Latest news with #viewership
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Report: MSNBC's ratings drop after new primetime lineup debuts
Viewers are fleeing MSNBC just weeks after the liberal network debuted a new primetime lineup in a bid to salvage tumbling viewership. So far this month, MSNBC dropped 41 percent in the primetime demographic and 34 percent in the total day demo compared to May 2024, MediaIte reported. It's a stinging blow for Jen Psaki who on May 5 took over for Rachel Maddow during the 9pm timeslot from Tuesday to Friday. Maddow, who's been the top host on the network for years, previously said she had faith that Joe Biden 's former press secretary would do even better than her in the role. Maddow temporarily returned as the five-night-a-week primetime host to cover President Donald Trump 's first 100 days in office, but has since retreated to anchoring only on Mondays. The latest ratings for 'The Briefing with Jen Psaki' came on May 22, when it failed to crack the coveted 1 million viewer mark . Sean Hannity's show on Fox News, which also airs at 9pm, had 2.3 million total viewers that night. The show is the official replacement for Joy Reid's former program, The ReidOut, which was canceled in February following her inflammatory social media posts and poor ratings. The Weeknight, which airs at 7pm, had just 707,000 viewers on May 22, but only 56,000 of them were in the key demographic. The show has an average of 770,000 viewers, which is 36 percent lower than the 1.2 million that watched MSNBC at 7pm this time last year. Psaki has also presided over a long term loss in eyeballs. Her show has averaged 973,000 total viewers since it premiered, a 46 percent drop from the average of 1.82 million who were watching her timeslot when Maddow was hosting during the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Psaki's numbers are also down 20 percent from the average of Alex Wagner, who hosted the show last year while Maddow was anchoring on Mondays. Even Maddow herself is failing to keep audiences interested. Her Monday program averaged 1.8 million total viewers since MSNBC launched its new shows, which represents a 24 percent dip from last year when she pulled in 2.4 million viewers. CNN is also lagging far behind Fox News, but all of its shows, with the exception of Abby Phillip's at 10pm, have been beating MSNBC in the key demo. Fox's 'The Five' remains its most popular show and the most popular in cable news overall, averaging 3.77 million viewers a night this month. Fox is the only network of the big three to put up year-over-year ratings gains in May. Its shows saw a 21 percent increase in total viewers, and a 22 percent jump in the key demo. The tumbling ratings at MSNBC - plus the decision by Comcast executives to spin off the network into a new publicly-traded company - has caused turmoil amid its ranks. Election night darling Steve Kornacki announced in April that he would quit his role at MSNBC, instead sticking only with NBC News. The 45 year-old broadcaster will now devote his expertise to shows like 'Meet the Press,' 'Today' and 'NBC Nightly News,' as well as the network's streaming channel, NBC News Now.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Fresh embarrassment for struggling MSNBC after they replaced star hosts
Viewers are fleeing MSNBC just weeks after the liberal network debuted a new primetime lineup in a bid to salvage tumbling viewership. So far this month, MSNBC dropped 41 percent in the primetime demographic and 34 percent in the total day demo compared to May 2024, MediaIte reported. It's a stinging blow for Jen Psaki who on May 5 took over for Rachel Maddow during the 9pm timeslot from Tuesday to Friday. Maddow, who's been the top host on the network for years, previously said she had faith that Joe Biden 's former press secretary would do even better than her in the role. Maddow temporarily returned as the five-night-a-week primetime host to cover President Donald Trump 's first 100 days in office, but has since retreated to anchoring only on Mondays. The latest ratings for 'The Briefing with Jen Psaki' came on May 22, when it failed to crack the coveted 1 million viewer mark. Sean Hannity's show on Fox News, which also airs at 9pm, had 2.3 million total viewers that night. Psaki's show also performed dismally with the 25-54 key age demographic, only pulling in 55,000 viewers in that category. By comparison, Hannity had 210,000 viewers in the key demo. On May 5, MSNBC premiered The Weeknight, a panel show featuring Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez. The show is the official replacement for Joy Reid's former program, The ReidOut, which was canceled in February following her inflammatory social media posts and poor ratings. The Weeknight, which airs at 7pm, had just 707,000 viewers on May 22, but only 56,000 of them were in the key demographic. The show has an average of 770,000 viewers, which is 36 percent lower than the 1.2 million that watched MSNBC at 7pm this time last year. Psaki has also presided over a long term loss in eyeballs. Her show has averaged 973,000 total viewers since it premiered, a 46 percent drop from the average of 1.82 million who were watching her timeslot when Maddow was hosting during the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Psaki's numbers are also down 20 percent from the average of Alex Wagner, who hosted the show last year while Maddow was anchoring on Mondays. Even Maddow herself is failing to keep audiences interested. Her Monday program averaged 1.8 million total viewers since MSNBC launched its new shows, which represents a 24 percent dip from last year when she pulled in 2.4 million viewers. CNN is also lagging far behind Fox News, but all of its shows, with the exception of Abby Phillip's at 10pm, have been beating MSNBC in the key demo. Fox's 'The Five' remains its most popular show and the most popular in cable news overall, averaging 3.77 million viewers a night this month. Fox is the only network of the big three to put up year-over-year ratings gains in May. Its shows saw a 21 percent increase in total viewers, and a 22 percent jump in the key demo. The tumbling ratings at MSNBC - plus the decision by Comcast executives to spin off the network into a new publicly-traded company - has caused turmoil amid its ranks. Election night darling Steve Kornacki announced in April that he would quit his role at MSNBC, instead sticking only with NBC News. The 45 year-old broadcaster will now devote his expertise to shows like 'Meet the Press,' 'Today' and 'NBC Nightly News,' as well as the network's streaming channel, NBC News Now. MSNBC could also soon lose Ari Melber, who has reportedly been meeting with rivals for new opportunities. This could involve the launch of his own media company. Melber hosts the 6pm show The Beat, which has been running since 2017, and is considered a ratings winner for the network. He also serves as chief legal correspondent and has amassed a healthy following on YouTube, which is a huge part of new MSNBC boss Rebecca Kutler's vision for the future of the flailing network.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Americans continue to choose Fox News Channel as network dominates May, tops ABC during weekday primetime
Americans continued to rely on Fox News Channel for information and analysis during May, as the network outdrew broadcast network ABC in weekday primetime and dominated other cable news outlets across the board. Fox News averaged 2.9 million weekday primetime viewers, making it the fourth highest-rated network in all of television while topping ABC's 2.7 million. Fox News averaged 1.6 million total day viewers compared to 545,000 for MSNBC and 353,000 for CNN. Fox News' total day viewers grew 21% since May 2024 while MSNBC was down 33% and CNN shed 24% of its audience. During primetime, Fox News averaged around 2.5 million total viewers compared to 877,000 for MSNBC and only 426,000 for CNN. Fox News also dominated among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, averaging 180,000 total day viewers, while CNN managed only 59,000 and MSNBC settled for a dismal average of 49,000. It was similar during primetime, as Fox News averaged 262,000 viewers from the key demo from 8-11 p.m. to dominate cable news. CNN averaged 76,000 demo viewers during primetime and MSNBC finished with an average of only 73,000. Fox News piled up nearly 65% of the cable news share among viewers across both total day and primetime, completely dominating CNN and MSNBC which are both shed viewers in all categories compared to 2024. Fox News saw a 23% year-over-year increase among total viewership and 32% in the key demo. CNN and MSNBC marked historic lows during May as Fox News thrived. CNN had its second-worst month ever in the demo across both total day and primetime, while MSNBC had its second-worst May in history among both total day and primetime in the demo. Along the way, Fox News swept cable news among total day and primetime viewership in both total viewers and the critical demo for the 51st straight month. Fox News has now aired the 1,100 highest-rated cable news telecasts since Election Day and the top 135 cable news telecasts in the month of May. FNC's number one show "The Five," secured a staggering 3.8 million viewers and 368,000 in 25-54 demo, leading all of cable news across the board. The Fox News programs "Jesse Watters Primetime," "Gutfeld!," "Special Report with Bret Baier," "Hannity," "The Ingraham Angle," "The Will Cain Show," "Outnumbered" and "The Faulkner Focus" rounded out the top ten most-watched cable news programs as CNN and MSNBC offerings were shut out. "FOX & Friends" averaged 1.4 million viewers to remain the most-watched cable news program in the mornings, while topping CNN and MSNBC combined. "America's Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino," "America Reports with John Roberts and Sandra Smith" and Martha MacCallum's "The Story" also had strong numbers this month as Fox News offerings dominated cable news during the daytime. Meanwhile, CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" averaged only 525,000 total viewers for its worst month since August 2015 despite the namesake host's heavily promoted book tour. On the weekend, Fox News topped both CNN and MSNBC during every hour of the day among both total and demo viewers as "My View with Lara Trump" averaged over 1.4 million viewers to finish as the No. 1 show on Saturday and "Sunday Morning Futures" earned the Sunday crown with 1.7 million. More Democrats, Independents and Republicans tuned in to FNC over any other cable network across total day, according to data from Nielsen MRI Fusion. Ratings information courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
The most-watchable NFL games in 2025: Chiefs-Cowboys, Bills-Chiefs, more
There is no more valuable entertainment content in the United States right now than NFL game inventory. But you might be surprised to learn that NFL regular-season viewership dropped 2.2 percent last season, with Fox, CBS and ESPN all seeing declines. The league averaged 17.5 million viewers per game for the 2024-25 season, down from 17.9 million viewers in the 2023-24 season. One reason for the downturn was a lack of competitive games across the league late in the year. Advertisement Hans Schroeder, the NFL's EVP for media distribution, said in an interview earlier this month said the league feels good about the balance for the 2025 regular season between front-loading the schedule and setting up big games (at least on paper) late in the year. When the new schedule came out, The Athletic's NFL team reporters each selected a must-watch game for each team, and Mike Jones had his list. We also took you behind the scenes with network executives who manage the schedule-making process with the league. Below, I wanted to give you insight from a media-centric perspective on which games should push the NFL conversation most in 2025, ranked in order of potential impact: Week 13: Kansas Chiefs at Dallas Cowboys (CBS, Paramount+, 4:30 p.m. ET) As I previously wrote, the NFL made a strategic decision to schedule the Chiefs versus the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. The rationale, based on talking to numerous people at different networks, is that the NFL thinks the game can set a record for the most-viewed NFL regular-season game in history. (The record was set on Thanksgiving Day in 2022 when 42.1 million viewers watched the Cowboys beat the New York Giants on Fox.) 'We are not sure where the ceiling is here because it is such a unique day, building around family, food and football,' Schroeder said. It is not inconceivable for this game to come close to 50 million viewers if everything comes together. Week 9: Chiefs at Buffalo Bills (CBS, Paramount+, 4:25 p.m. ET ) CBS has ridden the Chiefs and Bills to viewership highs over the past couple of years, and this Week 9 matchup in Buffalo is on the short list for the most-watched regular-season game outside of the Thanksgiving trio. Last year's AFC Championship Game between the Bills and Chiefs averaged nearly 58 million viewers. Advertisement This is Fox's first big game of the season and a rematch of the 2023 Super Bowl. The CBS competition in the window features markets outside the top 10 (Denver Broncos-Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers-Arizona Cardinals), so this will be one of the most-watched games of the regular season. Week 1: Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (NBC, Peacock, 8:20 p.m. ET) The NFL has front-loaded its schedule the last two seasons to get off to a big viewership start, and this potentially outdraws last year's opener if it's close. The number to beat? Last year's 27-20 victory by the Chiefs over the Ravens averaged 28.9 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. It's a great opening game to set up conversations about the season. Week 1: Baltimore Ravens at Bills (NBC, Peacock, 8:20 p.m. ET) The best matchup of Week 1 comes on Sunday night — a rematch of the AFC divisional round playoffs and the last two NFL MVPs. The teams drew an audience of 42.2 million on CBS for a 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff last January. Week 14: Cincinnati Bengals at Bills (Fox, Fox One, 4:25 p.m. ET) When I spoke to Mike Mulvihill, the head of insights and analytics for Fox Sports and the person who runs point for his network on the NFL schedule, last month, he specifically pointed to this game as an example of Fox asking the NFL for more AFC inventory. 'We talked a lot with the league about the idea that 'cross-flex,' which is the policy by which NFC games can go to CBS and AFC games can go to Fox, needed to be a little bit more balanced,' Mulvihill said. 'That cross-flex mechanism was created to help balance the (media) packages, and in the years since then, the AFC has become significantly better than it was when that protocol was agreed upon.' If the Bengals return to playoff contention, which seems like a decent bet, Fox is looking at a 30 million viewership game, which would track as one of the most for the regular season. Advertisement Week 1: Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil (YouTube, 8:00 p.m. ET) I'd expect this to draw a lot of social media conversation given it's the first NFL game to be exclusively streamed live and for free on YouTube, along with YouTube TV. (The game will also be available on free, over-the-air broadcast television in the local markets of the teams.) From a business perspective, this feels like a test run for Google's YouTube to be a serious player for a large package of exclusive games when the NFL no doubt opts out of its current media deals in 2029. 'We are trying to be smart and go onto platforms that are already widely scaled and have a lot of NFL fans already,' said Schroeder. Week 14: Cowboys at Detroit Lions (Amazon Prime Video, 8:15 p.m. ET) Amazon Prime's most-watched regular-season game came last year when 17.29 million viewers watched Detroit's comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers. If the Cowboys don't crash out again and the Lions are what people anticipate this season, this game should top that. Week 17: Eagles at Bills (Fox, Fox One, 4:25 p.m. ET) Fox gets another significant NFC versus AFC game featuring the Eagles. This game drew 30.9 million viewers on CBS in 2023. Week 4: Ravens at Chiefs (CBS, Paramount+, 4:25 p.m. ET) This is the first week CBS gets the Chiefs, and it gets them in the late-afternoon Sunday window. CBS also has the Chicago Bears-Las Vegas Raiders in the late-afternoon window, which will bring down the numbers slightly, given the loss of the Chicago market. Week 8: Washington Commanders at Chiefs (ABC/ESPN, 8:15 p.m. ET) Take one part Jayden Daniels, one part Patrick Mahomes and add ESPN's over-the-top marketing of this game for a week. That's a formula for a big conversation week. The Commanders are in 10 national windows this year, and the league needs them to do well. Week 6: Lions at Chiefs (NBC, Peacock, 8:20 p.m. ET) NBC has the Chiefs three times and the Lions twice, and this is early enough where neither team is in jeopardy of being out of it, even with a significant injury. Advertisement Week 3: Lions at Ravens (ESPN/ABC, 8:15 p.m. ET) Disney's first opportunity to put up a big viewership number. The Lions were part of 2024's most-watched game on 'Monday Night Football' (22.2 million viewers for Lions-San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 30). Week 13: Packers at Lions (Fox, 1:00 p.m. ET) The opener of the Thanksgiving Day games has a slightly later kickoff time, which gives the NFL even more runway for added viewers. Last year's early game on CBS between the Bears and Lions averaged 37.5 million viewers, the most-watched early Thanksgiving Day game on record. An interesting note: The Bears-Lions last year averaged 40 million viewers from 2:30 p.m. ET until the game's conclusion. Week 17: Bears at Niners (NBC, Peacock, 8:20 p.m. ET) If you work under the premise that both teams are in the hunt for the postseason this year, this Week 17 game should have massive NFC implications. Week 13: Bengals at Ravens (NBC, Peacock, 8:20 p.m. ET) NBC's best Thanksgiving NFL viewership came in 2015 for the Bears-Packers, which drew 27.8 million viewers. This could top it. Week 13: Bears at Eagles (Amazon Prime Video, 3:00 p.m. ET) Black Friday is a significant date for Amazon Prime Video given the shopping connection, and Amazon Prime Video will also air the NBA this upcoming season. So, look for the streamer to air around 12 straight live hours of sports programming between the NFL and NBA. It's going to be a day when sports fans talk about Amazon Prime as it relates to sports. Week 6: Bills at Atlanta Falcons (ESPN, 7:15 p.m. ET) Bears at Commanders (ABC, 8:15 p.m. ET) A sneaky-good quasi-doubleheader, and it will be fascinating to see the viewership data afterward given both games have interest nationally. Week 17: Cowboys at Commanders (Netflix, 1:00 p.m. ET) The NFL took care of Netflix by assigning it the Cowboys and Cardinals to open Christmas Day. Last year's Ravens-Houston Texans game on Christmas averaged 24.3 million viewers, and the Chiefs-Pittsburgh Steelers game drew 24.1 million viewers. (Netflix said those numbers increased to 30 million and 31.3 million when the global audience was added.) This game looks like a better matchup than it had last year. Advertisement Week 10: Eagles at Packers (ESPN, ABC, 8:15 p.m. ET) Week 11: Lions at Eagles (NBC, Peacock, 8:20 p.m. ET) Week 12: Eagles at Cowboys (Fox, Fox One, 4:25 p.m. ET) I highlight this stretch because look how the NFL has set up the Eagles for a month of high-profile games in significant television windows — and Week 13 is the Black Friday game on Amazon mentioned above. It's a brutally competitive set of games for Philadelphia, but the big winner, as always, will be the NFL because all these games will rate. (Top photo of Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts: Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images)
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Is Newsmax Stock Dropping Despite Soaring Viewership?
Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images Newsmax (NYSE: NMAX) plummeted by more than 11% on Tuesday and is now nearly 70% lower than its initial public offering closing price from March 31. This significant drop occurs despite the conservative media company's swift expansion across cable, digital, and print platforms. Despite Newsmax experiencing a rise in viewership, ranking as the fifth most-watched cable channel and fourth among cable news networks, investors are growing more concerned about the company's poor financials, increased legal risks, and exorbitant valuation. Newsmax's initial earnings report as a publicly-traded entity presents a mixed snapshot. In Q1 2025 (ending March), the firm reported $45.3 million in revenue, a 12% rise compared to the previous year (y-o-y) driven by expansion in its core segments: advertising, affiliate fees, and subscriptions. The channel also experienced a remarkable 50% increase in viewership, reaching 33.6 million for the quarter. Nevertheless, these gains in audience have yet to convert into profitability. Newsmax incurred a net loss of $17.2 million, or $0.49 per share, accompanied by an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.2 million. This maintains a wider trend of financial underperformance, with full-year 2024 net losses increasing to $72.2 million from $41.8 million in 2023. With a present market capitalization of $2.8 billion, Newsmax is trading at a high price-to-sales ratio of 16.3, significantly above the broadcasting industry average of just 0.48. This significant valuation discrepancy has ignited investor doubt. One of the most critical risks facing Newsmax is legal. The company is currently facing a lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, which claims Newsmax made defamatory allegations about vote manipulation during the 2020 U.S. election. A Delaware Superior Court recently determined that there is 'clear and compelling evidence' that Newsmax spread false claims. The case is now headed to a jury trial, with Dominion seeking $1.6 billion in compensation, an existential threat to a company whose total revenue in 2024 was only $171 million. While there's no assurance that such damages will be awarded, the impending uncertainty creates a considerable overhang for investors. Newsmax has robust gross margins around 50%, but its current growth does not justify its valuation. With growing losses, legal exposure, and restricted financial capacity, the stock faces serious downside unless the company can grow profitably and address litigation. Investing in a single stock can be risky. On the other hand, the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a selection of 30 stocks, has demonstrated a history of comfortably outperforming the S&P 500 over the past 4-year span. What accounts for this? As a collective, HQ Portfolio stocks achieved superior returns with reduced risk compared to the standard index, with a smoother performance evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics. It should also be acknowledged that stocks can fall abruptly – 20%, 30%, or even 50% –as witnessed in previous market disruptions. No stock is exempt. Our dashboard How Low Can Stocks Go During A Market Crash demonstrates how key stocks performed during and after the last six market crashes.
