Jan Appling Secretary | DeKalb County Republican Party
Jan Appling Secretary | DeKalb County Republican Party
MSNBC's primetime lineup experienced a significant decline in viewership during January, marking the network's worst performance ever in the key demographic of adults aged 25-54. This demographic is particularly important to advertisers. Despite a month filled with major news events, including President Trump's inauguration and international developments, MSNBC averaged only 63,000 viewers in this age group during the prime hours of 8-11 p.m. ET.
Rachel Maddow returned to the network for five nights a week in an attempt to boost ratings, but her increased presence did not lead to improved numbers. The network finished January ranked No. 31 among cable offerings, significantly trailing behind competitors Fox News Channel and CNN. Fox News Channel achieved an average of 353,000 demo viewers, while CNN managed an average of 118,000.
DePauw University professor Jeffrey McCall highlighted that advertisers prefer networks that attract audiences within the key demographic. The comparison between MSNBC's viewership and the population of Missoula, Montana was noted as striking by some observers.
The landscape of cable news ratings has shifted notably, with Fox News seeing substantial gains in January while both CNN and MSNBC faced challenges in maintaining their audience numbers.
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