MSNBC has utilized a unique primetime lineup, having its most popular host — Rachel Maddow — only host a show one night a week. Maddow hosts on Monday evenings at 9:00 PM ET, and Alex Wagner hosts Alex Wagner Tonight the rest of the week in the same timeslot. Ratings for Wagner have seen a sharp decline compared to Maddow.
Oliver Darcy of CNN wrote a detailed piece surrounding Wagner’s ratings drop. In the month of September, Wagner’s ratings had dropped 50% compared to those of Maddow in the previous year in the coveted 25-54 demographic. Overall, Wagner’s ratings were 34% less than those of Maddow.
“A 50 percent drop in the key 25-54 demo is 50 percent drop in your billable viewer,” a former television executive told Darcy. “Imagine running a store or restaurant and losing 50 percent of your billable customers. Not your looky-loos. Your paying customers.”
Darcy also added that Wagner’s audience did beat CNN’s primetime lineup, but the ouster of Chris Cuomo also left a void in the network’s lineup that will be filled by Jake Tapper as the midterm elections approach.
