Here's How Week 1 of The Briefing with Jen Psaki Performed for MSNBC
But thanks to a recent programming revamp overseen by new MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler, Psaki is now anchoring The Briefing with Jen Psaki. The Tuesday-Friday newscast that takes over the 9 p.m. ET time slot previously occupied by Alex Wagner Tonight. (Wagner remains with MSNBC as a senior political analyst.)
The Briefing made its debut on May 6 following Rachel Maddow's return to her Monday-only schedule. The Rachel Maddow Show had been airing Monday thru Friday during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump's second term.
Maddow's last full week saw her averaging 2.066 million total viewers and 173,000 viewers in the advertiser-coveted Adults 25-54 demo. Her newscast was the seventh most-watched cable news show in total viewers and landed in 14th place in the demo during the week of April 21.
Additionally, Maddow's Monday-only show during the week of May 5 averaged 1.722 million total viewers and 155,000 demo viewers. That episode finished as the 13th most-watched cable news show in total viewers and 15th place in the demo.
With a week's worth of ratings under her belt, Psaki averaged 1.096 million total viewers and 92,000 demo viewers during her inaugural week as host of The Briefing.
Compared to Maddow's final week, The Briefing was down by -47% in both total viewers and the demo. Relative to Maddow's Monday-only appearance, Psaki was down -36% in total viewers and -41% in the demo.
On average, The Briefing was MSNBC's third-most watched show in total viewers behind Deadline: White House with Nicole Wallace and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell. It was the network's fourth most-watched program in the demo.
Last week also saw the quiet debuts of The Weekend and The Weeknight on MSNBC. The network noted that a competitive sports playoff cycle has been luring viewers away from cable news in recent weeks. Additionally, the passing of Pope Francis led to a rise in ratings during the week of April 21.
MSNBC knew Psaki would have large shoes to fill by taking over from Maddow four nights a week. The network is likely to be patient with The Briefing as it positions its host as a visible and prominent figure in their primetime lineup.
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