Younger Viewers Flock To Rachel Maddow Over Fox In Huge Numbers

Rachel Maddow’s dominance over Fox News with younger viewers has made her program the only show on cable news to grow with viewers age 25-54, and Maddow beat Fox among viewers age 18-49 for the fourth straight month.

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MSNBC confirmed the ratings via a press release sent to PoliticusUSA:

“The Rachel Maddow Show” at 9 pm continued to lead CNN in A25-54 for the 13th straight month and total viewers for the 57th straight month. “Maddow” beat CNN in A25-54 (641,000 vs. CNN’s 365,000) and more than doubled CNN in total viewers (2,874,000 vs. CNN’s 999,000). Additionally, “Maddow” was #1 in A18-49 for the 4th straight month (as well as 11 out of the last 12 months), besting both FOX News and CNN (450,000 vs. FOX News’ 412,000 and CNN’s 287,000). “Maddow” was the only show to grow in A25-54 (+17% vs. FOX News’ -8% and CNN’s -28%) and post double-digit growth in total viewers (+26% vs. FOX News’ 0% and CNN’s -25%) over February 2017 in the time period.

CNN hasn’t been able to provide any regular programming competition for Rachel Maddow in a long time.

Hannity and Maddow have been going back and forth in the ratings for months, but Fox News is completely reliant on the white male senior citizen Trump voter for Sean Hannity’s audience. Hannity has only been able to compete with Maddow due to his program being shameless Trump propaganda.

Rachel Maddow ratings expose Fox’s long-term problem

Fox News has a bigger long-term problem of an aging audience that is not growing. Maddow’s rise with 18-49-year-olds leaves her in a position to become the top-rated show on cable news for an extended period. Fox News has gone from being a network that struggled to attract younger viewers to a network that struggles to attract younger viewers. Maddow and MSNBC are the only show and network that are growing with these viewers. Fox News is losing audience share with those ages 18-49.

Viewers are flocking to Maddow, as in the age of Trump, she offers an oasis of sanity amid a desert of chaos and crazy.

For more discussion of Rachel Maddow, join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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