What To Know
- MS NOW was the only major cable news network to post week-to-week gains in both total viewers and the key 25-54 demo during its first week after rebranding.
- The network averaged 1.014 million primetime viewers (up 5%) and 90,000 demo viewers (up 6%), and saw significant year-over-year growth.
- Despite these gains, MS NOW remained behind Fox News in overall ratings, with The Rachel Maddow Show as its top program.
The latest cable news ratings are in, and it’s good news for the recently rebranded MS NOW, which was the only news network to post week-to-week gains in total viewers and the key demo in primetime and total day.
According to AdWeek, citing Nielsen big data + panel numbers for the week of November 17, MS NOW averaged 1.014 million total viewers and 90,000 viewers in the coveted Adults 25-54 demo in primetime. This was up 5 per cent in total viewers and 6 per cent in the demo compared to its primetime average the week prior.
The network was also up during total day, with an average of 649,000 total viewers (up 4 per cent on the week before) and 60,000 demo viewers (up 7 per cent on the week prior).
This marked the first week since MSNBC rebranded as MS NOW — which stands for My Source for News, Opinion, and the World. The network’s parent company, NBCUniversal, decided to separate MSNBC and other cable networks (including CNBC, USA, Oxygen, and E!) into a new company called Versant.
Across all basic cable networks, MS NOW held third place in total primetime viewers and rose from 12th to 13th in the key demo. The network also remained in third place in total day viewers, though it dropped from 8th to 9th in the total day demo.
When compared to the same period last year, MS NOW was up 54 per cent in total viewers and 50 per cent in the demo in primetime. It was also up 34 per cent in total viewers and 43 per cent in the demo in total day.
The Rachel Maddow Show continued to be MS NOW’s top-rated show, ranking as the 9th most-watched cable news show of the week with an average of 1.826 million total viewers.
Despite MS NOW’s growth, it remained behind Fox News, which averaged 2.121 million total viewers and 189,000 demo viewers during primetime for the week of November 17. Fox News also averaged 1.38 million total viewers and 121,000 demo viewers in total day viewing.
CNN, meanwhile, averaged 570,000 total primetime viewers and 103,000 primetime demo viewers. In total day, the network averaged 450,000 total viewers and 73,000 viewers in the demo.