ATLANTA, GA—CNN knew they were taking a risk devoting seven hours to Democratic presidential candidates talking about climate change, but the news channel thought that this issue -- getting a Democrat elected -- was important enough for the unusual programming decision. However, the special lost hugely in ratings to Nickelodeon, which also made an unusual decision to play the song “Baby Shark” 185 times in a row.
“It was just stupid, repetitive nonsense for hours and hours,” said Shannon Terry, a concerned citizen who found herself watching TV that evening. “So eventually I just turned off the CNN townhall and listened to ‘Baby Shark’ over and over again. That song is catchy.”
Many others seemed to agree with Terry, as the airing of presidential candidates making climate change-related campaign speeches was not considered by viewers to be as entertaining or informative as the singing of various phrases like “baby shark,” “mommy shark,” and “grandpa shark” over and over again.
CNN did see a brief ratings spike when Pete Buttigieg started singing, “Climate change, doo doo doo doo doo doo!” getting CNN to its highest point of the night -- seven viewers -- though when Buttigieg started talking about carbon credits, the number of viewers plummeted back down to three.
CNN's 7-Hour Climate Change Town Hall Loses In Ratings To 'Baby Shark' Being Played 185 Times In A Row
