CNN host Chris Cuomo's viewership has plunged by HALF since he contracted coronavirus after segments with brother Andrew were panned as ratings stunts

CNN host Chris Cuomo's ratings have plunged 49 percent in the two months since he announced he'd contracted coronavirus, data from Nielsen Media Research shows.

Since the week of March 30, Cuomo has dropped from first in his 9pm time slot among cable news hosts to bottom of the barrel, last week averaging just 440,000 daily viewers in the age demographic prized by advertisers.

Cuomo's stunning ratings nosedive came after interviews with his brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in lighthearted segments that were widely panned as ratings stunts amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Though all cable news saw something of a drop-off in viewership in May, as viewers seemingly grew weary of the pandemic coverage, Chris Cuomo's decline was sharper than his time slot competitors, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and Fox News' Sean Hannity.

+5

This chart shows the daily average viewers ages 25-54 for the 9pm cable news hosts

+5

Chris Cuomo (left) mocked his brother New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (right) with a prop nasal swab to tease him about the size of his nose in a segment last week

A spokesperson for Chris Cuomo declined to comment when reached by DailyMail.com. 

However, a source close to the anchor pointed out that cable news ratings rise and fall dramatically depending on what's happening in the news cycle. The person argued that weekly averages don't provide an accurate picture of viewership.

Chris Cuomo's ratings peak came the week of March 30 when he announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus and was isolating in his basement, beating out Maddow and Hannity with 862,000 daily viewers in the 25-54 age demographic.

Since then, his ratings have dropped 49 percent in the demo and 35 percent overall, while Maddow is down 17 percent in the demo and 7 percent overall. Hannity has dropped 38 percent in the demo and 12 percent overall.

Last week, Chris Cuomo dropped below Maddow in the demo for the first time since March 2. Maddow had 498,000 daily average viewers in the demo and Chris Cuomo had 355,000.

Hannity has beaten Chris Cuomo  since the week of April 6. Last week, Hannity garnered 4.7 total viewers and 589,000 in the 25-54 demographic. 

+5

Cuomo's ratings peak came the week of March 30 when he announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus and was isolating in his basement

+5

Cuomo garnered big ratings for CNN with his own struggle with COVID-19

Chris Cuomo leaves basement quarantine after being cleared

Loaded: 0%

Progress: 0%

0:00

Previous

Play

Skip

Mute

Current Time0:00

/

Duration Time1:08

Fullscreen

Need Text

Chris Cuomo's sibling interview segment last week drew heated backlash over its lighthearted tone, coming as his brother Andrew Cuomo faced tough questions over a March order requiring nursing homes to accept patients recovering from coronavirus.

The virus has since raged through New York's nursing homes, killing more than 5,800 elderly and vulnerable residents.

Florida, which banned such nursing home patient transfers in mid-March, has suffered 1,032 deaths in nursing homes, despite having a larger and older population than New York.

'Journalism that truly aims to restore trust in media would hold Andrew Cuomo to account for these missteps,' wrote David A. Graham for the Atlantic this week.

Instead, Chris Cuomo brandished oversized prop swaps to mock the size of his brother the governor's nose in a segment last week.

'The problem comes when the efforts to juice ratings start to get in the way of accurate journalism that holds officials accountable,' Graham wrote.

+5

Cuomo's sibling interview segment last week drew heated backlash over its lighthearted tone

The View host Meghan McCain also leveled criticism of the segment on Twitter, saying: 'I’m not sure I’m going to ever be able to buy a crib or baby clothes for my first child in a store, Most of my friends are jobless, petrified and dealing w depression & @JaniceDean lost both her mother and father in law to COVID within a week of each other.'

'This is HILARIOUS guys,' she added sarcastically. 

However, some Twitter users came to the Cuomo brothers' defense, noting that Gov. Cuomo holds a press conference every day on the coronavirus crisis and numbers in hard-hit New York. 

'This was the best! I literally laughed out loud and we need those moments of hilarity in these times,' one viewer tweeted.