The MSNBC experiment that is Brian Williams won’t be ruled a success or failure for quite some time, but for now, the numbers have been encouraging–and growing.
Williams made his debut as breaking news anchor Tuesday afternoon, and ratings from 3-5 p.m. ET were up +76 percent compared to the Sept. 2014 average. It was also MSNBC’s second-best 3-5 p.m. ET delivery all year.
Back in the anchor chair on Wednesday, the audience grew: 518,000 total viewers (+15 percent compared to Tuesday) and 93,000 viewers A25-54 (+22 percent compared to Tuesday). MSNBC still trailed CNN and Fox News, but CNN’s ratings in the same time period dropped from Tuesday to Wednesday (-4 percent among total viewers, and -24 percent in the demo).
Williams was back on air again today, anchoring from 9 a.m. ET through 12 p.m. ET, and returning at 5 p.m. ET.