MSNBC ratings plunge after Trump election victory — as more than half of primetime audience flees
MSNBC primetime viewership plunged 54% in the days after Donald Trump won the White House as the network’saudience tuned away from its left-leaning coverage, according to a report.
The Comcast-owned cable news channel — which drew a daily average of 1.1 million viewers throughout October – saw its audience shrink to a daily average of 736,000 on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after Election Day, according to Nielsen Media Research data reported by Fox News.
That amounted to a 31% drop following Trump’s decisive victory, in which he swept the popular vote and all seven key swing states. Meanwhile, Fox News ratings surged a whopping 61% during the same period, according to Nielsen data reported by Fox.
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Many MSNBC shows — including those hosted by Alex Wagner, Joy Reid and Lawrence O’Donnell — saw their smallest audiences of the year on Friday. MSNBC
MSNBC was hit hardest during the primetime hours between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Viewership of its primetime shows — including “Alex Wagner Tonight,” “All In With Chris Hayes” and “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell” — dropped 54% to 808,000, according to Nielsen data. That’s after the network averaged 1.8 million viewers in the coveted time slot throughout October.
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The losses are a sharp turnaround from Election Day, when MSNBC’s election night coverage, anchored by Rachel Maddow, averaged 6 million viewers, besting CNN’s 5.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen data.
Fox News came out on top on election night with 10.3 million viewers between 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, according to data.
Sharon Waxman, a former correspondent for The New York Times and founder of Hollywood news site The Wrap, argued that the media needs “a total rethink” after the election.
MNSBC’s primetime audience of adults between the ages of 25 and 54 fell 57%, according to Nielsen data reported by Fox News.
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“If you’re like me, you haven’t turned on the news since last Tuesday when Donald Trump won the election,” Waxman wrote for The Wrap on Sunday. “Personally, I can’t bear to listen to another minute of wisdom from Joy Reid, my friend Lawrence O’Donnell or the admirable Rachel Maddow.”
“I’m not saying I’ll never watch or listen again. But – am I alone here? – my entire body recoils from listening to more claptrap from the same claptrapping apparatus,” Waxman wrote.
MSNBC’s primetime ratings in the days after the election have fallen 51% from its year-to-date totals. Fox News’ ratings rose 58% in the same period, according to Nielsen data.
Fox News ratings grew a whopping 61% in the days following the election, according to Nielsen data reported by Fox News. AFP via Getty Images
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The channel’s primetime audience of adults between the ages of 25 and 54 – a crucial demographic for advertisers – fell 57%, even worse than the total audience at that time, the data said.
Many of the network’s most popular shows – including those hosted by network stars Alex Wagner, Andrea Mitchell, Chris Jansing, Nicolle Wallace, Jose Diaz-Balart, Joy Reid and Lawrence O’Donnell – saw their smallest audiences of the year on Friday.
Like MSNBC, CNN’s ratings also suffered in the days after the election — down 36% compared to average viewership in October, according to Nielsen data.
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Subscribe to our daily Business Report newsletter!MSNBC remained the No. 2 most-watched cable news network — trailing only Fox News — in the days after election night, according to Nielsen.
Still, viewers fled MSNBC en masse after the results were called in Trump’s favor.
MSNBC viewers have abandoned the network in the past after its anchors were proven wrong.
Viewership of MSNBC primetime shows — including “Alex Wagner Tonight” — dropped 54% to 808,000, according to Nielsen data. AP
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In 2019, Maddow’s audience sank 19% after the Justice Department announced a special counsel investigation found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016.
Previously, Maddow’s coverage of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the claims earned her the No. 1 spot in cable news.
MSNBC’s post-election viewership slump falls in line with the network’s declines after previous election cycles, a TV network insider told The Post.
The cable news channel saw similar declines after the 2016 election, but then went on to have its four most-watched years yet between 2017 and 2020, the insider said.
MSNBC ratings plunge after Trump election victory — as more than half of primetime audience flees
While MSNBC viewership dropped 31% in the days after Election Day, Fox News ratings grew a whopping 61% in the same period, according to Nielsen data reported by Fox News.
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