MSNBC in ratings freefall as network’s $25m-a-year top star is deserted by 43% of viewers
MSNBC star Rachel Maddow’s viewership has plummeted since Donald Trump won the presidential election, dragging down the liberal network’s overall ratings.
Maddow, MSNBC’s highest-paid anchor, has lost a whopping 43 percent of her audience since Election Day.
On average, only about 1.4 million people tune in to her show each week, down from 2.4 million earlier this year.
The 51-year-old saw a dramatic drop in viewership in the 25 to 54 age bracket and lost 56 percent of that audience since the election, Fox News reported.
Maddow reportedly earns a salary of $25 million for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” in which she shares her left-wing political views. Maddow is a staunch supporter of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
She praised Biden during one of her shows, saying he “has been a phenomenal president.”
“He brought us back from Covid, he gave us the best recovery from Covid or any great country on earth,” Maddow said.
“The Biden economy is literally the envy of the world.”
She openly denounced her own network for airing Trump’s victory speech on Super Tuesday, saying it was “irresponsible to broadcast.”
Maddow makes $25 million a year at MSNBC, even though she’s only on the air once a week
Rachel Maddow’s viewership has dropped, as have the liberal channel’s overall ratings
During Trump’s first presidential term, Maddow advanced theories claiming the Republican was in cahoots with Russia.
At the time, her show thrived on liberals’ disdain for Trump. But it seems the tide has turned.
Fox News contributor Joe Concha said it makes sense that someone who “supported Kamala Harris so strongly” would lose viewers before Trump returns to the White House.
“What was surprising is that MSNBC still gave her $25 million to work one night a week. And the return on the investment is that she finishes a distant second behind Sean Hannity at 9 p.m. Is that money well spent?’ he said.
Maddow reportedly made $30 million from her last contract. In 2022, she started doing her show once a week instead of five nights. The anchor’s audience peaked in 2020 at 3.2 million viewers.
A spokesperson for MSNBC called the salary figures “inaccurate,” without citing other amounts.
During Maddow’s prime, she was often considered one of the “most-watched cable news anchors.”
Alex Wagner – who took over for Maddow the other four nights of the week – has also seen a sharp drop in support. Last week was her lowest rated, according to Fox News.
Maddow recently came under fire for speculating about a link between the alleged murderer of UnitedHealth CEO Luigi Mangione and Trump.
Maddow inexplicably linked Mangione to Trump’s rumored choice for new ATF Director Blake Masters.
Maddow’s viewership last peaked in 2020, but has fallen precipitously since the 2024 election
Maddow is known for her criticism of Donald Trump and was angry with her own network for airing his victory speech on Super Tuesday
“If it is him (Mangione), the fact that he is a claimed Unabomber fan is disturbing. I might note that it is even more disturbing that Donald Trump’s reported choice to lead the ATF is also a self-proclaimed fan of the Unabomber,” she said.
Earlier this month, Maddow reportedly became enraged when her Morning Joe co-stars Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Maddow, along with other hosts at the troubled network, called the move by the married co-hosts “opportunistic.”
‘They have lost a lot of credibility. Rachel Maddow is mad at them, as are other hosts like Chris Hayes and Ari Melber. They are so frustrated,” said an unnamed MSNBC journalist.
MSNBC disputed the report, claiming that Maddow said nothing on air or on air about Scarborough and Brzezinski’s meeting with Trump.
“Any other insinuation is purely speculative and not from a source familiar with the matter,” a network spokesperson said.