Rachel Maddow And Lawrence O’Donnell Just Became The Top Two Shows On Cable TV

MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show and The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell were the most-watched shows on cable television on the day of Paul Manafort’s conviction and Michael Cohen’s plea deal.

Here are the Neilson ratings as provided to PoliticusUSA by MSNBC:

According to Nielsen data for Tuesday, August 21st, MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” was the most-watched program across all cable TV.

· For “Maddow,” Tuesday was the 2nd highest rated broadcast in total viewers in the show’s history.

· “Maddow” ranked #1 in total viewers across all cable TV.

· “Maddow” ranked #6 in total viewers across all broadcast TV.

· “Maddow” ranked #5 in A25-54 across all cable TV.

· “Maddow” won 9 pm in cable news across the board, beating FOX News and CNN in both A25-54 and total viewers.

“The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” was the #2 most-watched program across all cable TV, following “Maddow.”

· “The Last Word” ranked #2 in total viewers across all cable TV.

· “The Last Word” ranked #10 in total viewers across all broadcast TV.

· “The Last Word” won 10 pm in cable news across the board, beating FOX News and CNN in both A25-54 and total viewers.

A total of five MSNBC programs ranked in the Top 10 in total viewers across all cable:

· “Maddow” #1

· “The Last Word” #2

· “All In with Chris Hayes” #6

· “Hardball with Chris Matthews” #7

· “The 11th Hour with Brian Williams” #10

Bad News For Trump Is Good Ratings For MSNBC

It has been a pattern since Trump took office. The darkest moments of the Trump presidency often lead to the biggest ratings for MSNBC shows. Unlike Fox News, MSNBC doesn’t cater to the White House. Unlike Sean Hannity, Rachel Maddow doesn’t run a propaganda hour for the President Of The United States. Rachel Maddow is the hub of the MSNBC wheel. It has been Maddow’s ratings growth that has powered the network’s primetime lineup, but all of the MSNBC hosts have stepped it up in the age of Trump.

The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell has proven to be the perfect combination with Maddow, and Brian Williams has flourished with his 11 PM newscast that is part headlines and part analysis.

As the Trump train derails and takes Fox News off the cliff with it, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell are getting their due for providing consistently excellent coverage on MSNBC.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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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