There is so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving—President-elect Donald Trump's sweeping win, a massive red wave hitting the United States, and most notably, the downfall of liberal mainstream media.
MSNBC and CNN’s ratings have plummeted to unimaginative numbers post-election— with the Hallmark channel surging past the liberal networks.
The Hallmark channel, known for its romantic, feel-good holiday programming, outperformed MSNBC and CNN, averaging 526,00 viewers at any given time from November 18 to 24. On the other hand, MSNBC garnered only 458,000 viewers during the same period, while CNN had a mere 314,000.
Before it launched its Christmas movie lineup on October 18, the network had an average of only 387,000 viewers daily.
This comes as viewership for mainstream news outlets has plummeted by nearly half in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election. MSNBC’s viewership has dropped by 47 percent, while CNN’s has also seen a double-digit drop, decreasing from 754,000 to 398,000 viewers or 47 percent.
Despite one network executive describing the 51-year-old anchor as “ratings Viagra,” MSNBC host Rachel Maddow might have lost the most viewers in such a short period. Since Election Day, the left-wing host’s show has seen a 41 percent decrease in total viewers and a 50 percent drop in the key 25-54 demographic. This week, Maddow’s show experienced its lowest viewership of the year and its worst performance in this critical demographic since 2015.
Maddow wasn’t the only liberal host to see a drop in ratings. Her colleague, Joe Scarborough, host of “Morning Joe,” lost 37 percent of its audience since November 5.
As ratings continue to drop after Trump’s sweeping victory, mainstream media outlets are looking to draft a complete overhaul of their networks, including program changes, shakeups among household names, and pay cuts.
Maddow’s contract was quietly renewed but under very different conditions from previous years.
Most notably, Maddow made a fool of herself after crying on-air that she had to take a $5 million pay cut and will now make only $25 million yearly for the next five years. So, while you say your thanks for your family, memories, and friends, make sure to throw a Hail Mary to Maddow so that she can still afford her multi-million dollar mansion.
“This is a difficult time, and they needed to keep her,” an executive told The Ankler. “No one else can do what she does. You can’t build a brand like it overnight.”
Race-baiting MSNBC host Joy Reid’s show, “The ReidOut,” and the “11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle " also saw historic ratings drops. This has reportedly caused “anxiety” among liberal network staffers who face an uncertain future.
This came at a time when Comcast announced it would spin off several NBC channels, including MSNBC and CNBC, into its own company. The effort, SpinCo, is expected to be done by the end of 2025, with executives hopeful the company will make a comeback to ratings it saw after Trump won his first term in office.
To compare, Fox News has seen a massive surge in ratings, with viewership increasing 32 percent or 19 million viewers, since Trump won the election. The network’s primetime programs saw their ratings rise to 3.2 million, an 86 percent jump in total viewers.