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MSNBC’s primetime lineup has worst January ever among demographic coveted by advertisers
MSNBC’s primetime lineup finished with its smallest January audience ever among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54.
The news-heavy month featured an alleged terrorist ramming a truck through New Year's revelers in New Orleans, shocking video of a Tesla Cybertruck exploding in front of Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, President Biden pardoning members of his family and political allies on his way out the door, President Trump’s inauguration, the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and other significant headlines as the Trump administration began with a flurry of executive orders.
Despite the busy month of major news, MSNBC averaged only 63,000 demo viewers between the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m. ET to finish No. 31 among cable offerings. By comparison, Fox News Channel averaged 353,000 demo viewers during primetime and ratings-challenged CNN even managed an average of 118,000 demo viewers to almost double MSNBC.
DePauw University professor Jeffrey McCall said advertisers typically want to do business with networks that deliver viewers from the key demo.
"Advertisers seek the 25-54 demo because media consumers in that age range generally have money to spend and are not necessarily locked into brand loyalties. Younger demos have less discretionary money to spend, and older demos are more established in their consumerism habits," McCall told Fox News Digital.
"The 25-54 consumers are buying cars, renovating their houses, buying clothes for kids and basically having to spend their money to live their lives. And they are more open to trying new products or services," McCall added. "That's why advertisers target this age group so specifically."
TV Land, Lifetime, Freeform, E!, Syfy, BET, Paramount, Hallmark Channel, AMC, FXX, Investigation Discovery, History, Nick-at-Nite, MTV, Discovery, Comedy Central, A&E, HGTV, FX, Adult Swim, Food Network, Bravo, ESPN 2, TLC, TBS, TNT, USA and ESPN all also outperformed MSNBC in the demo during the news-heavy month.
"Networks with poor showings in the 25-54 demo will appeal to a narrower range of advertisers and likely have to discount their advertising rates," McCall said.
MSNBC’s struggling primetime lineup features "Inside with Jen Psaki" at 8 p.m. ET on Mondays with "All In with Chris Hayes" occupying that timeslot the rest of the week. Rachel Maddow, who famously cut "The Rachel Maddow Show" to once a week in 2022 to pursue other projects despite her enormous salary, is filling the 9 p.m. ET timeslot each weekday for the first 100 days of the Trump administration, but "Alex Wagner Tonight" occupied that timeslot for much of the month and "The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell" closes things out.
On January 16, President Biden sat down with MSNBC's Lawrence O’Donnell for the last interview of his administration before officially leaving office. Despite extensive promotion, Biden’s final interview as president drew only 97,000 viewers among the critical demo. Repeats of "Seinfeld," "Family Guy," "Friends," "The Office," as well as an episode of "South Park" were among the programs to draw a larger audience in the category.
MSNBC’s issues among the critical demo weren’t exclusive to primetime, as the network also struggled significantly among total day viewers among adults coveted by advertisers.
MSNBC averaged only 45,000 total day demo viewers, compared to 253,000 for Fox News and 80,000 for CNN.
MSNBC finished behind 26 different cable options in the category.
When it comes to individual programs, 14 different Fox News programs beat MSNBC’s "The Rachel Maddow Show" among demo viewers.
"The Five," Jesse Watters Primetime," "Hannity," The Ingraham Angle," "Gutfeld!," "Special Report with Bret Baier," "Fox News @ Night," "The Faulkner Focus," "America’s Newsroom," "Outnumbered," "America Reports," Martha MacCallum’s "The Story" and the p.m. ET hour combo of "Your World" and "The Will Cain Show" all outperformed "The Rachel Maddow Show" with viewers between ages 25-54.
Ethan Alter, who covers cable news ratings for Adweek’s TVNewser, stressed the importance of the measurable.
"Adults 25-54 is the prized demographic among advertisers, so strong showings there are key for a cable network’s ad revenue. MSNBC saw some notable demo erosion in the wake of the election, which can likely be chalked up to post-election fatigue and the holidays. January brought better results than December, but the network was still down in the demo compared to a year ago," Alter told Fox News Digital.
OVER 10 MILLION VIEWERS WATCHED FOX NEWS' INAUGURATION COVERAGE, CRUSHING ALL OTHER NETWORKS
When asked for comment, an MSNBC spokesperson responded with a press release touting the network’s uptick in viewership since Trump took office on January 20.
"From 4 p.m. to midnight, during MSNBC’s Perspective & Analysis programming, all weekday MSNBC programs grew their audiences by double-digit percentages versus the prior month and topped their respective CNN time slot competitors," the MSNBC press release stated.
MSNBC’s viewership issues come as Comcast recently announced it would spin off NBCUniversal cable assets, including MSNBC, into a separate company that will not be tied to NBC News. As a result, the fate of shared resources and editorial direction are in question.
"Ensuring the demo numbers remain trending upward will likely be a priority as MSNBC approaches its SpinCo spin-off later this year," Alter said.
Earlier this month, MSNBC president Rashida Jones stepped down from her position after running the liberal network for nearly four years.
Rebecca Kutler, senior vice president of content strategy, has been named the interim president of MSNBC. Kutler came to MSNBC in 2022 after a lengthy stint at CNN, where she once served as Don Lemon’s executive producer.
Ratings data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.
Fox News Digital's Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.
