CNN’s revenue tanked roughly $400 million in three years, according to financial metrics shared at the network’s defamation trial on Friday.
During the case, which concluded Friday, awarding Navy veteran Zachary Young $5 million in damages, a forensic economist revealed that the ratings-challenged network brought in roughly $2.2 billion in revenue in 2021, $2 billion in revenue in 2022 and $1.8 billion in 2023.
The decline represents a $400 million or 18% drop over three years, and provided a rare look into the company’s financials, Mediaite reported.
The economist Robert Johnson, who dug into the tax documents in order to determine what punitive damages should be awarded to Young, revealed that CNN still boasted net income of $600 million in 2021, $300 million in profit in 2022 and $400 million in 2023.
The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned network had a cash flow profit of $424.9 million in 2023.
Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsuhn posted screenshots on X of the slides Young’s lawyers showed jurors Friday during the economists’ testimony.
Despite its tanking viewership, CNN remains extremely profitable, the tax documents revealed, but it also showed that the network’s net worth had been sliced in half between 2021 and 2023, according to The Wrap.
Its net worth went from $4.4 billion in 2021 to $2.3 billion in 2023 — a drop of 47.7% — according to the documents.
Johnson argued that CNN’s revenue should be used to determine Young’s punitive damages.
CNN, like many linear channels, has been plagued by declining viewership as consumers opt for streaming over cable. The network has experienced some of the sharpest drops, however, as it grapples with the shifting political climate and the tone of its coverage.
According to Nielsen, CNN’s primetime ratings, which totaled 685,000 in 2024 have dropped -62% since 2020. In the all-important demo of 25 to 54.years of age, ratings tanked 72%. During total day, the network fell 58% in total viewers and 71% in the demo over the four years.
CNN’s finances were reported after a Florida jury on Friday found that CNN defamed Young when it implied he illegally profited from helping Afghans flee the country during a 2021 segment on “The Lead With Jake Tapper.”
The network was ordered to pay Zachary Young $5 million in compensatory damages for libel, and an unspecified punitive damages.
