Latest news with #Psaki
New York Post
4 hours ago
- Business
- New York Post
MSNBC's Jen Psaki sees 47% dip in ratings last month compared to Alex Wagner, Rachel Maddow: Nielsen
The Psaki bomb has turned into a major Psaki dud for left-leaning MSNBC. The embattled cable news network — which is expected to be spun off by parent company Comcast later this year — has seen ratings plunge nearly 50% in the pivotal 9 p.m. slot since Jen Psaki took over full-time hosting duties from Rachel Maddow last month. The 45-year-old anchor, who made a name for herself with her quick-witted 'Psaki bombs' while serving as former President Joe Biden's press secretary — but has since insisted she never saw signs of his mental decline — has drawn an average of 971,000 viewers since 'The Briefing with Jen Psaki' debuted on May 6 through May 28, according to the latest Nielsen ratings. Advertisement That's a staggering 47% falloff from the eyeballs attracted by Maddow and Alex Wagner in the timeslot. The drop-off is even more pronounced in the critical 25–54 age demographic prized by advertisers, where she drew just 78,000 viewers — a 52% decline compared to the 161,000 that Maddow and Wagner drew during their shows this year. 5 Jen Psaki's prime time MSNBC debut has gotten off to a rough start, according to the latest Nielsen figures. MSNBC Advertisement 'She's kinda boring. She's not a great broadcaster,' one media insider told The Post on Tuesday Maddow, the network's highest paid star, returned to the anchor chair five days a week for the first 100 days of the Trump administration before going back to hosting her show just on Mondays at the beginning of last month. Wagner was pushed out for Psaki. Psaki's promotion from her weekend gig was part of a sweeping lineup shakeup at MSNBC aimed at injecting new energy into prime time and broadening its appeal. But early signs suggest the overhaul by new MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler, who took over from Rashida Jones in January, has backfired. Advertisement Kutler quickly canceled Joy Reid's program 'The ReidOut' and replaced it with 'The Weeknight,' a rip-off of Fox's ratings champ 'The Five.' The roundtable show, co-hosted by Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele, averaged 772,000 viewers in May — a 19% drop from the 955,000 'The ReidOut' pulled in during its final month in February, according to Nielsen. 5 Psaki's show drew just 78,000 viewers from the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age demographic — a 52% decline compared to the 161,000 that Rachel Maddow (above) and Alex Wagner pulled during earlier 2025 broadcasts. MSNBC Among the 25–54 demographic, the new crew averaged just 72,000 viewers, down 20% from what the Trump-bashing Reid garnered. Advertisement Overall in primetime for May, MSNBC averaged 877,000 viewers, down 24% from the rest of the year. In the 25–54 demo, MSNBC averaged 73,000 viewers in primetime, a 34% drop. Across the full broadcast day last month, the network drew 545,000 viewers, down 33%, and just 49,000 in the key demo, a 41% decline. MSNBC declined to comment. 'In May, four months into the presidency, survey data shows rising news fatigue across all networks,' said a source close to the situation. The source added that Psaki has shown some signs of progress despite the overall downturn. 5 Wagner was removed from her 9 p.m. prime time hosting slot from Tuesday through Friday as part of a lineup revamp. MSNBC ''The Briefing' builds on the audience of its 8 p.m. lead-in, which is a major improvement,' the insider said. News fatigue has apparently not affected Fox News' stranglehold in the ratings race. The conservative network, which shares common ownership with The Post, averaged 2.46 million viewers in prime time — up 23% — and 1.56 million across total day programming. Advertisement In the demo, Fox pulled 262,000 viewers in prime time (up 32%) and 180,000 during the day (up 22%), according to Nielsen. 5 MSNBC remains ensconced in second place in the cable news ratings race behind Fox News and ahead of CNN. Last-place CNN, meanwhile, continued to limp along, averaging just 426,000 total primetime viewers and 353,000 across the day, down 18% and 24%, respectively. The most-watched cable news show in May was Fox News' 'The Five' with 3.77 million viewers, followed by 'Jesse Watters Primetime' at 3.23 million. Fox also dominated with other top programs including 'Gutfield!' (2.92 million), 'Special Report with Brett Baier' (2.81 million), and 'Hannity' (2.73 million), who competes against Psaki. Advertisement 5 Fox said the network had 'one of the highest rated quarters in cable news history.' The channel shares common ownership with The Post. Ralf – 'Since the election, Fox News has delivered the top 1,013 cable news telecasts,' the company said during an earnings call last month. 'This combination of an engaged audience and a dynamic news cycle led to record audience share in the quarter.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Jen Psaki mocks Joe Rogan over MAGA white nationalist conspiracy theory and throws strays at new FBI leadership
On her MSNBC show Tuesday, host Jen Psaki mocked Joe Rogan while debunking a MAGA conspiracy theory propagated by the podcaster, which claims that the white supremacist group Patriot Front is actually the FBI. MAGA supporters have long advocated the idea that the Patriot Front is an FBI operation intended to amplify the perceived threat of white nationalist groups. Rogan endorsed this idea on his show as recently as March. Psaki, the former White House press secretary for President Joe Biden, played a clip of Rogan claiming that the group disbanded as soon as Kash Patel took over as director of the FBI under President Donald Trump. The host of The Briefing with Jen Psaki then set out why she says the claim was actually false. In the clip, Rogan is seen saying that he and author Matt Taibbi saw a video of Patriot Front, who appear in uniforms with their faces covered, and march carrying flags, and he said he had yelled: 'They're feds!' 'Where's the fat people?' he continues. 'They're all, they're all wearing the same uniform. One guy's got a f***ing drum. Get the f*** out of here! These are feds! The day after Kash Patel gets in, they disband.' Psaki explains that Patriot Front splintered off from the white nationalist group that planned the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, back in 2017, and has since 'traveled all around the country spewing racist and antisemitic hate.' She continued: 'But rather than just condemn the group, right-wing conspiracy theorists and Trump allies have insisted that Patriot Front is actually just the FBI trying to make white nationalism seem like a bigger threat than it actually is.' Psaki noted that it is not just Rogan pushing the idea, but also Elon Musk, as well as multiple members of Congress, including firebrand Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene. 'The core of the theory goes like this. The reason this group wore uniforms in mass was to hide the fact that they were secretly FBI agents, obviously,' said Psaki. 'And that once Kash Patel was in charge of the FBI, he would simply fire the agents involved, and the group would cease to exist. That's how it goes.' She then added that Patel was sworn into office in February, and yet this past weekend, Patriot Front held a rally in Kansas City. A further clip of local news footage was then played with the anchor saying: 'The group was in uniform, wearing tan hats, white masks covering their faces, Navy blue shirts, tan pants, and boots. Some were carrying shields.' He continued: 'The flags they carried included upside-down American flags, the Confederate flag, and a flag that identifies the group as the Patriot Front.' Psaki then quipped: 'Hmm, seems very much like Patriot Front still exists!' She then turned her attention to Trump's FBI leadership — Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino. 'I wonder how FBI Director Kash Patel will explain that one. See, FBI Director Patel and his number two, Dan Bongino, have a problem,' said Psaki. 'Both of them have spent years promoting conspiracy theories surrounding the FBI, but now they are actually in charge of the FBI. Now they are the dogs that caught the car.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jen Psaki Spoofs Karoline Leavitt With Ice-Cold Trump Stunt Prediction
Former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki once again stepped back into briefing mode by using her MSNBC show to satirize the often chaotic briefings held by current Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt. In the Wednesday segment, Psaki responded to real questions that have been posed to Leavitt but, as she said when debuting the bit earlier this month, 'without the usual MAGA spin.' Before a digital backdrop of the White House briefing room, Psaki picked out key themes from a recent briefing. She argued that Trump is 'a lot of things, but a fiscal hawk is not one of them,' dismissed the idea that Trump sees Russian President Vladimir Putin as a villain, and predicted Trump may end up flying reporters to Greenland — a territory he has repeatedly talked about acquiring for the United States — to distract from controversies at home. Watch here: The Most Brutal Zingers About Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' During Fiery House Debate Child's Sharp Question About Trump Delivers Viral Moment At White House Iconic Director Trashes Trump With Muffled Cannes Mic-Drop
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here's How Week 1 of The Briefing with Jen Psaki Performed for MSNBC
Jen Psaki is a familiar face on MSNBC having been with the network since May 2022 as the host of Inside with Jen Psaki. 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.
New York Post
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Jen Psaki's new show plummets with key demographic in second episode
It was a Psaki bomb. Former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki tanked with a key demographic in her new show's second episode — indicating possible trouble for her future ratings. Her new gig features her show 'The Briefing' in MSNBC's prime time slot, at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays, while 'The Rachel Maddow Show' pivots to only being on air Mondays. 'The Briefing' had a strong showing of 1.2 million viewers on Tuesday, with 139,000 viewers in the key demographic of people ages 25 to 54. But viewership quickly dropped Wednesday, with 1 million viewers tuning in — and just 65,000 people in the coveted demographic tuning in, according to Fox News. Psaki debuted her new show on Tuesday, with ratings quickly dropping on the second day. MSNBC For comparison, Fox News' Sean Hannity got 2.64 million viewers on Tuesday at 9 p.m. with 312,000 in the highly desired demographic, while CNN's Kaitlan Collins eked out 468,000 total viewers but scored 75,000 people ages 25 to 54 watching. The former press secretary had left her job at the White House in 2022 to pursue a gig at the liberal outlet, and began hosting 'Inside with Jen Psaki' on Sundays in March 2023. Rachel Maddow had been the featured host in the 9 p.m. slot five nights a week during President Trump's first 100 days, but retreated to Mondays as Psaki got the more prominent gig. Maddow had predicted Psaki will do 'better' than her in the spot due to her knowledge of Washington and her previous stint at the White House. 'The thing she has which I do not have, which is going to make 9 o'clock better with Jen Psaki than it is with Rachel Maddow, is that she both knows people and knows how to talk to people,' Maddow told People in an interview published Tuesday. 'I really am a weird little hermit who works great with my staff, but I don't know anybody in Washington. I don't know anybody in the news, and it's on purpose.' White House press secretary Jen Psaki gestures as she speaks at a press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on October 01, 2021 in Washington, DC. Getty Images But Maddow had managed to bring in better numbers when she held the prime spot. The host averaged a total of 1.9 million viewers and 141,000 among viewers aged 25-54, per Fox, meaning that Psaki's Wednesday episode had brought down the number of viewers by a total of 46% and 54% in the important demo. The Wednesday episode had so few 25-54 aged viewers it came behind reruns of shows like 'Friends,' 'Seinfeld,' 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' 'Bob's Burgers,' and 'That 70s Show,' as well as 'Paw Patrol,' per the outlet. The former Biden spokesperson is a fierce Trump critic and has continued to speak out against his administration, telling Rolling Stone in an interview this week that his second term is 'the most dangerous presidency in my lifetime.' It's 'not just because of what he's doing day to day,' she said, 'but because his desire seems to be to reshape how our government works, how our system works, to impact things for decades to come.' She told the outlet she's looking forward to platforming 'emerging' Democratic voices like progressive Democrat Greg Casar, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, and others who may be in the party's 'next generation of leaders.'
