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Sky News AU
6 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
MSNBC's Jen Psaki sees 47 per cent 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 46-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. 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. '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. 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. Among the 25–54 demographic, the new crew averaged just 72,000 viewers, down 20% from what the Trump-bashing Reid garnered. 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. ''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. In the demo, Fox pulled 262,000 viewers in prime time (up 32%) and 180,000 during the day (up 22%), according to Nielsen. 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. '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.' Originally published as MSNBC's Jen Psaki sees 47 per cent dip in ratings last month compared to Alex Wagner, Rachel Maddow: Nielsen
Sky News AU
6 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
MSNBC host Jen Psaki sees nearly 50 per cent drop in viewership
Former White House Press Secretary and MSNBC host Jen Psaki has seen nearly half of her viewership vanish. According to the New York Post, Psaki's viewership ratings have plummeted by nearly 50 per cent after replacing Rachel Maddow at the 9pm slot. Psaki has reportedly only drawn 971,000 viewers since 'The Briefing with Jen Psaki' debuted on May 6 to May 28, according to the latest Nielsen ratings. The viewership numbers, which don't even break a million, are a stark drop-off from Maddow and Alex Wagner's ratings at the same time slot. According to the New York Post, a media insider revealed that Psaki is 'kinda boring" and that 'she's not a great broadcaster'.
New York Post
7 days 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
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MSNBC's revamped lineup flounders, Jen Psaki sheds 47% of predecessors' viewership
MSNBC's revamped lineup has been a misfire through one month, with Jen Psaki shedding half the audience her predecessors averaged in the same timeslot and other new programming struggling to attract viewers. Psaki, a former Biden White House press secretary who has insisted she never saw signs the former president had declined while she worked for him, saw an increased role as part of MSNBC's overhaul when programming changes were announced earlier this year. Psaki took over MSNBC's coveted 9 p.m. ET timeslot on Tuesday through Fridays last month as "The Rachel Maddow Show" returned to only airing on Mondays, after Maddow temporarily returned to airing five nights a week during President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office. "The Briefing with Jen Psaki" averaged 971,000 total viewers from its May 6 debut through May 28, shedding a staggering 47% of the audience that Maddow and Alex Wagner pulled in at 9 p.m. ET throughout 2025. Jen Psaki, The Ex-biden Flack Who Defended His Mental Fitness, Launches Expanded Role At Msnbc Psaki has also hemorrhaged viewers from the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, averaging 78,000 for a 52% drop compared to the 161,000 demo viewers that Maddow and Wagner averaged on Tuesday through Fridays at 9 p.m. ET before the former Biden spokesperson took over. Wagner hosted Tuesdays through Fridays in Maddow's usual spot before Trump's inauguration. Read On The Fox News App The network also canceled Joy Reid's program "The ReidOut" and replaced it with "The Weeknight," an ensemble program featuring former Vice President Kamala Harris spokesperson Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez, the daughter of disgraced former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Michael Steele, the former Republican National Committee chair who now staunchly opposes the GOP. "The Weeknight" debuted on May 5 and averaged 776,000 total viewers through May 28 for a 12% drop compared to the 886,000 total viewers that "The ReidOut" and other temporary programs managed throughout 2025 in the 7 p.m. ET timeslot before changes went into effect. Credibility Crisis: Press Dismissed Hur Report On Biden's Memory Issues Long Before Concerns Became Undeniable "The Weeknight" shed even more viewers from the key demo, as the new MSNBC show averaged 72,000 for a 20% decrease, compared to the 90,000 demo viewers who tuned into the 7 p.m. ET timeslot before the ensemble program kicked off. Another new show, "The Weekend: Primetime," with Antonia Hylton, Catherine Rampell, Elise Jordan and Ayman Mohyeldin, is down 11% among total viewers and 6% in the demo compared to MSNBC programming that used to occupy its timeslot. Despite the programming overhaul, MSNBC had its second-worst May in history among both total day and primetime in the demo. For the month, MSNBC settled for a dismal average of 49,000 viewers among the critical demo to lose to CNN, which averaged 59,000. During primetime, CNN averaged 76,000 demo viewers and MSNBC finished with an average of only 73,000. Americans Continue To Choose Fox News Channel As Network Dominates May, Tops Abc During Weekday Primetime Only one of MSNBC's new shows is outdrawing its timeslot predecessor, as "The Weekend" with Jonathan Capehart, Eugene Daniels, and Jackie Alemany is up 24% in total viewers and 29% among the demo since launching on May 3. An MSNBC insider pushed back on the notion the network was struggling, pointing to the historic news cycle that occurred during Trump's first 100 days in office that helped attract viewers before the new programs launched. The insider also noted that Psaki has built on the audience of her lead-in while competing in the NBA and NHL playoffs. MSNBC's viewership issues come as Comcast gears up to spin off NBCUniversal cable assets, including MSNBC, into a separate company called Versant that will not be tied to NBC News. MSNBC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Ratings data courtesy of Nielsen Media article source: MSNBC's revamped lineup flounders, Jen Psaki sheds 47% of predecessors' viewership
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's shiny object trick wears thin quickly in second term
Donald Trump has built a large part of his political power on his ability to distract the press from what he doesn't want the public to think about. Jen Psaki, host of the new show, "The Briefing with Jen Psaki," on MSNBC, talks with Rachel Maddow about lessons in covering Donald Trump and the importance of the news meeting to keep Trump out of trouble.
