2024 – MSNBC SEES A BANNER YEAR OF GROWTH AND EXPANSION ACROSS LINEAR, DIGITAL, SOCIAL, AND LIVE EVENTS
The Network Solidifies Itself As A Top Political Destination; Sees Largest Viewership Advantage Over CNN in Network History
Two Consecutive Years of Audience Gains, Adds Nearly One Million Unique Viewers Compared to 2023; Averaging 34% More Viewers In 2024 Than In 2016
#1 Cable News Brand on TikTok, YouTube; Surpasses Six Billion Views Across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X, Up 109% Year-Over-Year
(New York – Dec. 17, 2024) – In 2024, MSNBC further solidified its standing as a top destination for political news and deep-dive analysis and perspective across both linear and digital. The year also marked the network’s largest growth and investment across its nonlinear businesses, including bringing the MSNBC brand to life with a first-ever, sold-out in-person event with more than 4,000 loyal MSNBC viewers gathered in Brooklyn, New York.
The network will end the year as the #2 network across all of cable (ahead of #3 ESPN, #4 CNN, and #5 Hallmark) with 807,000 average viewers in total day and 1.3 million viewers in primetime, up 2% and 4%, respectively from the previous year.
The network also had its most-watched year since 2021 and was the only top 20 cable network with two consecutive years of audience gains (2022: 734,000 and 2023: 776,000, total day), according to Nielsen ratings data.
MSNBC dominated CNN for the 8th straight year, averaging 65% more viewers in the average minute (807,000 vs. 488,000 total viewers), marking MSNBC’s largest viewership advantage over CNN in network history.
MSNBC Is Averaging 34% More Viewers In 2024 Than In 2016, Despite There Being 28% Fewer Pay TV Households; Totals More Viewing Hours Than Some Major Streamers
MSNBC is averaging 34% more viewers in 2024 than in 2016, despite there being 28% fewer Pay TV households. In contrast, CNN viewership decreased by 35% from 2016 to 2024. Plus, in the past year, MSNBC households – those tuning in to MSNBC more than two times per week – were 60% less likely to turn away from cable than the average U.S. household.
Additionally, during the average month in 2024, MSNBC also totaled more monthly viewing hours than some major streamers, like Max and Paramount+ MSNBC: 580 million hours viewed; Max: 480 million hours; Paramount+: 460 million hours)
MSNBC Continues To Have One of The Most Loyal and Engaged Weekday Audiences in All of TV; Reached Nearly One Million More Unique Viewers in 2024 Compared To 2023
MSNBC continues to have one of the most loyal and engaged audiences in all of television. According to Nielsen, in a typical week, the average MSNBC viewer watches the network for nearly nine hours, doubling the CNN viewer average. In the average week, MSNBC reached nearly one million more unique viewers than the average week in 2023.
In 2024, MSNBC was also the highest-rated cable network in three of the top 10 local television markets: Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Philadelphia. MSNBC also ranked #1 in Seattle and Miami. MSNBC beat CNN in each of the top 25 local television markets. In 2024, MSNBC was also the most-watched cable network among Black Americans for the 7th straight year and in the past year, MSNBC has added more Black viewers than any other Top 50 cable network.
Record Year for MSNBC Election Programming; Swept CNN on Major Political Moments For First Time Ever
In 2024, MSNBC solidified itself as a top political news destination, topping CNN in viewership during the major political moments that defined the year.
The year started with MSNBC sweeping CNN across major presidential primary contests – an MSNBC first. In March, MSNBC drew its largest State of the Union audience to date, topping CNN by the largest viewership margin ever. Additionally, across the full week of the 2024 DNC, MSNBC was the most-watched primetime network in all of television and ranked #1 in the A25-54 demo during DNC week for the first time in network history. MSNBC also drew more viewers than CNN during the second presidential debate – another MSNBC first – and ranked #1 across all of television for post-debate analysis.
Finally, on Election Night 2024, MSNBC averaged six million primetime viewers, topping CNN’s 5.1 million viewers. More viewers turned to MSNBC than CNN in both total day (M-Su 6 a.m.-6 a.m.) and during primetime (M-Su 8 p.m.-11 p.m.) on a presidential election day, presidential election week, and presidential election month for the first time in network history.
Post-Election Viewership On Par with 2016-2017 Trends; FOX News Up Only 1% Post-Election Compared to the Four Weeks in the Runup to Election Day
Year to date, despite expected viewership declines following the 2024 election, MSNBC remains the second-most watched cable network. Additionally, MSNBC’s ratings trajectory post-election in 2024 mirrors the ratings trends following the 2016 election. Following a 42% viewership decline in the weeks after the 2016 election, MSNBC went on to have four of its most-watched years in network history.
Historically, cable news viewership has declined following a presidential election, regardless of the winner. In 2012, in the four weeks following the re-election of President Obama, FOX News viewership declined by 34%, and similarly, in the four weeks after the 2020 election of President Biden, the network faced declines (-42%). In 2024, FOX News viewership is up only 1% in the four weeks post-President-elect Trump’s victory when compared to the four weeks prior to the election. (Nov. 11 to Dec. 8 vs. Oct. 7 to Nov. 3, Monday through Sunday, 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., total viewers)
“Morning Joe” #1 in 6 a.m. Hour Across All of Cable; Remains #1 in the Nation’s Capital
MSNBC was the most-watched cable network in the 6 a.m. hour in 2024 (977,000 total viewers) and for the second straight year, “Morning Joe” was the #1 cable program in its time slot in the influential New York and Washington, D.C. markets.
“Morning Joe” (Monday through Friday, 6 to 10 a.m.) continued to dominate CNN in the mornings, and topped CNN for the 9th straight year among A25-54 viewers and for the 15th consecutive year among total viewers. MSNBC had its largest morning viewership advantage over CNN ever, averaging 167% more total viewers in the average minute.
Throughout 2024, “Morning Joe” proved how indispensable it continues to be 17 years in. The program’s pivotal, newsmaking interviews throughout the year dominated headlines, including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, then-Vice Presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz, musician Stevie Nicks, and more.
“Maddow” Remains One of the Most Watched Cable Programs In Primetime; MSNBC Perspective & Analysis Block Tops CNN Among Both A25-54 and Total Viewers
MSNBC drew its largest primetime audience in three years (1.3 million total viewers) and had year-over-year viewership growth (+4%). In total prime (Monday through Sunday, 8 to 11 p.m.), MSNBC had its most-watched year since 2021 and was the only top 20 cable network with two consecutive years of audience gains.
In weekday prime (Monday through Friday, 8 to 11 p.m.), MSNBC topped CNN for the 8th consecutive year, doubling CNN’s viewership (1.6 million vs. 786,000 total viewers).
“The Rachel Maddow Show” (Mondays at 9 p.m.) beat CNN for the 15th straight year and quadrupled CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” (2.5 million vs. 600,000 total viewers). Among A25-54 viewers, “Maddow” topped CNN for the 9th consecutive year (240,000 vs. 123,000). “Maddow” remains the most DVR’d program in all of cable news, with more time-shifted viewers (866,000 within seven days of air date, than any other cable news program.
Maddow’s newsmaking interviews with key political figures throughout 2024 – such as her exclusive interviews with Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis, E. Jean Carroll, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – drove the program to ratings success.
During the extended Perspective and Analysis block (Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 12 a.m., “Deadline: White House,” “The Beat with Ari Melber,” “The ReidOut with Joy Reid,” “All In with Chris Hayes,” “Inside with Jen Psaki,” “The Rachel Maddow Show,” “Alex Wagner Tonight,” “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhe”), MSNBC topped CNN for the 2nd straight year among A25-54 viewers (151,000 vs. 149,000) and the 8th straight year among total viewers (1.4 million vs. 720,000). All weekday MSNBC programs beat CNN in their respective time slots in total viewers for the 8th straight year.
“MSNBC Reports” Has Most-Watched Year in Three Years
In dayside (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., “Ana Cabrera Reports,” “José Díaz-Balart Reports,” “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” “Chris Jansing Reports,” “Katy Tur Reports”), “MSNBC Reports” had its most-watched year since 2021 (797,000 total viewers) and was the only top 10 cable network with two consecutive years of audience gains. MSNBC beat CNN among total viewers for the second straight year in dayside. All dayside programs topped CNN in their respective time slots in total viewers for the second year in a row.
MSNBC Launches “The Weekend;” Weekend Programming Has Two Straight Years of Audience Gains
MSNBC’s weekend programming (Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., “The Weekend,” “Velshi,” “Inside with Jen Psaki,” “The Katie Phang Show,” “Alex Witt Reports,” “Politics Nation,” “The Saturday/Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart,” “Ayman”) had its highest-rated year since 2021 (592,000 total viewers), with two straight years of audience gains. MSNBC beat CNN for the first time since 2019 and the second time ever. MSNBC had its largest total viewership advantage over CNN in network history (+20%).
Launched in January 2024, MSNBC’s “The Weekend” (Saturday and Sunday, 8 to 10 a.m.) has improved MSNBC’s year-ago weekend morning average by 37% among total viewers and by 32% among A25-54 viewers. In 2024, MSNBC scored its first weekend morning win over CNN in 12 years.
MSNBC’s weekend programming boasted a year of newsmaking interviews, including Jonathan Capehart’s exclusive sit-down interview with President Biden following his State of the Union Address, and Rev. Al Sharpton’s sit-down with Vice President Kamala Harris in the runup to the presidential election.
MSNBC Films Debuted 10 Titles in 2024; First-Ever Maddow Film Debuts #1 in All of Cable
MSNBC Films debuted a slate of 10 titles this past year, exploring provocative and thought-provoking topics that go beyond the headlines and combine expert, long-form storytelling with the journalism that remains at the core of MSNBC.
In September, MSNBC Films debuted the Rachel Maddow executive-produced documentary, “From Russia With Lev,” Maddow’s first film, to an audience of 2.2 million total viewers. The film ranked #1 in all of cable during the 9 p.m. hour and is MSNBC’s most-watched documentary in four years and the second most-watched documentary in network history. The film made its world premiere at “MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024” on Sept. 7, followed by a series of sold-out screenings in New York, Miami, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
In addition, executive produced by NBC Political and National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff, and directed by award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris, MSNBC FIlms debuted the NBC News Studios documentary “Separated” on Dec. 7, following a successful festival premiere and lengthy theatrical run. The film, based on the book written by Soboroff under the same name, confronts one of the most divisive chapters in American history: family separations.
Other titles from MSNBC Films’ 2024 slate included “XCLD: The Story of Cancel Culture” (April 2024); “Battleground Georgia” (May 2024); “Admissions Granted” (June 2024); “To Be Destroyed” (August 2024); “It’s Okay” (August 2024); “My Generation” (October 2024); “The Sing Sing Chronicles” (November 2024).
MSNBC Expands Into Live Events With “MSNBC Live,” 4,000 Loyal Viewers Flock to Brooklyn; TV Special Draws 1.1M Viewers, Topping Launch of New CNN Program
In 2024, MSNBC debuted a first-of-its-kind event series, “MSNBC Live,” which featured high-profile interviews, expert forums and panels on a local and national scale, hosted by award-winning journalist and bestselling author Luke Russert.
The series culminated on Saturday, Sept. 7 when MSNBC hosted the inaugural “MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024” live event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for a sold-out audience of more than 4,000 attendees. The day-long, audience-interactive event featured panels and conversations with MSNBC hosts including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Jen Psaki, Chris Hayes, Joy Reid, Alex Wagner, Stephanie Ruhle, and others.
The event premiered as a two-hour primetime special on Saturday, Sept. 14 and averaged 1.1 million viewers and 78,000 A25-54 viewers, making MSNBC the #1 cable news network in its time slot. The television premiere also topped the launch of CNN’s comedy panel show, “Have I Got News For You” (9 p.m.; 737,000).
MSNBC Is The #1 Political News Destination; #1 Cable News Brand on TikTok; #1 News Brand on YouTube
MSNBC Digital had record highs and double-digit growth across unique visitors and total minutes in 2024. MSNBC averaged 30 million monthly unique visitors this past year, up 45% year-over-year, and averaged 803 million monthly minutes, up 37% year-over-year. MSNBC continued to rank #1 in the competitive set for total minutes, a position that it’s held for four consecutive years.
On YouTube, MSNBC was the most-watched news network in 2024, and was the most-watched cable network on TikTok. MSNBC also had its strongest year ever for social video views, surpassing six billion views across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X, up 109% year-over-year. The year also marked MSNBC’s strongest year on YouTube with 3.1 billion viewers (+32% year-over-year), and strongest year on TikTok with a staggering 2.9 billion views (+846% year-over-year).
Across Digital, MSNBC saw record daily page views on Election Day 2024, surpassing the previous record on the day after the 2020 presidential election. For MSNBC on YouTube, on Election Day, it was a record high for daily video starts, and the “Kornacki Cam “on YouTube was the biggest MSNBC YouTube livestream on record.
MSNBC Launches New Audio Premium Service; Last Three Years Have Been Strongest on Record for MSNBC Originals
In 2024, MSNBC’s audio portfolio had more than 156 million total downloads, and the last three years have been the strongest on record for MSNBC Originals with more than 35 million downloads to date. In June of this year, MSNBC also launched “MSNBC Premium,” an all-new Apple Podcasts subscription that offers ad-free listening, early access to episodes and exclusive bonus content for all MSNBC original podcasts.
Rachel Maddow’s highly anticipated second season of “Ultra” debuted on June 10 at #1 on Apple Podcasts. The “Ultra” series was also named to Apple Podcasts’ top series in 2024, growing double-digits versus the prior year.
“Prosecuting Donald Trump,” co-hosted by MSNBC legal analysts Andrew Weissmann and Mary McCord, grew +43% versus the series’ 2023 performance and totaled more than 25 million downloads since launch. The podcast won two Webby Awards, including “The People’s Choice” Webby award in 2024, as well as two Signal Awards.
MSNBC’s “How to Win 2024” podcast had over two million downloads, growing more than four times its size since its launch in 2023.
MSNBC has produced more than 2,400 showcasts, which have driven over 120 million downloads, including breakouts such as “Inside with Jen Psaki” which has seen more than four million total downloads, growing 145% versus its initial launch in 2023.
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TV Source: Nielsen, Panel Only, Live+SD, Persons 2+ and Adults 25-54. Total Day = M-Su 6 a.m. to 6 a.m., Weekday = M-F 6 a.m. to 6 a.m. 2024: 1/1/24-12/15/24 vs. 2023: 12/26/22-12/31/23. Total Day time spent viewing based on 6-minute weekly reach qualifier. Race and Ethnicity claims based on time period data; Black (M-Su 6 a.m. to 6 a.m.). Pre-election (4 weeks before election week) = 10/7/24-11/3/24, Post-election (4 weeks after election week) = 11/11/24-12/8/24, M-Su 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.) U.S. Total Household Distribution 2024 thru 12/5 vs. 2016. Cord-Cutting Resistance, MSNBC Viewers based on quad segmentation time period report, M-Su 6a-6a, 2+ viewing days per week, 6+ minutes per viewing day (Apr 23-Mar 24). “Morning Joe” consecutive year win streak includes Day 1-3 time-shifted viewing (2023).“TRMS” averages based on Most Current data stream; time-shifted viewers (i.e., non-Live): watching via DVR up to 7 days after original air date. Time period wins based on regularly-scheduled cable news programming. Hours viewed, MSNBC + Streamers: Nielsen via Group M, P2+ hours, Live+3, October 2024. Local market data based on Nielsen NSI, P2+, Monday-Friday total day, Monday-Friday 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., national cable networks, 2024 to date.
Digital Source: Comscore Media Metrix, U.S. desktop 2+ and mobile 13+ persons. October 2024. Monthly unique visitors and total minutes. Ranking based on Comscore News/Information – Politics category.
Digital Source: ListenFirst, platforms include YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/X. January – November 2024. Video views.
