A show on UFOs aired by low-rated NewsNation beat the debut of a new CNN series produced by NBA star LeBron James, in the latest embarrassment for both James and the ratings-starved CNN.
NewsNation drew 106,000 total viewers for its Sunday UFO special, We Are Not Alone: The Historic Hearing. Meanwhile, CNN’s LeBron James-produced show See It Loud: The History of Black Television only drew a tiny 65,000 viewers during the 9 p.m. hour, according to the New York Post.
LeBron James, the winner of Best Record-Breaking Performance, speaks onstage during The 2023 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 12, 2023, in Hollywood, California. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
“NewsNation also beat out CNN in the 25-54 demographic coveted by advertisers, attracting 39,000 viewers to CNN’s 32,000, according to Nielsen,” the paper added.
You would be excused for being unfamiliar with NewsNation. It is one of the newest attempts at a non-biased cable news network that has been struggling to stay alive. But apparently, it’s beating CNN pretty nicely, which might be cold comfort.
CNN has often fallen to third place among the top three cable news networks behind leader Fox News and the left-wing MSNBC. But at this point, CNN’s ratings have become so bad that NewsNation may be pushing CNN back another spot in the ratings game.
This is yet another embarrassment for James. TV ratings are the least of his problems; a more embarrassing problem for the NBA star occurred this week in Akron, Ohio, where his vaunted I Promise school has been found woefully short of fulfilling any of its promises.
On Monday, news broke that James’ I Promise school in Akron, which was launched with great fanfare in 2018, is seriously failing its students.
LeBron James addresses the media following the grand opening of the I Promise school on July 30, 2018, in Akron, Ohio. (Allison Farrand/NBAE via Getty Images)
State testing data shows that not one eighth-grade student in James’ special school for at-risk inner-city kids has passed a state math exam. And data also shows that all five grades in his special school rate far, far below even the worst schools in Akron.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston