MSNBC Adds More Viewers Year-Over-Year Than Any Other Cable Network
MSNBC #1 News Network on YouTube, Delivers More Than 800 Million Video Views Across Social Platforms
(New York – July 2, 2024) – Through the first half of 2024, MSNBC is having its most-watched year since 2021, with two consecutive years of audience gains, according to Nielsen ratings data. MSNBC is the fastest-growing cable network, adding more viewers in the past year than any other cable network (+62K average minute viewers, M-Su 6am-6am).
MSNBC finished the first half of 2024 with its largest viewership advantage over CNN in network history. In 2024 to date, MSNBC is averaging 73% more viewers than CNN in the average minute (811K vs. 470K).
In the second quarter of 2024, MSNBC recorded its 5th consecutive quarter of year-over-year viewership growth and topped CNN for the 14th straight quarter. June marked MSNBC’s 27th straight monthly win over CNN.
Additionally, MSNBC maintains the most loyal and engaged weekday audience in all of television, based on Nielsen data from the past 52 weeks. In a typical week, the average MSNBC viewer watches the network for 8.4 hours from Monday to Friday, beating the FOX News viewer average and more than doubling the CNN viewer average.
More Viewers Turned to MSNBC Primetime Than Any Other Cable News Network for Breaking News of Trump’s Guilty Verdict in the New York Criminal Trial
On the evening that former President Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records, more viewers turned to MSNBC than any other cable news network (8pm-11pm: 3.4 million total viewers, 417K A25-54 viewers). During the early evening, immediately following the verdict announcement, MSNBC was the most-watched cable network among total viewers in the 6pm, 7pm, and 8pm hours.
MSNBC Drew its Largest Audience in Two Years Following First Presidential Debate
Following the first presidential debate, MSNBC drew its largest audience in two years, with nearly 5 million average minute viewers tuning in for immediate debate reactions from Rachel Maddow and the MSNBC team.
MSNBC was the only news network with an uptick in viewership during the quarter hour after the debate for MSNBC’s post-debate coverage (total viewers +11%; A25-54 +23%). During the first five minutes after the debate ended (10:39pm-10:44pm), 1.4 million people switched to MSNBC with most of those incoming viewers coming from CNN.
#1 Cable Network in Top Markets Across the U.S. Including 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. In June, MSNBC was the #1 cable network in Washington, D.C. for the 15th straight month, in Los Angeles and San Francisco for the 13th straight month, and in Philadelphia for the 8th straight month. MSNBC has ranked #1 in New York in 11 of the past 14 months. MSNBC beat CNN in each of the top 25 television markets for the 9th straight month.
#1 Cable Network Among Black and AAPI Viewers
In 2024 to date, MSNBC is the most-watched cable network among Black Americans and among Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Americans. 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, “Morning Joe” Continues to Dominate CNN in the Mornings
MSNBC was the most-watched cable network on weekdays in the 6am hour for the fifth straight quarter. In the second quarter of 2024, “Morning Joe” (M-F 6am-10am) topped CNN for the 36th consecutive quarter among total viewers and for the 9th straight quarter among A25-54. “Morning Joe” grew its audience among both demos compared to a year ago. Among A25-54, 2Q24 was the program’s most-watched quarter in three years.
In the month of June, “Morning Joe” was the #1 cable morning show in New York for the 25th straight month and in Washington, D.C. for the 26th consecutive month.
MSNBC Prime Tops CNN in Total Viewers for 33rd Consecutive Quarter and in Demo for 5th Time in Six Quarters, “The Rachel Maddow Show” Ranks #1 in Its Time Slot
In weekday prime (M-F 8pm-11pm), MSNBC topped CNN in the A25-54 demo (143K vs. 142K) for the 5th time in six quarters and among total viewers for the 33rd straight quarter. MSNBC more than doubled CNN’s weekday primetime audience (1.5 million vs. 678K). All weekday MSNBC programs from 4pm-12am topped CNN among A25-54 and total viewers.
“The Rachel Maddow Show” (Mondays at 9pm) was the #1 news program in its time slot in the second quarter of 2024. “Maddow” (2.327 million viewers) outpaced FOX News’ “Hannity” on Monday nights (2.290 million) and drew four times as many total viewers as CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” (585K). In 2024 to date, “Maddow” is the most DVR’d program in all of cable news, with more time-shifted viewers (902K within seven days of air date) than any other cable news program.
In the second quarter, “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” (Monday-Friday 10pm) averaged three times as many total viewers (1.5 million) as CNN’s “NewsNight with Abby Phillip” (487K). “The Last Word” is on pace for its most-watched year since 2021.
“Inside with Jen Psaki” had its first quarterly demo win over CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” since Psaki’s Monday 8pm launch in September 2023 (128K vs. 115K). “Inside with Jen Psaki” topped CNN on Monday nights for the 3rd consecutive quarter and drew twice as many total viewers as “AC 360” (1.4 million vs. 663k).
“MSNBC Reports” Draws Largest Audience in Three Years, Beats CNN in Dayside for 9th Straight Quarter
In dayside (M-F 10am-4pm), MSNBC had its most-watched quarter in over three years (since 1Q21). MSNBC beat CNN among total viewers for the 9th consecutive quarter. MSNBC dayside coverage had double-digit viewership growth versus a year among total viewers. The second quarter of 2024 was MSNBC dayside’s most-watched quarter in over three years (since 1Q21).
MSNBC Weekend Programming Continues to Top CNN in Total Viewers, Plus, “The Weekend” Tops CNN In A25-54 For the First Time In 11 Years
In the second quarter, MSNBC’s weekend lineup (Sa-Su 8am-9pm) beat CNN among total viewers for the 2nd straight quarter.
“The Weekend” (Sa-Su 8am-10am) powered MSNBC to its first quarterly A25-54 win over CNN in 11 years (first win since 1Q13). The program delivered MSNBC’s best weekend morning A25-54 ratings in three years and drew 30% more demo viewers than the year-ago time slot average. Among total viewers, “The Weekend” had its second straight quarterly win over CNN and also improved MSNBC’s year-ago time slot average by 30%.
MSNBC Is the Most-Watched News Network on YouTube for 2nd Straight Quarter, Most-Watched Cable News Network on TikTok
During the first five months of the year, MSNBC Digital has reached a larger monthly audience than any other year on record, growing more than 25% versus its 2023 monthly average and more than 50% versus its 2022 monthly average.
The 2nd quarter of 2024 is pacing to be one of the brand’s top three quarters on record, as well as its fifth straight quarter with year-over-year growth greater than 20%. MSNBC Digital continues to be a top three political news destination based on monthly unique visitors, in addition to ranking #1 based on total views and minutes spent on site.
MSNBC Digital drove more than 800 million video views across social platforms for a third straight quarter, growing 24% year-over-year. On YouTube, MSNBC is the most-watched news network for a second straight quarter, ahead of CNN, Fox News, ABC News and CBS News among others. MSNBC also ranked as the #1 cable news network on TikTok. The last two quarters have been the strongest on record for MSNBC on TikTok with each quarter more than doubling its video views from the prior year.
MSNBC original podcasts drove nearly 10.5 million downloads in 2Q24, making it one of the top five quarters on record with double-digit year-over-year growth. Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra peaked at #1 on the Apple Podcast charts with the launch of its second season as the series has surpassed more than 20 million downloads since its premiere in October 2022. On top of Ultra’s strong performance, Prosecuting Donald Trump had its 2nd straight record quarter with more than double the number of downloads as the same quarter in 2023.
Source: Comscore Media Metrix, P2+ Desktop, P13+ Mobile (2Q24TD Apr-May). Adobe Analytics & Partner Dashboards. Simplecast through June 2024.
TV Source: Nielsen, Live+SD, 2Q 2024(4/1/24-6/30/24) and June 2024 (5/27/24-6/3024), Persons 2+ and Adults 25-54. Total Day = M-Su 6am-6am. Consecutive years of audience growth: 2024 to date (1/1/24-6/30/24) vs. 2023 FY (12/26/22-12/31/23) vs. 2022 FY (12/27/21-12/25/22). Fastest-growing cable network: 2024 to date (1/1/24-6/30/24) vs. 2023 to date (12/26/22-6/25/23) vs. 2022 to date (12/27/21-6/26/22)). MSNBC averaged 4.7 million viewers immediately following the debate (10:39pm-11:00pm). Weekday time spent viewing based on 6-minute reach qualifier, M-F 6am-6am. Race and Ethnicity rankings based on time period data. Time-shifted viewers (i.e., non-Live): watching DVR up to 7 days after original air date, among regularly-scheduled cable news programs 2024 to date. Local market data based on: Nielsen NSI, P2+, total day, national cable networks, 2024 to date and June 2024.
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