MSNBC’s ratings woes continued in May. The network dropped to fourth place among the cable news channels this month, hitting a six-year low in primetime and a four-year low in Total Day.
The ratings for May, 2013 (Nielsen Live + Same Day data):
- Primetime (Mon-Sun): 539,000 Total Viewers / 175,000 A25-54
- Total Day (Mon-Sun): 346,000 Total Viewers / 115,000 A25-54
Compared to May 2012, MSNBC is down double digits across the board. In Total Day, the network is down -10% in Total Viewers (lowest since December 2007) and -7% in the A25-54 demographic (lowest since May 2007). In primetime, MSNBC is down -20% in Total Viewers (lowest since December 2009) and -19% in A25-54 viewers (lowest since October 2007).
At 8pmET, “All In with Chris Hayes” delivered the lowest ratings for MSNBC in the 8pmET timeslot since 2006. At 9pmET, “The Rachel Maddow Show” delivered the lowest ratings since 2008 in Total Viewers and since 2009 in the A25-54 demographic.
In its second full month in primetime, “All In” was down -32% in Total Viewers and -13% in A25-54 viewers compared to the same month last year, when Ed Schultz had the 8pmET timeslot. At 9pmET, Maddow’s program was down -21% in Total Viewers and -22% in the demo. “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” was down -18% and -33%, respectively.
Among other dayparts: in daytime, “Now with Alex Wagner,” “Newsnation,” “The Cycle” and “Martin Bashir” all had the lowest-rated month since their respective debuts. In the mornings, “Morning Joe” is flat in Total Viewers and down -10% in A25-54 viewers.