A month of breaking news–some of it late on Friday or on the weekend–did not benefit MSNBC as much as it did its cable new competition. MSNBC slipped behind CNN in both total and demo viewers in both primetime and total day.
The ratings for August, 2011:
- Primetime (Mon-Sun): 714K Total Viewers / 227K A25-54
- Total Day (Mon-Sun): 428K Total Viewers / 142K A25-54
MSNBC notes that it did top CNN Mon.-Fri. in total viewers, but not Mon.-Sun. Compared to the same month a year ago, MSNBC was up slightly in total viewers in both total day and prime, and was down slightly in the demo in both categories.
At 8 PM, “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell was down substantially (around 140,000 viewers) from the same month a year ago, when Keith Olbermann was in the slot, although O’Donnell was also out of the anchor chair for a good chunk of August due to his mother’s death. O’Donnell also topped CNN at 8 PM in total viewers, though fell short in the demo.
MSNBC’s signature primetime host, Rachel Maddow, performed well, growing double digits in both total and demo viewers from last year. Maddow also topped CNN’s Piers Morgan in both total and demo viewers for the month.
At 10 PM, “The Ed Show” is also up substantially at 10 PM, though that is compared to last year, when the slot was occupied by reruns of “Countdown.”
“Morning Joe” continued to perform well, growing substantially in both total and demo viewers from 2010, and placing ahead of “American Morning” in both total and demo viewers.
The MSNBC announcement:
MSNBC CONTINUES TO TOP CNN IN PRIMETIME – AUGUST 2011 RATINGS
MSNBC CONTINUES TO TOP CNN IN PRIMETIME – AUGUST 2011 RATINGS
NEW YORK – August 30, 2011 – MSNBC continued to beat CNN in primetime among total viewers for the month of August 2011, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. MSNBC topped CNN by 15% among total viewers in Monday – Friday primetime (815,000 vs. CNN’s 708,000). MSNBC also topped CNN in the morning with “Morning Joe” ranking #2 among total viewers for the 5th consecutive month.
Following are MSNBC ratings highlights for August:
“Morning Joe” ranked #2 beating CNN’s “American Morning” among total viewers (438,000 vs. 283,000 CNN) and A25-54 (143,000 vs. 122,000). This is the 5th consecutive month “Morning Joe” has ranked #2 among total viewers, beating “American Morning” for the 5th straight month and HLN’s “Morning Express with Robin Meade” for the 20th consecutive month. Compared to August 2010, “Morning Joe” is up 21% in total viewers and 32% among A25-54.
At 7 p.m., “Hardball” topped CNN’s “John King USA” in both total viewers (696,000 vs. 531,000) and among A25-54 (178,000 vs. 173,000). Compared to August 2010, “Hardball” at 7 p.m. is up 24% in total viewers and 5% among A25-54. This is the 5th consecutive month “Hardball” has topped CNN in total viewers and the 3rd straight month beating CNN among A25-54.
At 8 p.m., MSNBC topped CNN for the 42nd consecutive month among total viewers. “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” beat CNN by 28% among total viewers (813,000 vs. CNN’s 637,000) for the month.
“The Rachel Maddow Show” beat CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” at 9 p.m. for the month of August by 23% among total viewers (916,000 vs. 746,000) and by 22% among A25-54 (275,000 vs. 226,000), marking the 19th consecutive monthly win over CNN in total viewers. Compared to August 2010, Maddow is up 12% among total viewers and up 20% in A25-54.
“The Ed Show” at 10 p.m. topped “Anderson Cooper” on CNN in total viewers (769,000 vs. 760,000). Compared to MSNBC at 10 p.m. in August 2010, “The Ed Show” is up 37% in total viewers and 11% in A25-54.
MSNBC is #1 in delivering African American viewers (P2+) for the 19th consecutive month in M-Su Primetime.