Viewers largely avoided CNN's newest experiment, "(Get To) The Point," during its week-long trial run. The panel show took the place of Anderson Cooper's 10 PM repeat. Judging by their reaction, audiences appear to prefer Cooper.
On Thursday night, a paltry 249,000 people tuned in, fewer than watched "American Greed" on CNBC or "HLN After Dark." Overall, the show was 40 percent lower in the ratings than Cooper.
"The Point" was also the target of a brutal takedown by Jon Stewart, who said it lacked any direction at all. (Others, such as critic Eric Deggans, said CNN should be allowed to try new things during its reinvention phase, even if they didn't work.)
Nevertheless, the show sent out an optimistic tweet to its viewers:
Thanks to all for watching @thepointcnn this week, and giving your feedback on the show. See you again soon!
-- (Get To) The Point (@ThePointCNN) April 5, 2013
MSNBC's "All In" is certainly not going anywhere after just a week. The network is likely to be very patient with host Chris Hayes, who has made a rapid rise through the ranks, and whose show is quite different from "The Ed Show," which it replaced. But it fell 26 percent in total viewers across its first four days, as well as 24 percent in the all-important A25-54 demo. All told, "All In" ratings were down 15 percent from the last week of "The Ed Show," which was hosted by fill-in anchors. Still, the show drew critical praise and network president Phil Griffin is not going to lose any sleep over some slight softness in a first week.