MSNBC Viewers Rebel With Their Remotes And Send Morning Joe Ratings Plummeting

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The ratings for November have been released, and they show that MSNBC viewers have had enough of Joe Scarborough. Morning Joe was has fallen to third place in the cable news ratings after being clobbered by CNN for the fifth consecutive month.

According to CNN, “New Day finished second in the mornings in cable news, beating MSNBC’s Morning Joe in both total viewers (367k vs. 358k) and the key demo rating 25-54 (125k vs. 100k) . New Day has now outperformed MSNBC for the fifth straight month (and seven of the past nine months) in the demo 25-54 and for the second consecutive month in both P2+ and adults 25-54. New Day grew vs. a year ago in total viewers (+44%) and in the demo (+51%); while Joe declined -16% in total viewers and -22% in the demo. CNN is outperforming Morning Joe for the year among viewers 25-54 and has not finished second in the morning in cable since 2008.”

Things are so bad at MSNBC that Ronan Farrow’s show drew 13,000 total viewers on Monday, December 1. Rachel Maddow’s show is being clobbered by a rotation of programming at 9 PM on CNN, but no matter how bad the ratings have gotten, MSNBC still held up Morning Joe as a program that was competitive in the ratings.

Morning Joe’s ratings are in freefall for the same reason the rest of the network is struggling. MSNBC is not listening to what their viewers want. Any conversation with MSNBC viewers will in the majority of cases eventually include an expression of distaste for Scarborough.

MSNBC viewers don’t want to spend their mornings with a talking point filled Republican cheerleader. The ratings data suggests that MSNBC viewers are voting with their remotes, and rejecting Morning Joe. Scarborough has never been a good fit for the supposed lean forward network, but it appears that viewers have finally had enough.

A network that has refused to listen to what their viewers are trying to them is now paying the price for thinking that they know best. Viewers are fleeing Morning Joe and demanding a program that fits their values.

They say actions speak louder than words. If that’s the case, viewers are sending a deafening message to MSNBC about Morning Joe.

Jason Easley

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