drove traffic to CNN.com in January.

Arizona: CNN’s global coverage of the shootings in Arizona yielded 44 million page views on the day of the shootings (Saturday, January 8, 2011), a 48% gain over typical Saturday traffic. CNN.com also registered more than 2.7 million video starts, a 63% jump from typical Saturday video usage.

Egypt: In the first 3 days of the protests in Egypt, CNN.com globally generated 121 million page views, an increase of 11% over the prior 4-week average, and 11 million video starts, a 78% increase over the prior 4-week average.

Blogs: With 116 million page views in the U.S. in January, the CNN Blog network was up year over year by 164%.

Rounding out the top five were This Just In, The Political Ticker, The Marquee Blog, The Chart and Nancy Grace.

In the first week of Piers Morgan Tonight, the show’s blog generated 1.2 million page views, placing it among the top 5 blogs for the week.

(Source: Omniture SiteCatalyst. Prior 4-week averages include weekends of 1/22, 1/15, 12/18 and 12/11)


Mobile:

CNN Mobile is No. 1 in Mobile in News and Current Events for 4 years or 48 consecutive months.

With 14.5 million monthly unique visitors in the U.S. in December 2010, CNN Digital on mobile beat the nearest competitor, Fox News Digital, by 33%. (Source: Nielsen Mobile MediaView – Dec. 2010 – latest data available) (Source: Nielsen Mobile Mediaview, December 2010)


Social Media:

In January, CNN continued to make strides in social media

iReport: iReport increased its registered users base to 738,929 through the end of January. During the month of January, CNN’s iReport received 329 submissions related to the Arizona shootings with 21 vetted for use on CNN. iReporters also submitted nearly 586 iReports in January related to the protests in Egypt, with 53 vetted for use on CNN.

Facebook: CNN leads all news sites in Facebook fans with more than 1.7 million fans. In January, CNN added 100,000 more fans.

Twitter: Key CNN and HLN Twitter accounts* reached 11 million followers in January with @cnnbrk as CNN’s largest account with 3.7 million followers, with over a million more followers than second place’s @NYTimes

YouTube: The CNN YouTube Channel had over 1.6 million video starts in January, up 79% vs. the prior 4-week average

Forum member nodefault captured this technical fault from Friday's Parker Spitzer.

The Hollywood Reporter writes on Turner Broadcasting CEO, Phil Kent, and his comments at an investor conference presentation from Wednesday. The paragraphs relating to CNN are below, but you can read the full article here. You can also listen the entire webcast here (registration required).

The primetime ratings situation at CNN is "a bit more concerning" than other issues his division faces, Kent said, but highlighted that U.S. primetime only amounts to 10% of total revenue for CNN. Still, a show-by-show rebuilding is key in primetime, he said, adding that he has "very high expectations" for Piers Morgan's upcoming new show.

Meanwhile, Spitzer Parker is "a work in progress," he told the conference. It has the right form and idea, but he isn't quite happy yet with its execution, meaning it is "not everything we want it to be at this point," Kent said at the Phoenix conference, parts of which were webcast.