MSNBC Ranks #1 in Prime Following Opening Statements in Former President Trump’s Criminal Trial
More Viewers Start Their Day with MSNBC Than Any Other Cable NetworkMSNBC Ranks #1 in Prime MSNBC Surpasses One Billion Views on YouTube in 2024, MSNBC Digital Saw 2nd Straight Record Quarter in 1Q24
(New York – April 30, 2024) – In 2024 to date, MSNBC is the fastest-growing cable network, adding more viewers in the past year than any other cable network, according to Nielsen ratings data (M-Su 6am-6am: +90K average minute viewers). While MSNBC expanded its audience during the first four months of the year, FOX News and CNN had viewership declines.
In April, MSNBC once again swept CNN across key dayparts. In total day, MSNBC drew 71% more viewers than CNN and won the month for the 25th straight time. MSNBC ranked #2 among all cable networks for the 3rd straight month. In the key Adults 25-54 demographic, MSNBC topped CNN for the second straight month.
MSNBC has the most loyal and engaged weekday audience in all of television, based on Nielsen data for April. In a typical week, the average MSNBC viewer watches the network for 534 minutes from Monday to Friday, topping the FOX News viewer average (531) and doubling the CNN viewer average (267).
MSNBC Ranks #1 in Prime Following Trump Trial Opening Statements, #1 Cable Network in New York and D.C. During Trial’s First Two Weeks
On Monday, April 22, which included opening statements in former President Trump’s New York criminal trial, MSNBC ranked #1 in cable news in prime time, with special coverage led by Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, Joy Reid, Ari Melber, Chris Hayes, Alex Wagner, Lawrence O’Donnell, Stephanie Ruhle and Jen Psaki. The two-hour special was MSNBC’s most-watched special of the year to date.
On the previous Monday, the first day of jury selection, MSNBC’s special coverage led by Ari Melber (6pm-8pm) drew 2.2x as many total viewers as CNN in its time slot. MSNBC’s jury selection special was also “The Beat’s” 3rd most-watched telecast in 2024 to date.
Through two weeks, MSNBC has topped CNN among total viewers and Adults 25-54 on each day of Trump’s criminal trial. In addition, MSNBC was the #1 cable network in New York and Washington, D.C. during the first two weeks of the trial.
#1 Cable Network in Top Markets Across the U.S. Including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco
Year to date, MSNBC is the most-watched cable network in 5 of the top 10 television markets among total viewers. In April, MSNBC was the #1 cable network in Washington, D.C. for the 13th straight month, in Los Angeles and San Francisco for the 11th straight month, and in Philadelphia for the 6th straight month. MSNBC has ranked #1 in New York in 11 of the past 12 months.
#1 Cable Network Among Black Viewers and AAPI Viewers
In 2024 to date, MSNBC is the most-watched cable network among Black viewers and AAPI viewers in total day (M-Su 6am-6am). MSNBC ranked #2 across all of cable television among Hispanic viewers. Additionally, MSNBC added more Black viewers in the past year than any other cable news network.
More Viewers Start Their Day with MSNBC Than Any Other Cable Network
MSNBC is the most-watched cable network on weekdays in the 6am hour. In April 2024, “Morning Joe” (M-F 6am-10am) continued to sweep CNN in the mornings, outpacing CNN among total viewers for the 110th consecutive month and 24th straight month among A25-54.
Across all of cable, MSNBC ranked #2 for the 38th straight month in the morning daypart. Compared to April 2023, “Morning Joe” grew its audience by double-digits among total viewers while CNN and FOX News declined (6am-10am: +14% total viewers)
Additionally, “Morning Joe” was the #1 cable morning program in New York for the 23rd straight month and Washington, D.C. for the 24th consecutive month.
MSNBC Prime Beats CNN in Key A25-54 Demo for 3rd Straight Month, “The Rachel Maddow Show” is the #1 Cable News Program in its Time Slot in 2024
MSNBC prime (M-Su 8pm-11pm) topped CNN among A25-54 for the 3rd straight month and among total viewers for the 39th straight month. MSNBC prime averaged 1.3M total viewers (vs. CNN’s 624K) and 114K A25-54 viewers (vs. CNN’s 113K) in April. In prime time, MSNBC ranked #2 in cable news.
“The Rachel Maddow Show” (Mondays at 9pm) is the #1 cable news program in its time slot in 2024 to date. “Maddow” (2.5 million viewers) drew 4.3x as many viewers as CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” on Monday nights (588K). “Maddow” is the most DVR’d program in all of cable news, with more time-shifted viewers (867K within seven days of air date) than any other cable news program.
“MSNBC Reports” Beats CNN in Dayside for 19th Straight Month
In dayside (M-F 10am-4pm), MSNBC ranked #2 in all of cable among total viewers and beat CNN for the 19th consecutive month. MSNBC dayside coverage saw double-digit viewership growth compared to one year ago.
MSNBC Weekend Programming Tops CNN in Total Viewers, Posts Double-Digit Viewership Growth Year-Over-Year
In April, MSNBC’s weekend lineup (Sa-Su 8am-9pm) beat CNN among total viewers for the 5th straight month. MSNBC’s weekend programming posted double-digit viewership growth (+11% vs. April 2023).
In April, “The Weekend” (Sa-Su 8am-10am) delivered its first monthly win over CNN among A25-54. Among total viewers, “The Weekend” topped CNN for the 4th consecutive month.
On Saturday, April 27, 4.1 million viewers watched all or part of MSNBC’s coverage of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (8pm-11pm). Compared to the same night a year ago, MSNBC drew 36% more total viewers and reached 17% more Adults 25-54.
MSNBC Surpasses One Billion Views on YouTube in 2024, Audio Offerings Continue to Grow
On YouTube, MSNBC surpassed one billion video views this year in April, the earliest point in the year that MSNBC has ever topped this benchmark. April was MSNBC’s fourth straight month with more than 250 million video views on the platform, growing more than 40% year-over-year. The channel is also pacing ahead of both CNN and Fox News for the sixth straight month, as well as continues to be the most-engaging news brand on YouTube based on average minutes per visitor.
In addition to the strength on YouTube, MSNBC has grown its followers on TikTok by 40% over the last year. So far in 2024, MSNBC has more than doubled its TikTok video views when compared to the same months last year.
Across MSNBC’s audio portfolio, the MSNBC original podcast “Prosecuting Donald Trump” had its second best month ever. Since its premiere in March 2023, the podcast has seen more than 16 million downloads, making it one of the top three MSNBC originals on record. “Prosecuting Trump” peaked at the #1 Politics podcast on the Apple Charts in April 2024 during the start of former President Trump’s New York criminal trial. “Prosecuting Donald Trump” also received two Webby Awards this month for ‘People’s Voice Webby’ and ‘Outstanding Podcast – Crime & Justice.’
MSNBC Digital Pacing to Have its Strongest Month in More than 3 Years; Saw 2nd Straight Record Quarter in 1Q24
In April, MSNBC Digital is expected to have its strongest month in more than three years with page views pacing up 50% year-over-year. It would be the fourth consecutive month of month-over-month growth. MSNBC Digital had four of its top five days this year in April, in part influenced by last month’s launch of the new MSNBC mobile app. Since its launch, the MSNBC mobile app has seen consistent growth across nearly all key metrics.
In 1Q 2024, MSNBC Digital had its second consecutive record quarter, growing 59% year-over-year. MSNBC ranked as a top three political news destination, based on monthly unique visitors, in addition to continuing to rank #1 based on total minutes spent on site. MSNBC is also pacing to have its best quarter ever for video views, growing 98% versus Q1 2023.
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TV Source: Nielsen, Live+SD, 2024 to date (1/1/24-4/28/24) and April 2024 (4/1-4/28), Persons 2+ and Adults 25-54. Total Day = M-Su 6am-6am. Total day average audience in April: MSNBC 88.2k, CNN 87.6k. Weekday time spent viewing based on 6-minute reach qualifier, M-F 6am-6am. Race and Ethnicity rankings based on time period data. Local market data based on: Nielsen NSI, P2+, total day, national cable networks, 2024 to date and April 2024. White House Correspondents’ Dinner reach based on 1-minute total audience.
Digital Source: Comscore Media Metrix® , April 2021 – February 2024, Desktop & Mobile excluding Social Incremental, Monthly Unique Visitors, U.S. & Comscore Video Metrix®, July 2023 – January 2024, Average Minutes per Visitor, Custom-Defined List, Based on MSNBC Channel @ YouTube entity compared to a custom list of brand competitors that are in the News/Information Category: ABC News Channel @ YouTube, NBC News @ YouTube, Fox News Channel @ YouTube, CNN @ YouTube, CBS News @ YouTube. ListenFirst Media, January – March 2024.
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