MSNBC RETAINS AUDIENCE IN OCTOBER WHILE OTHERS SHED VIEWERS
“Morning Joe” Remains #1 Cable Morning Show in Nation’s Capital
Year to Date, MSNBC Has More YouTube Views Than NBC News, ABC News and CBS News Combined; 6.8 Billion Combined Views Across YouTube and TikTok Year to Date
(NEW YORK – Oct. 29, 2025) – During a month of global and breaking news events, according to Nielsen Big Data ratings, MSNBC retained its audience throughout the month of October while its closest cable news competitors shed viewers. In primetime (Monday through Sunday, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), the network saw month over month growth among both demos while FOX News and CNN both saw declines (FOX News: -8% total viewers, -19% A25-54; CNN: -7% total viewers, -11% A25-54) and averaged more total viewers in primetime than CNN for the 57th consecutive month. In total day, MSNBC averaged more total viewers than CNN for the 43rd consecutive month.
In 2025 to date, MSNBC continues to retain one of the most engaged audiences in all of television, according to Nielsen data. In a typical week, the average MSNBC viewer watches the network for nearly eight hours – nearly doubling the weekly CNN viewer average.
MSNBC is also the #1 cable network in the influential Washington, D.C. market. Additionally, the network is the most-watched cable news network among Black viewers and a top five cable network among Hispanic and Asian American viewers.
MSNBC Nearly Doubles CNN Among Total Viewers in Weekday Primetime; “All In with Chris Hayes” and “The Rachel Maddow Show” Top CNN in the Demo
In October, MSNBC averaged more weekday primetime viewers than CNN for the 107th consecutive month (1 million vs. 555,000). Among adults 25-54, MSNBC had month-over-month viewership growth (+7%) and delivered its largest primetime demo audience since June.
“All In with Chris Hayes” (Tuesday through Friday, 8 p.m.) topped its CNN competition in total viewers for the 43rd consecutive month, and won the adult 25-54 demo.
“The Rachel Maddow Show” (Monday, 9 p.m.) marked its 9th consecutive month beating CNN both in total viewers and adults 25-54. Additionally, “Maddow” had nearly four times as many total viewers as its CNN counterpart (1.7 million vs. 433,000) and more than doubled them in the key adults 25-54 demo (170,000 vs. 70,000) in October.
“Morning Joe” Remains Most-Watched Cable Morning Program in Nation’s Capital; Key Destination for Top Lawmakers Amid Government Shutdown; “Way Too Early” Tops CNN in Both Demos
“Morning Joe” (Monday through Friday, 6 to 10 a.m.) marked its 128th consecutive month averaging more total viewers than its CNN competition (570,000 vs. 341,000).
Year-to-date, “Morning Joe” is the most-watched cable news morning program in the influential Washington, D.C. market.
As the government shutdown continues, “Morning Joe” continues to be a pivotal destination for the top congressional lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. Over the past 30 days, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have been interviewed on the program.
Additionally, “Way Too Early with Ali Vitali” (Monday through Friday, 5 a.m.) beat CNN in total viewers for the 43rd consecutive month (201,000 vs.135,000), and adults 25-54 for the 4th consecutive month.
“MSNBC Reports” Delivers On Breaking News Throughout Month of October
“MSNBC Reports” averaged 504,000 total viewers in October. Among total viewers, it was the second most-watched month since June (behind September). Additionally, the 3 p.m. hour of “Katy Tur Reports” (Monday through Friday, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.) topped CNN for the 9th consecutive month.
MSNBC Weekend Programming Sees Month-Over-Month Growth; “Velshi” Posts Double-Digit Month-Over-Month Growth Among A25-54
Lifted by live coverage of the nationwide “No Kings” protests, MSNBC weekend programming (Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.), delivered month-over-month total viewer growth in October (+8%). MSNBC’s weekend lineup topped CNN for the third consecutive month.
“Velshi” (Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) had double-digit month-over-month gains among A25-54 (+16%). The program also saw growth among total viewers, beating CNN for the second consecutive month (452,000 vs. 421,000).
MSNBC Records 6.8 Billion Combined Views on TikTok and YouTube Year to Date; Year to Date, MSNBC Has More YouTube Views Than NBC News, ABC News and CBS News Combined
Consumers continue to spend more time on MSNBC.com than any other political news site, continuing to rank #1 in the competitive set for total minutes for 54 consecutive months, according to ComScore.
MSNBC.com also ranked #1 among unique visitors for the month of September with 29.1 million unique visitors. This is the sixth time ever that MSNBC has held the #1 spot.
MSNBC.com is already a destination for think pieces and op-eds from its roster of opinion writers and outside contributors, and is now growing to be a digital hub for original, investigative, and enterprise reporting. Top performing opinion pieces this month include: Jordan Rubin on James Comey citing Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas in arguing against Halligan’s appointment; Brandy Zadrozny on CDC layoffs; Jordan Rubin on DOJ verdict in recent ICE case; and Ja’han Jones on Eric Trump’s comments about the Indonesian president.
MSNBC is also one of the most influential news organizations on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, garnering 6.8 billion combined views on YouTube and TikTok year to date – 3.2 billion on YouTube and 3.6 billion on TikTok. Year to date, MSNBC has more views on YouTube than NBC News, ABC News and CBS News combined.
On YouTube, some of the most-watched videos for the month of October include: Lawrence O’Donnell’s commentary on President Trump’s address to the military; Retired Gen. Mark Hertling’s reaction on “Morning Joe” to President Trump discussing using U.S. cities as ‘training grounds, and Jen Psaki’s analysis of international perception of the current administration.
On TikTok, the top three most-watched videos for the month of October include: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker speaking with Jacob Soboroff in Chicago; Chris Hayes addressing concerns over President Trump’s health; and Chris Hayes reaction to French President Emmanuel Macron and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama discussing President Trump’s claim to ending several wars throughout the world.
MSNBC’s award-winning audio portfolio had its strongest month since June. Year to date, MSNBC has 115 million total downloads across both Originals and Showcasts. MSNBC has over one billion total showcast downloads since launch.
TV Source: Nielsen, Big Data + Panel, Live+SD, Persons 2+ and Adults 25-54. Total Day = M-Su 6 a.m. to 6 a.m., Primetime= M-F 8 p.m. to 11 p.m and M-Su 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. October: 9/29/25-10/26/25. 2025 to-date: 12/30/24-10/26/25. Time period wins based on regularly-scheduled cable news programming. Engagement (Panel Only): Nielsen, NPower, Reach & Frequency, M-Su 6 a.m.-6 a.m., 6-min viewing qualifier, 12/30/24-10/26/25, Avg. Weekly. Race/Ethnicity (Panel Only): Nielsen, NPower, Ratings Analysis Time Period Report 12/30/24-10/26/25, rankings exclude RSNs. Local Points (Panel Only): Nielsen, NPower, Panel Only Ratings Analysis Program Report, LPM = Washington, D.C., 12/30/24-10/26/25, P2+, M-F 6 a.m, to 10 a.m., M-Su 6 a.m. to 6 a.m.
Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (U.S.) Desktop Persons 2+ and Mobile Persons 13+, Total Digital Population, April 2021 – September 2025. Rankings based on Comscore News/Information – Politics category. Total minutes & Unique Visitors
Podcast Downloads based on Simplecast data from January 1, 2025 through October 20th 2025. Podcast downloads. (Since January 1, 2019 if do the 1B)
YouTube data based on YouTube Studio Analytics, January 1 – October 27, 2025. YouTube video views. TikTok data based on ListenFirst, January 1 – October 27, 2025. TikTok video views.
Competitive YouTube data based on ListenFirst, January 1 – October 27, 2025. YouTube video views.
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