MSNBC had an interesting February on the Nielsen ratings front. It struggled for a while, suffering from the absence of Rachel Maddow in primetime (-50% in total viewers and -62% among A25-54 from January). However, aided by breaking news coverage and analysis surrounding Russia’s invasion into Ukraine near the end of the month, MSNBC managed to improve to No. 2 across basic cable in total viewers, its best finish since last fall. The network ranked No. 4 in total primetime viewers for January, and No. 6 in December 2021.
MSNBC beat CNN in total viewers on weekdays for the 13th consecutive month, and posted viewership growth from January in all relevant measurements. On the downside, the network came up short to CNN in adults 25-54, on weekends, and saw less month-to-month growth than CNN and Fox News.
Relative to Jan.’22, MSNBC gained +4% in total primetime audience and +10% of its average total day audience, +8% in the prime time demo and +15% in the total day demo. Relative to Feb. 2021, MSNBC shed -46% in total primetime viewers, -59% in the primetime demo, -47% in total day viewers, and -59% in the total day demo. To be fair, MSNBC was still basking in the Nielsen ratings glow of the 2021 presidential inauguration, and the early days of a Democratic administration at this time last year. It was the most-watched network on all of basic cable in total day in February 2021. Needless to say, a year-over-year decline was expected.
The average impressions for Feb. 2022 (Nielsen Live + Same Day data):
- Prime time (Mon.-Sun.): 1,194,000 total viewers / 140,000 A25-54
- Total Day (Mon.-Sun.): 719,000 total viewers / 85,000 A25-54
Morning Joe ranked No. 2 across all of cable television in its time period for the 11th month in a row. On Feb. 24, 2022, the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Morning Joe delivered its best audience in total viewers (1.6 million) since April 16 of last year, when protests emerged after the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright.
The Rachel Maddow Show ranked No. 2 in the 9 p.m. hour for the 9th straight month. However, the broadcast shed a significant amount of its audience in light of Maddow’s hiatus.
Below, the network’s February ’22 Nielsen ratings press release:
MSNBC FINISHES #2 ACROSS ALL OF CABLE TELEVISION, TOPS CNN FOR 13 STRAIGHT MONTHS
MSNBC Total Day (M-Su 6am-6am) and Prime (M-F 8pm-11pm) #2 Across All of Cable in February
“Morning Joe” Finishes #2 in Cable Television for the 11th Straight Month, Dominates CNN for the 84th Straight Month in Total Viewers and 52nd Straight Month in A25-54
“The Rachel Maddow Show” at 9pm More Than Doubles CNN’s Audience for the 12th Month in a Row, Ranks #2 in the Hour for the 9th Month in a Row
“Way Too Early with Jonathan Lemire” at 5am Tops CNN for the 4th Month in a Row in Total Viewers and 2nd Month in a Row in A25-54 with Lemire as Host
MSNBC Tops CNN Weekdays from 5am-10am, 12pm and 4pm-12am Among Total Viewers
MSNBC Digital’s Breaking News Coverage Drives Largest Weekly Audience in Over a Year
MSNBC Digital Text Content Delivers Strongest Month on Record
MSNBC Films’ “Love & The Constitution” Reaches 4.2M Total Viewers Across All Airings
Total Day and “Morning Joe” Top All Cable Networks in African American Viewership for the Month
Viewers Watch MSNBC Full Day (M-Su 6am-2am) for an Average 312 Minutes Per Week, Nearly Doubling CNN
NEW YORK (March 1, 2022) – MSNBC’s first-rate breaking news coverage and analysis propelled the network to #2 across all of cable television in February, according to Nielsen.
MSNBC’s around-the-clock reporting from the ground and key analysis of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reaction in Washington drove total day (M-Su 6am-6am) to #2 in cable television (ahead of #3 CNN, #4 HGTV and #7 ESPN), delivering 728K total viewers (vs. CNN’s 623K). Total day finished #2 among all cable networks and beat CNN for the 13th month in a row among total viewers. In A25-54, total day delivered 87K viewers. On 2/24/2022, the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, total day delivered its best audience in total viewers and A25-54 since 4/20/2021, when Derek Chauvin was found guilty.
MSNBC prime (M-F 8pm-11pm) nearly doubled CNN’s total audience, drawing 1.5M total viewers (vs. CNN’s 796K) and topping CNN for the 63rd straight month. Prime ranked #2 across all of cable television (ahead of #3 HGTV, #8 ESPN and #12 CNN) for the month. In A25-54, prime delivered 179K viewers.
MSNBC dayside (M-F 9am-4pm) delivered 693K total viewers and 76K A25-54 viewers.
“Way Too Early” at 5am finished #2 in the hour for the 22nd consecutive month with 319K total viewers (vs. CNN’s 197K), beating CNN for the 13th consecutive month and 4th consecutive month with Jonathan Lemire as host. Among total viewers, “Way Too Early” finished In A25-54, “Way Too Early” finished #2 in the hour for the 2nd consecutive month averaging 49K viewers (vs. CNN’s 37K).
“Morning Joe” (6am-9am) ranked #2 across all of cable television for the 11th month in a row. February marked the 84th month in a row that “Morning Joe” has topped CNN in total viewers (803K vs. CNN’s 430K). On 2/24/2022, the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “Morning Joe” delivered its best audience in total viewers (1.6M) since 4/16/2021, when protests emerged after the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright. Among A25-54, “Morning Joe” averaged 98K viewers, finishing ahead of #3 CNN (84K) for the 52nd month in a row. “Morning Joe” also led cable news among diverse audiences. From 6am-9am, “Morning Joe” ranked #1 across all of cable television among African American viewers (161K), ahead of #3 CNN (108K) and #35 FOX News (19K).
“The Rachel Maddow Show” at 9pm continues to dominate in the hour, more than doubling CNN’s total viewership (1.9M vs. 751K) for the 12th month in a row. “Maddow” ranked #2 for the 9th straight month and topped CNN for the 105th straight month among total viewers. In A25-54, “Maddow” ranked #2 in the hour for the 12th straight month and topped CNN for the 13th straight month. “Maddow” delivered 224K A25-54 viewers (vs. CNN’s 201K). On 2/24/2022, the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “Maddow” delivered its best audience in total viewers (2.5M) since 9/14/21 (excerpts of Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s book “Peril” were released) and best audience in A25-54 (420K) since 4/20/21, when Derek Chauvin was found guilty.
The following shows also topped CNN for the month in total viewers: “Stephanie Ruhle Reports” at 9am for the 61st straight month; “Andrea Mitchell Reports” at 12pm for the month; “Deadline: White House” from 4pm-6pm for the 57th straight month; “The Beat with Ari Melber” at 6pm for the 22nd straight month; “The ReidOut” at 7pm for the 13th straight month; “All In with Chris Hayes” at 8pm for the 13th straight month; “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” at 10pm for the 81st straight month; and “The 11th Hour” for the 67th straight month.
During the week of 2/20/22-2/26/22, MSNBC Digital’s coverage of the Ukraine-Russia conflict drove the brand’s largest audience since early 2021. MSNBC also increased total video starts across digital platforms last week by more than +50% versus the prior year.
MSNBC Digital text consumption continued to grow in February, reaching its strongest month on record across platforms.
The premiere of MSNBC Film’s “Love & The Constitution” (2/6/22 at 10pm ET) drew 641K total viewers, topping CNN in the time period. Across all airings, “Love & The Constitution” reached 4.2M viewers. The feature documentary provides an insider’s view into the life of Representative Jamie Raskin and an intimate look at both a nation and Congressman in crisis.
Across cable news, MSNBC was #1 among African American viewers during total day (M-Su 6am-6am) with 192K viewers ahead of #5 CNN (130K) and #42 FOX (28K).
Viewers watched MSNBC full day (M-Su 6am-2am) for an average of 316 minutes per week, nearly doubling CNN’s 186 minutes per week.
NOTE: February ratings are based on Nielsen most current data for 01/31/2022-02/27/2022. Individual show data for the month represents regular programming only, excluding specials and breaking news.
Source: Adobe Analytics + Partner Portals, February 2022