MSNBC’s ratings have been in free fall since Election Day — including for its star anchor, Rachel Maddow — with the left-leaning network’s audience shriveling by nearly half as staffers panic inside the halls of 30 Rock.
Maddow — who reportedly has agreed to take a $5 million-a-year pay cut with a new, five-year contract worth $25 million a year — has seen her ratings tumble, stoking fears that her outsize compensation heightens the risk of layoffs among the rank and file.
Despite one exec reportedly gushing that the 51-year-old anchor is “ratings Viagra,” since Nov. 5 the “Rachel Maddow Show” saw its audience plummet 41% to 1.4 million total viewers. In the demo, Maddow lost 50% of her audience, bringing in just 118,000, Nielsen said on Wednesday.
This past Monday, Maddow’s program attracted just 1.3 million total viewers — 13% below the previous week and a paltry 84,000 in the key 25-54 demographic — her smallest audience of the year and worst performance in the demo since 2015.
That’s part of a nearly 50% drop across MSNBC where employees are still reeling from last week’s announcement that the network would be spun off next year by parent Comcast, along with its other cable channels— with a top executive even suggesting the MSNBC may be forced to change its name.
The surprise spinoff news and plummeting ratings prompted Joe Scarborough, co-host of “Morning Joe,” to joke nervously on air: “We could all be fired a year from now.”
Nielsen estimated that a whopping 46% of the “Morning Joe” audience has evaporated since the week of the election to the week of Nov. 18 from nearly 1.3 million to 691,000.
That week, Scarborough and co-host Mika Brzezinski revealed that they met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago to reset their contentious relationship – continuing to turn off many of their liberal viewers.
Since Election Day, MSNBC as a whole reeled in an average of just 497,000 total-day viewers, a 47% drop, with a paltry 49,000 in the advertising-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, according to data from Nielsen.
MSNBC declined to comment on the ratings carnage. A network source told The Post: “A post-election dip in viewership was always projected and internal thinking is that it will pick up in the New Year, post-inauguration.”
CNN has also seen double-digit losses, falling 33% and reeling in just 357,000 total-day viewers and 65,000 in the key demo. CNN has lost 39% of its total primetime viewership, drawing just 453,000 viewers.
By contrast, Fox News said its ratings jumped 32% to nearly 1.9 million and viewership in the demo rose 35% to 248,000, cementing its dominance as the most-watched cable news network during and since President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
While Fox News saw its primetime ratings soar to 3.2 million, an 86% year-over-year increase in total viewers, MSNBC — also home to Lawrence O’Donnell and Chris Hayes — saw its total audience collapse 52% to 644,000.
Elsewhere, MSNBC’s other marquee shows, including Joy Reid’s “The ReidOut” and “11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle,” hit historic lows in the key demo.
Fox, which is home to Sean Hannity, Greg Gutfeld and Harris Faulkner, saw record-breaking growth, grabbing 62% of the cable news audience in total-day ratings for November.
Ratings fluctuations are normal after presidential elections, with one MSNBC insider noting that the dips are on par with 2016 post-Trump win as well as over the summer following Biden’s poor debate performance.
The person added that MSNBC’s drop has begun to level off. Still, the numbers are still down from pre-Trump levels, which a network source said has caused major “anxiety” inside.
Aside from its ratings woes, MSNBC faces an uncertain future, which may include layoffs and a restructuring.
As part of the spinoff, Comcast said it would retain NBC properties, NBC News, NBC Sports and others. The announcement sparked panic among MSNBC employees over how that may impact the reporting and staffing of the left-leaning network, which relies heavily on NBC News.
