More Trouble for MSNBC as Ratings Plummet: New Primetime Lineup of Ex-Biden Aides Performs Worse Than Fired Joy Reid

Liberal MSNBC, which saw a temporary boost to its viewership during President Trump’s first 100 days in office, is now on a downward slope as the harsh reality of the absence of Rachel Maddow — who returned to a one-day-a-week work schedule — sinks in.In May, the network’s primetime audience plummeted 41 percent compared to May 2024, according to leaked ratings data obtained by the Daily Mail. Meanwhile, its total daily audience has fallen 34 percent. The precipitous decline in viewership comes as MSNBC has made some changes to its primetime line-up. For the first 100 days of the second Trump term, Ms. Maddow had agreed to host her 9 p.m. show five days a week — she had been working just one day a week since 2024 while reportedly earning $30 million a year, which was later cut to $25 million. During that period, the network appeared to see a resurgence in its viewers. However, Ms. Maddow insisted on returning to her Monday-only schedule at the 100-day mark. (She is still believed to be making $25 million a year.) To fill the 9 p.m. hour Tuesday through Friday, MSNBC turned to a former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki, whose new primetime show “The Briefing” launched on May 6. MSNBC also made other changes to its lineup, firing an anti-Trump firebrand, Joy Reid, and replacing her with a panel show featuring another veteran of the Biden administration’s communications operation, Symone Sanders Townsend. Ms. Psaki’s premier week was marred by accusations she had lied about and helped to cover up President Biden’s physical and cognitive decline during her time as his spokeswoman. Ms. Psaki told Semafor that she “never saw” the version of Mr. Biden that horrified many viewers during his June 2024 debate with President Trump. However, shortly after her comment, a book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson, “Original Sin,” was released that detailed deep concerns aides had about the 46th president, some of which dated back to even before his 2020 campaign — casting doubt on her assertion. Her debut night, which could have drawn in fans of Ms. Maddow who were curious about the new host, brought in just 1.2 million viewers, with only 137,000 in the coveted 25- to 54-year-old demographic. Since then, her viewership has shrunk, her audience routinely fails to cross 1 million, and she has averaged 973,000 total viewers.That average represents a 46 percent decrease from Ms. Maddow’s audience during Mr. Trump’s first 100 days. And it is a 20 percent decrease from the previous host of the Tuesday to Friday time, Alex Wagner. That embarrassing deficit casts doubt on the decision by the new MSNBC president, Rebecca Kutler, to replace Ms. Wagner with Ms. Psaki. Ms. Maddow herself objected to the move, noting that the removal of Ms. Reid and Ms. Wagner impacted the only two primetime hosts “of color.”On May 28, Ms. Psaki had just more than 1 million total viewers and 94,000 in the 25- to 54-year-old demo. The ratings plunge appears not to be exclusive to Ms. Psaki. Even Ms. Maddow has seen her audience shrink, averaging 1.8 million total viewers, down from 2.4 million last year. MSNBC’s other new show, “The Weeknight,” a panel show featuring Ms. Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez, is also struggling with ratings. “The Weeknight” replaced Ms. Reid’s show, which was canceled earlier this year after her racially charged comments, in particular about white women, became too hot to handle for MSNBC’s current parent company, Comcast. But “The Weeknight” is not performing well. Since it launched on May 5, it has averaged 770,000 viewers, down 36 percent for that slot from last year. On May 28, “The Weeknight” drew 850,000 viewers and had the biggest audience in the key demo, with 96,000 viewers. In even more troubling news for MSNBC, Breaker reported that one of its higher-rated hosts, Ari Melber, is in talks to possibly leave the network. Mr. Melber is reportedly considering starting his own media outlet but has also been talking to rival networks about potential contracts with them. MSNBC did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.The plummeting ratings come as MSNBC is being spun off from Comcast and NBCUniversal under a new company, Versant.It is believed that the executives at the new company will be closely scrutinizing the contracts of the marquee talent, which were signed by NBCUniversal, as Versant will be losing some of the buffer from the financial turmoil facing cable TV broadcasters. The loss of Ms. Maddow’s five-day-a-week schedule and the possible loss of Mr. Melber could prompt Versant executives to try to re-evaluate its lineup and talent as its ratings plummet. It is also believed that attorneys for the network are examining ways to try to force Ms. Maddow to return to a Monday through Friday schedule, or otherwise to find a way to part with the expensive host.

More Trouble for MSNBC as Ratings Plummet: New Primetime Lineup of Ex-Biden Aides Performs Worse Than Fired Joy Reid

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