Rita Cosby: #1 On MSNBC Primetime

Rita Cosby has hosted one evening of Live & Direct, but she has already claimed the title of #1 show on MSNBC’s primetime. Her Monday night premiere averaged 665,000 viewers. Rita delivered MSNBC’s best numbers in the tough 9pm timeslot for a “regular” news day in over two years, according to a network spokesperson.

Of course, you could call the glass half-full or half-empty. “After NBC spent zillions on ads for Rita in every newspaper in the US. she still only got a .6 to Greta’s 2.2!,” an e-mailer says. Nancy Grace (and Paula Zahn) beat Cosby, too. But MSNBC is now #3 in the time slot, since Prime News averaged 367,000 viewers last night. In primetime, FNC averaged 2.4 million viewers, while CNN had 1.24 million and MSNBC had 477,000.

Hosts frequently see a spike on day one, though. What will Rita be averaging by the end of the week? Will her #’s swing back and forth depending on her “gets?” We’ll see…

> Also: On The Situation’s first night at 11pm, the show averaged 157,000 viewers.