CNN’s New Year’s Eve special with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen scored the network’s second-highest ratings since it began airing the holiday event in 2007. The latest special, beamed live from New York City’s Times Square, averaged 4.5 million total viewers between the 12 and 12:30 a.m period, its highest figures since 2020. CNN said this year’s ratings also saw a 21 percent increase in total viewers and a 35 percent boost in the 25-54 age demographic. Cable viewers saw a refreshed Cohen discuss the “chaotic” tenure of former New York Mayor Eric Adams during the broadcast, who hit back online later to suggest the host enter Alcoholics Anonymous, calling his comments “another sloppy drunken rant.” Adams added “If anyone actually cares about him, they’ll tell him to get help. New Yorkers aren’t laughing with him. They are concerned about him. Public intoxication is a disease. He should seek help. He was safe in Times Square because we did our job.” Cohen also discussed online commentary discussing his looks, with claims that he had undergone a makeover. The Watch What Happens Live host waded into the debate on Threads, sharing, “Did the smallest amount of Botox and lost 20 pounds! And had a lot of makeup on.”
