MSNBC COMMANDS ONE OF THE MOST ENGAGED AUDIENCES IN ALL OF TELEVISION, VIEWERS TUNE IN ON AVERAGE FOR 8 HOURS EVERY WEEK
MSNBC’s Primetime Lineup Draws 1.2 Million Viewers Year-To-Date; Plus, Twice as Many Independents and Republicans as CNN
Sees Rapid Growth on Non-Linear Platforms, 5.7 Billion Combined Views Across YouTube and TikTok Year To Date
(New York – Sept. 3, 2025) – Despite the traditional summer viewership dip, millions of Americans continued to watch MSNBC’s news coverage and analysis throughout the month of August. Closing out the summer, MSNBC is the second most-watched cable network in the third quarter to date. In 2025 to date, MSNBC has one of the most engaged audiences in all of television, according to Nielsen data. In a typical week, the average MSNBC viewer watches the network for eight hours, nearly doubling the weekly CNN viewer average.
Plus, year to date, MSNBC is averaging 1.2 million total viewers in weekday primetime and 573,000 total day viewers.
In August, MSNBC averaged more weekday primetime viewers than CNN for the 105th consecutive month (971,000 vs. 488,000) and more total day viewers than CNN for the 41st consecutive month (502,000 vs. 333,000).
Additionally, MSNBC’s primetime lineup draws twice as many Independents and Republicans as CNN’s, according to Nielsen/MRI fusion data.
In August, MSNBC was the #1 cable news network among Black viewers and a top four cable network among Hispanic viewers and Asian American viewers.
MSNBC’s audience has grown during a decade of secular television viewership declines. In 2025 to date (January through August), MSNBC is averaging 88% more primetime viewers and 73% more total day viewers than during the first eight months of 2015, despite a significant decline in the number of pay TV households (-33%). CNN total day viewership, on the other hand, decreased by -10% from 2015 to 2025.
MSNBC Doubles CNN’s Primetime Audience; Plus, “Maddow,” “Deadline: White House,” “11th Hour” All Top CNN in the A25-54 Demo
Year to date, MSNBC’s weekday primetime programming (Monday through Friday, 8 to 11 p.m.) doubled CNN’s viewership, averaging 1.2 million weekday primetime viewers.
Additionally, every MSNBC weekday perspective and analysis program (4 p.m. to 12 a.m.) averaged more total viewers than its CNN timeslot counterpart.
In addition to more viewers turning to MSNBC over CNN in primetime, “The Rachel Maddow Show” (Mondays, 9 p.m.), had four times as many total viewers as its CNN counterpart (1.9 million vs. 463,000), and nearly doubled CNN in the A25-54 demo (177,000 vs. 94,000). Plus, “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” (Monday through Friday, 10 p.m.) more than doubled CNN’s total audience in August.
“Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace” (Monday through Friday, 4 to 6 p.m.) also topped CNN in the demo for the second straight month. “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle” (Monday through Friday, 11 p.m.) beat CNN in the demo.
“Morning Joe” Remains the Most Watched Cable News Program in the Nation’s Capital; Continues to Top CNN in Both Demos
Year to date, “Morning Joe” (Monday through Friday, 6 to 10 a.m.) is doubling CNN’s audience from 6 to 10 a.m. among total viewers (661,000 vs. 327,000), and is also topping CNN among A25-54 (60,000 vs. 57,000). Additionally, the program’s 6 a.m. hour of “Morning Joe” triples CNN’s total audience.
“Morning Joe” remains the most-watched morning cable program in the influential Washington, D.C. market year to date.
MSNBC Tops CNN in Total Dayside Viewers for 5th Consecutive Month
In a month full of breaking news stories, more Americans tuned into “MSNBC Reports” (Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) than CNN for the fifth consecutive month (485,000 vs. 453,000). MSNBC also delivered its largest total viewer advantage over CNN in the daypart since November 2024.
MSNBC Tops CNN in Weekend Programming for First Time Since May
August marked the first time more viewers turned to MSNBC over CNN on the weekends (Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.) since May (375,000 vs. 347,000).
Additionally, the network’s recently introduced ensemble program “The Weekend: Primetime” (Saturday and Sunday, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.) delivered double-digit growth among the demo since its launch in May 2025. “PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton” (Saturday and Sunday, 5 p.m.) also outperformed CNN in August among A25-54.
MSNBC Sees Rapid Growth Across Digital Platforms; 5.7 Billion Combined Views Across YouTube and TikTok Year to Date
MSNBC Digital had 27.8 million unique visitors in July 2025. Plus, consumers continue to spend more time on MSNBC Digital than any other political news site, ranking #1 for 52 consecutive months in the competitive set for total minutes spent, with 717 million minutes in July.
Throughout the month of August, MSNBC.com traffic was driven by hundreds of op-eds including: Trump reflecting on critics who’ve called him a “dictator” (Steve Bennen), Gavin Newsom’s changing social media strategy (Zeeshan Aleem), and Trump’s response to Elizabeth Warren’s criticism of his economic promises (Alex Jacquez).
On YouTube, MSNBC saw more than 2.6 billion views year to date, up 15% year over year. In August, key breaking news and political events, including the Epstein files, President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in D.C., and Texas redistricting, drove the network’s top-performing videos, with 276 million total video views for the month of August. Some highlights from MSNBC’s original videos on YouTube include: Texas Rep. Ann Johnson’s response to GOP redistricting (5.2 million views), Rachel Maddow reacting to Republican Rep. Mike Flood’s town hall with his constituents (2.5 million views), and George Conway’s response to ICE agents about immunity (2.1 million views).
MSNBC had 3.1 billion views year to date on TikTok, up 272% year over year. In August, MSNBC had 160 million video views on the platform with top performing videos including Jeffrey Epstein’s resurfaced 2010 deposition (5.8 million views), Vice President JD Vance’s frequent vacation schedule (4.5 million views), and Chris Hayes on Gavin Newsom’s social media responses to Trump (4 million views).
MSNBC podcasts See Nearly 100 million Downloads in 2025; Daily Showcasts Reach Highest Levels in 10 Months
Year to date, MSNBC podcasts have been downloaded nearly 100 million times, a benchmark the network has surpassed every year since 2019. MSNBC daily showcasts had their strongest month this year with double-digit growth versus their year-to-date monthly average.
“The Best People with Nicolle Wallace,” which debuted at #1 on Apple Podcast charts in June, saw a 15% increase month over month, with more than 6.5 million total downloads. On YouTube, “The Best People” podcast has seen 4.3 million video views since its debut.
TV Source: Nielsen, Panel Only, Live+SD, Persons 2+ and Adults 25-54. Total Day = M-Su 6 a.m. to 6 a.m., Primetime= M-F 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. August 2025: 7/28/25-8/31/25. Time period wins based on regularly-scheduled cable news programming. New Show comparisons: May = 5/3/25-5/25/25. Engagement: Nielsen, NPower, Reach & Frequency, M-Su 6 a.m.-6 a.m., 6-min viewing qualifier,12/30/24-8/31/25, Most Current. Race/Ethnicity: Nielsen, NPower, Ratings Analysis Time Period Report 7/28/25-8/31/25. Local Points: Nielsen, NPower, Ratings Analysis Program Report, LPM = Washington, D.C., 12/30/24-8/31/25, P2+, M-F 6a-10a.Nielsen/MRI Fusion Data via NPower, Ratings Analysis Time Period Report. Live+SD, M-F 8P-11P, 2Q25 (Apr-Jun). MRI Psychographics = Political Affiliation. P2+ AA (000).
Digital Source: YouTube data based on YouTube Studio Analytics, January 1 – August 31, 2025. YouTube video views. Competitor data from ListenFirst. TikTok data based on ListenFirst, January 1 – August 31, 2025. TikTok video views.
Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (U.S.) Desktop Persons 2+ and Mobile Persons 13+, Total Digital Population, April 2021 – July 2025. Rankings based on Comscore News/Information – Politics category. Unique visitors and total minutes.
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