MSNBC's ratings have been in decline since Election Day, including star anchor Rachel Maddow, and the left-leaning network's viewership has been cut by nearly half as its staff panicked in the halls of 30 Rock.
Maddow reportedly agreed to a $5 million annual pay cut on a new five-year contract with an annual salary of $25 million, but her ratings plummeted and her exorbitant compensation led to calls for termination among employees. There are growing concerns that it could increase risks. rank and file.
“The Rachel Maddow Show” has lost 41% of its viewers since Nov. 5, even though an executive reportedly ranted that the 51-year-old anchor was “rating Viagra.” The number of viewers decreased sharply, and the total number of viewers was 1.4 million. Nielsen said Wednesday that Maddow's audience was down 50% at the demonstrations, to just 118,000 people.
As of this Monday, Maddow's show had just 1.3 million total viewers. There were only 84,000 people in the key 25-54 age group, down 13% from the previous week. Her viewership was the lowest this year and her worst performance in the demo since 2015.
This is part of a nearly 50% decline overall for MSNBC, with employees still reeling from last week's announcement that the network will be separated from parent company Comcast and other cable channels next year. Change the name even suggests that it may be forced to separate.
In response to news of the surprise spinoff and plummeting ratings, Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough nervously joked on air, “In a year, we might all be fired.'' I can't do it,” he said.
Nielsen said after revealing that he and co-host Mika Brzezinski met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago to reset their controversial relationship. They estimate that “Morning Joe'' lost a whopping 37% of its audience, turning off the interest of many viewers. Their liberal audience.
Since Election Day, MSNBC has averaged just 497,000 viewers per day overall, a 47% decline, and 49,000 viewers in the advertising-coveted 25- to 54-year-old adult demographic, according to Nielsen data. I stayed there.
MSNBC declined to comment on the ratings carnage. A network official told the Post: “A post-election drop in viewership was always expected, and internally we believe it will recover in the new year after the inauguration.”
CNN also fell 33%, posting double-digit losses and just 357,000 total daily viewers and 65,000 in the key demo. CNN lost 39% of its total prime-time audience, with just 453,000 viewers.
By contrast, FOX News saw ratings rise 32% to nearly 1.9 million viewers and 35% viewership in the demo to 248,000 during and since President-elect Donald Trump's victory. , solidifying its dominance as the most-watched cable news network.
Fox News' prime-time ratings soared to 3.2 million, an 86% increase in total viewers year-over-year, while MSNBC (also home to Lawrence O'Donnell and Chris Hayes) The number of people decreased by 52% to 644,000.
Other popular MSNBC shows, including Joy Reid's “The ReidOut” and “Stephanie Rule's 11th Hour,” hit historic lows in key demos.
Fox, home to Sean Hannity, Greg Gutfeld and Harris Faulkner, experienced record growth, capturing 62% of cable news viewers in November's total daily ratings.
It's normal for ratings to fluctuate after a presidential election, and one MSNBC official said the decline was comparable to that seen in 2016 after Trump's election and the summer after Biden's poor debate performance.
The official added that MSNBC's decline has begun to level off. Still, that number is still down from pre-Trump levels, and network officials said it's causing significant “anxiety” internally.
Aside from ratings issues, MSNBC faces an uncertain future that could include layoffs and layoffs.
Comcast announced it would retain NBC assets, including NBC News and NBC Sports, as part of the spinoff. The announcement sparked panic among MSNBC employees about how it would affect reporting and staffing for the left-leaning network, which relies heavily on NBC News.
