MSNBC has faced mounting challenges since November, when parent company Comcast announced it was severing ties with the left-wing network.
Following the election, the situation reportedly became so dire that executives pushed Rachel Maddow—MSNBC’s top-rated host—to resume a full five-day schedule to justify her $25 million salary. Maddow returned to her reduced schedule earlier this month to make room for MSNBC’s “rising star,” Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary under President Joe Biden who now identifies as a journalist.
Early ratings have been underwhelming for Psaki, who is also under growing scrutiny for her alleged involvement in efforts to obscure Biden’s cognitive decline. Psaki debuted her new show, The Briefing, in the coveted 9 p.m. weekday slot on May 6—replacing Rachel Maddow four nights a week, as Maddow continues to host Mondays.
MSNBC’s new president, Rebecca Kutler, has reportedly positioned Psaki as the “face of the network’s new era.” While the premiere drew decent ratings—likely buoyed by some Maddow viewers unaware of the change—viewership dropped sharply the next night.
On May 7, the show’s audience in the key 25-54 advertising demographic fell from 139,000 to just 65,000, a 53 percent decline. The Briefing was soundly beaten in that demographic by competing shows on Fox News and CNN, and even trailed behind reruns of Bob’s Burgers, The King of Queens, and Paw Patrol.
In her first week in primetime, Jen Psaki averaged 92,000 viewers in the key 25–54 age demographic—a 47 percent drop compared to Rachel Maddow’s final full week in the same time slot. On Tuesday alone, The Briefing drew just 79,000 viewers in the demographic, ranking Psaki fourth among MSNBC’s weekday hosts.
Even Nicolle Wallace, frequently criticized for her on-air admiration of disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti, outperformed Psaki in the ratings. Only Chris Hayes, who airs at 6 p.m., and Stephanie Ruhle, whose 11 p.m. show airs past the typical bedtime of MSNBC’s older audience, had lower viewership in the demographic. Hayes, in particular, has faced longstanding criticism and is often cited as one of cable news’ least compelling hosts, the Washington Free Beacon noted.
Psaki departed the White House in May 2022, just weeks before journalist Mark Leibovich published an article in The Atlantic highlighting that President Biden’s age and cognitive sharpness were “recurring themes” raised by senior officials behind the scenes. During her tenure as press secretary, Psaki dismissed such concerns, claiming Biden was “hard to keep up with.”
