Rachel Maddow Makes History With Record Ratings For Parnas Interview

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:55 am

Rachel Maddow made history, as her Lev Parnas interview was the most-watched cable news program in history.

According to a statement sent to PolitcusUSA by MSNBC:

MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” scored record total viewership Wednesday night following Rachel Maddow’s exclusive interview with Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, with 4.5M total viewers and 844,000 viewers A25-54 tuning into “Maddow” on January 15, according to Nielsen. Parnas’ interview dominated the news cycle after he revealed explosive allegations against members of the Trump administration, including that President Trump knew “exactly” what Giuliani was doing in Ukraine. Parnas also claimed that Vice President Mike Pence did not attend the May 2019 inauguration of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky because Ukraine had not announced an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.

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Last night’s episode of “Maddow” was the program’s highest-rated show ever in total viewers, kicking off 2020 with a huge ratings win for MSNBC.

In the 9 pm hour, “Maddow” ranked #1 across all of cable, topping #2 FOX News’ “Hannity” by over half a million total viewers (3.7M). “Maddow” more than tripled CNN in total viewers and topped CNN by more than 500,000 in A25-54.

Following “Maddow” at 9 pm, “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” at 10 pm and “The 11th Hour with Brian Williams” at 11 pm were both #1 in total viewers, more than doubling CNN’s total viewership for those hours.

The Parnas interview has turned Trump’s impeachment trial upsidedown. Republicans are under immense pressure to allow witnesses to testify, and there is a growing call to hear from Lev Parnas at the trial.

The record level of viewership for this interview suggests that the American people are paying attention to impeachment. They aren’t, as Republicans have suggested, bored and tuned out. The historic ratings for Maddow are a warning shot to Senators that the nation is watching, and they will pay a political price if they try to pull off a sham impeachment trial.

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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