Rating Report Asses Networks
When MSNBC reshuffled its primetime lineup, the network likely hoped to energize its base and lock in some political momentum heading into a contentious election cycle. Instead, it’s facing a brutal ratings collapse.
May’s numbers are in, and the losses are staggering: primetime viewership dropped 24%, and total day programming was down 33%. It’s not just a bad month—it’s the second-worst May performance in the network’s history for both primetime and key demographics.
At the center of this fallout is Jen Psaki, the former Biden White House Press Secretary turned MSNBC host. Psaki stepped in to helm The Briefing with Jen Psaki Tuesday through Friday at 9 p.m. ET, a slot historically associated with Rachel Maddow. But the audience didn’t follow. Since her debut on May 6, Psaki has managed to pull in an average of 971,000 total viewers—a jarring 47% drop from what Maddow and Alex Wagner previously delivered in the same slot.
The advertiser-coveted 25-54 demographic tells an even more painful story. Psaki’s show averaged just 78,000 viewers in that age range, down 52% from the 161,000 Maddow and Wagner attracted. In a media landscape where the 25-54 demo is everything, those numbers aren’t just disappointing—they’re disastrous.
And the trouble doesn’t stop there.
Symone Sanders-Townsend, another former Biden administration figure and Kamala Harris spokesperson, hasn’t been able to stem the tide either. Her ensemble program, The Weeknight, replaced Joy Reid’s The ReidOut and debuted on May 5.
But the results have been similarly bleak: 776,000 total viewers on average—a 12% decline. Among the key demo, the show slumped 20%, drawing only 72,000 viewers compared to the 90,000 previously tuning in.
So what’s the takeaway here?
It’s clear that MSNBC’s strategy of elevating ex-White House figures into primetime roles is backfiring. The numbers reflect not just viewer disinterest, but possibly a broader trust erosion—especially in the aftermath of controversies like the Biden cognitive health scandal. Whether the audience is rejecting these personalities on merit or punishing MSNBC for perceived bias and partisanship, the message is unambiguous: these aren’t the faces viewers want guiding them through the evening.