[ad_1]
MSNBC is nothing with out Rachel Maddow.
Maddow has been on an prolonged hiatus for the reason that begin of the month as she works to show her podcast, Bag Man, right into a film. (Yes, Rachel Maddow has a podcast. And, sure, she’s making an attempt to make a film.)
In her absence, MSNBC has rotated hosts throughout the 9 pm hour, nevertheless it seems, the viewers don’t like every of them. They miss Maddow already.
Ali Velshi received a spin from Feb. 7-11, and 1 / 4 of the community’s viewers — in each complete viewership and the 25-54 age demographic — immediately turned her off.
Then final week, Alex Wagner, who claims to be a journalist, continued the slide. Viewership with Wagner fell 21% in comparison with Maddow two weeks prior.
Because of Velshi and Wagner’s struggles, CNN — a community battling its personal points for the time being — has closed the hole between MSNBC in primetime in a matter of two weeks.
While it’s straightforward accountable Velshi and Wagner as a result of they don’t draw nicely on tv — MSNBC’s canceled Wagner’s low-rated program in 2015 — this collapse in scores says extra about Maddow than it does MSNBC’s bench.
A community measures particular person tv success as follows:
You take the base common — the variety of viewers who tune in at a selected time slot, regardless of the host — then measure whether or not a specific host raises, drops or maintains that common.
For instance, The Rachel Maddow Show averaged 2.6 million in 2021 at 9 pm. Meanwhile, MSNBC’s All in with Chris Hayes drew 1.57 million at 8 pm and Last Word averaged 1.79 million at 10 pm.
According to those measurements, MSNBC averages round 1.6 million viewers throughout primetime hours (8-11 pm) however one other million watch the channel to see Maddow and Maddow alone. They flip to MSNBC when Maddow comes on, then flip it off on the conclusion of her program.
Maddow is a dishonest dealer who rode RussiaGate to the highest, however to her credit score, she has maintained her attain even with Donald Trump gone and Joe Biden in workplace. Maddow is, by far, the most important star in progressive media.
Without Maddow, MSNBC is CNN, a dying community barely holding on to retired liberals who’ve gradual web. And quickly, that is perhaps all MSNBC is.
MSNBC re-signed Rachel Maddow by way of the 2024 election for $30 million per yr, however the deal contains an choice for Maddow to terminate her nightly TV present in April 2022. Should Maddow transition from a every day to weekly host later this yr — which her contract permits — MSNBC should depend on nobodys like Alex Wagner and Ali Velshi to hold the day, which bodes ailing for the community.
“We’re just taking it one step at a time,” Maddow instructed viewers when asserting her hiatus.
No community is as dependent upon a single host as MSNBC is on Rachel Maddow. Hopefully, she doesn’t shatter the place subsequent month…
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink
