MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is the top-rated show with viewers age 25-54 as the same older viewers who have always watched Hannity are the only thing keeping Fox News afloat.
While Hannity and Maddow are engaged in a battle for the lead in total viewers, it is the prized age 25-54 demo where MSNBC’s Maddow has a clear lead.
According to numbers sent to PoliticusUSA by MSNBC, ” “The Rachel Maddow Show†reclaimed the #1 title in the coveted A25-54 demographic across all of cable news as well as for the 9pm time period (including all specials) for the month of November, according to Nielsen. “The Rachel Maddow Show†averaged 2.8 million total viewers (vs. CNN’s 1 million), 634,000 viewers A25-54 (vs. CNN’s 372,000 and FOX News’ 615,000) and 443,000 viewers A18-49 (vs. CNN’s 284,000 and FOX News’ 382,000). Compared to a year ago during the critical election month of November 2016, “Maddow†was the only cable news show in the time period to post growth in total viewers (+57% vs. CNN’s -24% and FOX News’ -9%) and in A25-54 (+48% vs. CNN’s -25% and FOX News’ -18%). “Maddow†also finished the month as the #1 show in the hour among A18-49.”
Fox News and the Trump White House tried to give Hannity ever advantage out of the gate. Hannity’s guest list featured Trump, members of the Trump family, and administration officials. It worked as Hannity initially led in both the demo and total viewers, but Rachel Maddow beat Hannity in total viewers to begin the post-Thanksgiving week, and Maddow has taken back the top spot with viewers age 25-54.
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The erosion of Hannity’s ratings can be expected to continue. Sean Hannity’s inability to hold on to Bill O’Reilly’s viewers is what got him shipped off to the 10 PM time slot in the first place. Sean Hannity isn’t a solution. He is a band-aid, as the Fox News talent pool has been depleted at the same time as MSNBC is on the rise.
Maddow is still rolling strong, and it looks like it is only a matter of time until her program is once again the top show on cable news across the board.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
