MS NOW Sees Double-Digit Growth Among Total Viewers in Total Day and Weekday Primetime Since Rebrand
MS NOW Reaches More YouTube Views in 2025 Than ABC News, CBS News, and NBC News Combined; Plus, TikTok Views Up 34% Year Over Year
#1 Political News Site in 2025; Visitors Spend More Time on ms.nowThan The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR, and More
More Than 135 Million Downloads Across Audio Portfolio in 2025; Introduces Chart-Topping Original Podcasts from Nicolle Wallace and Rachel Maddow
(New York – Dec. 18, 2025) – MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, marked another banner year as one of the country’s leading news organizations in 2025 amid a historic network rebrand, the launch of the network’s first-ever independent newsgathering operation, and a nonstop news cycle.
MS NOW ended 2025 averaging 1.2 million viewers in weekday primetime, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel ratings since the start of October (excluding Thanksgiving weekend). MS NOW’s primetime audience has doubled over the past decade and tripled over the past two decades, despite fewer Americans subscribing to Pay TV services. In total day, MS NOW averaged nearly 600,000 average minute viewers this year. For nine straight years, MS NOW has ranked #2 among cable news networks and in the top three among all cable networks.
MS NOW Reaches 11 Million Weekly Unique Viewers; Typical MS NOW Viewer Watches Eight Hours Per Week
MS NOW continues to have one of the most loyal and engaged audiences in all of television. According to Nielsen, MS NOW reaches 11.2 million unique viewers in a typical week, and the average MS NOW viewer watches the network for eight hours a week, doubling the CNN viewer average in 2025.
In 2025, MS NOW was the highest-rated cable network in the influential Washington, D.C. market. MS NOW was also the most-watched cable news network among Black Americans for the eighth straight year. MS NOW remains a top-five cable network among Asian Americans and Hispanic viewers.
MS NOW Sees Double-Digit Audience Growth Since Rebrand
MS NOW has seen double-digit growth in total viewers – both in total day and primetime – since the network’s rebrand on Saturday, Nov. 15, compared to the prior month. In total day, MS NOW viewership increased by 14% among total viewers and by 11% among Adults 25-54 during the four weeks after the network’s rebrand compared to the prior month. In primetime, MS NOW viewership increased by 13% among total viewers and by 9% with A25-54.
MS NOW Tops Fox News and CNN on Election Night 2025
For the first time in network history, MS NOW ranked number one in cable news on an election night (8 p.m. to 12 a.m.), averaging 2.8 million total viewers on Tuesday, Nov. 4. That represents the network’s largest off-year election night audience ever and the network’s most-watched night and day since the previous election day (Nov. 5, 202424).
MS NOW Primetime Audience Growth Trajectory Continues in 2025; ‘The Rachel Maddow Show’ Tops All Cable News Competitors Among A25-54 Since Rebrand
In weekday primetime (Monday through Friday, 8 to 11 p.m.), MS NOW has had a meteoric ascent over the past two decades. As 2025 comes to a close, “The Rachel Maddow Show” (Mondays at 9 p.m.) continues to dominate the competition. “The Rachel Maddow Show” more than tripled the audience of CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” (1.9 million vs. 0.6 million). Among A25-54 viewers, “The Rachel Maddow Show” won its time slot in five consecutive weeks, beating both “Hannity” and “The Source,” in addition to extending its annual win streak versus CNN to 10 years.
Maddow’s newsmaking interviews with key political figures in 2025 drove the program to ratings successes, including the first interview with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) following his marathon, record-breaking Senate speech, an exclusive interview with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on his advocacy for the release of his constituent Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison, and an exclusive sit-down with former Vice President Kamala Harris on the eve of the publication of her book, “107 Days,” and more.
MS NOW’s weekday primetime programming continues to be the go-to place for the most influential names in American politics, featuring countless exclusive interviews across the primetime slate, including Lawrence O’Donnell’s Oval Office interview with former President Joe Biden for his final interview as president, Jen Psaki’s exclusive interview Zohran Mamdani’s first interview following his Democratic primary win for New York City mayor, Stephanie Ruhle’s conversation with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on the government shutdown, Nicolle Wallace’s interview with legendary actor Jeff Daniels on the No Kings Protests across the country, and more.
MS NOW launched two new weeknight primetime programs in May 2025, “The Weeknight” (Monday through Friday, 7 p.m.) and “The Briefing with Jen Psaki” (Tuesday through Friday, 9 p.m.). Both programs delivered total viewer growth from May to the end of the year. Compared to their respective launch months, “The Weeknight” gained viewers in both demos – up 35% in total viewers and up 60% among A25-54 – as did “The Briefing” – up 22% among total viewers and up 51% among A25-54. Since “The Briefing” launched in May, Psaki has consistently built on its 8 p.m. lead-in audience.
“Morning Joe” Reaches Four Million Unique Viewers Each Week; Remains D.C.’s Most-Watched Cable News Morning Program
Reaching four million weekly viewers on television and millions of additional viewers on YouTube and social media platforms, “Morning Joe” (Monday through Friday, 6 to 10 a.m.) continued to dominate the competition in the mornings. “Morning Joe” marked its third consecutive year as the most-watched cable news morning show in the influential Washington, D.C. market, as well as its 16th consecutive year leading CNN among total viewers. Leading into “Morning Joe at 5 a.m., “Way Too Early with Ali Vitali” ended its first calendar year with timeslot wins against CNN among total viewers and among Adults 25-54 in the fourth quarter.
Throughout 2025, Morning Joe has been a go-to destination for Washington leadership and administration officials to make news and reach their constituents. During the height of the government shutdown this fall, all four of the top Senate and House leaders – Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries – appeared on Morning Joe. Ali Vitali’s interviews with Thune and Johnson were their first appearances on MS NOW since they assumed their leadership roles.
The show also featured interviews with over a quarter of all members of the U.S. Senate, a bipartisan showing of top members of Congress, winners of key elections this year – including Zohran Mamdani, Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, Eileen Higgins, and Adelita Grijalva – and headline-driving interviews with key Trump administration officials, including Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent and border czar Tom Homan. Mediaite named Mika Brzezinski’s interview with Homan “one of the most heated cable news segments of the entire year.” Plus, Morning Joe is a key destination for A-list actors, musicians, and legends, including Cillian Murphy, Keanu Reeves, Ben Affleck, Keira Knightley, Jon Hamm, Jesse Eisenberg, Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen, Mikey Madison, Kerry Washington, Jean Smart, and many more.
“MS NOW Reports” Gains Audience During Final Two Months of 2025
During a two-month period that included a frenzy of breaking news stories during daytime hours, “MS NOW Reports” (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) delivered double-digit viewership growth compared to the prior 10 months of the year.
Throughout the year, MS NOW Reports’ in-depth coverage includes Katy Tur and Jacob Soboroff in Los Angeles during the Palisades fires, Chris Jansing at the Vatican following the death of Pope Francis, Ana Cabrera had the first TV interview with Andry Hernandez Romero, the barber detained at CECOT, and an extensive list of newsmaker interviews, including President Trump’s National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on the administration’s planned tariffs, Sen. John Fetterman following his vote with Republicans to end the government shutdown, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at the height of the government shutdown, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s immediate response to President Trump’s threat of arrest, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on national guard troops in her city, Katy Tur’s on-the-ground interview with Jennifer Garner and José Andrés amid the fires in Los Angeles, and more.
New Weekend Programs Expand Audience During Their First Seven Months
MS NOW launched a new weekend programming lineup in May (Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and from May to December, MS NOW’s weekend audience grew by double-digit percentages among both total viewers (11%) and A25-54 (20%), in addition to double-digit gains for “The Weekend” (Saturday and Sunday, 7 to 10 a.m.) and “The Weekend: Primetime” (Saturday and Sunday, 6 -9 p.m.). Plus, “Velshi” continued to draw the most viewers of any of MS NOW’s weekend programming, with more viewers than CNN for six consecutive months.
MS NOW’s weekend programming featured various exclusive, newsmaking interviews including — Eugene Daniels’ exclusive sit-down with former Vice President Kamala Harris on the politicalization of the Justice Department, Jackie Alemany’s exclusive interview with Jack Schlossberg on the launch of his Congressional campaign, legendary filmmaker Spike Lee’s sit-down with Rev. Al Sharpton, Ali Velshi’s conversation with author Stephen King’s for his “Velshi Banned Book Club” segment, and more.
MS NOW Reaches 7.6 Billion Views on YouTube and TikTok So Far This Year; More YouTube Views in 2025 Than All Three Broadcast News Networks Combined
MS NOW continues to lead the pack as one of the most influential news organizations on non-linear platforms, with 7.6 billion combined views on YouTube and TikTok this year to date, up 26% year over year. MS NOW has more YouTube views (3.6 billion) in 2025 than ABC News (1.4 billion), CBS News (685 million), and NBC News (1.4 billion) combined. In November, MS NOW was also the #1 news organization on YouTube, beating Fox News and all other competitors. MS NOW is also up 1,100% year over year on Facebook Reels.
In 2025, MS NOW expanded its presence on YouTube with its first live series, launching “It’s Happening with Velshi & Ruhle,” for an in-depth look at the biggest stories at the intersection of business, politics, and the economy. MS NOW also brought its hit podcasts “Why Is This Happening?” and “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace” to YouTube in a video format.
Top-performing YouTube videos in 2025 include Lawrence O’Donnell’s take on Trump’s meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Hakeem Jeffries remarks on the House floor before the GOP budget bill passed, Texas State Rep. Ann Johnson’s remarks ahead of redistricting vote, and Jen Psaki’s take on President Trump’s memory, and Lawrence O’Donnell’s take on Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau humiliating President Trump on tariffs.
MS NOW is up 34% year over year on TikTok, with top videos including: coverage of democrats speaking at the “Nobody Elected Elon” rally, MS NOW anchor reactions to President Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, Ali Velshi’s take on Colombia turning away two U.S. deportation flights, coverage of former President Biden awarding the Medal of Freedom to Bill Nye, and Jen Psaki’s take on President Trump’s travel ban.
MS NOW continues to grow its audience, with double-digit, year-over-year growth among followers across TikTok (73%), YouTube (24%), and Instagram (43%).
Ranking as the #1 political news site in 2025 for minutes spent, readers also spend more time on ms.now thanThe Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and more. The average ms.now reader spends 24 minutes on site.
The site is already a go-to destination for think pieces and op-eds from its roster of opinion writers and outside contributors, publishing 1,800 opinion articles this year by key lawmakers, experts, and on-air anchors and hosts – including Rep. Eric Swalwell, Rep. Katherine Clark, Rep. Ro Khanna, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, and Rep. Nydia Velázquez.
This year, MS NOW also became a digital hub for original, investigative, and enterprise reporting, including back-to-back exclusive reports on Border Czar Tom Homan, Trump DOJ indictments of James Comey, Letitia James and John Bolton, Kash Patel’s use of the FBI for his girlfriend, Eric Swalwell’s plans to run for governor in California, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s plans to oust House Speaker Johnson, as well as several news-making scoops on the Trump White House, including a drug pricing deal with the administration and Trump considering firing Kash Patel.
Publishing over 6,000 articles on site this year, top performing pieces online include: an MS NOW report on the Trump administration deporting a 10-year-old U.S. citizen recovering from brain cancer to Mexico, the 2025 Election Live Blog, an op-ed on Elon Muskwanting control over Treasury payments, an op-ed on U.S. Judge Beryl Howell using President Trump’s own words to expose his agenda, Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian’s exclusive reporting on the Tom Homan bribery investigation, and the Maddow Blog writeup on Pete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon.
Year to date, MS NOW podcasts have been downloaded more than 135 million times, supported by the network’s growing audio portfolio. In June, MS NOW launched “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace,” which debuted at #1 on the Apple Podcast Charts and remained there for more than three weeks. The chart-topping podcast features Wallace in conversation with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, sports, music, politics, and more, including Jason Bateman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Martin Sheen, Leslie Jones, Stacey Abrams, and more.
In November, MS NOW also launched “Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order,” the fifth original podcast and first under the “MS NOW” brand in Maddow’s expanding multiplatform portfolio. The six-part series has been at the top of Apple Podcasts’ Top Series chart for weeks, and exposes the extraordinary chain of events behind the U.S. government’s decision at the outset of World War II to incarcerate tens of thousands of immigrants and U.S. citizens solely based on their race.
MS NOW’s audio portfolio is also home to an extensive lineup of showcasts, with “The Rachel Maddow Show” as the top-performing showcast in 2025 and “Morning Joe” as the top-performing, daily showcast this year.
MS NOW Live Expands in 2025 with Second Annual Fan Fest Event in Manhattan, With Thousands of Attendees
MS NOW continues to meet audiences where they are with the continuation of a robust live events vertical, MS NOW Live. The vertical provides a dual approach to live events: a first-of-its-kind, community-focused ticketed events series, as well as more intimate, sponsored, invite-only conversations.
The network held its second annual audience-focused live event in October, which featured more than a dozen of the most well-known hosts – including Nicolle Wallace, Rachel Maddow, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and others – held at the Hammerstein Ballroom over a full day, divided into two sessions.
Early in the year, the vertical presented the final in-person candidate forum ahead of the 2025 Democratic National Committee officer elections, moderated by Jen Psaki, Symone Sanders Townsend, and Jonathan Capehart.
In December 2025, MS NOW Live presented two back-to-back events in Los Angeles, highlighting the network’s reach and audience demand. On Dec. 14, MS NOW and Rachel Maddow presented “Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order – An MS NOW Live Event” at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles, an in-person conversation between Maddow and special guests from her latest podcast, “Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order.” On Dec. 15, MS NOW Live presented a rare, sit-down conversation between Jonathan Capehart and former First Lady Michelle Obama, which will air this month in an exclusive primetime special, “The Look: A Conversation with Michelle Obama.”
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. 2025: 12/30/24-12/14/25. 4Q25: 9/29/25-12/14/25. Post-network rebrand: 11/15/25-12/14/25. Weekday Primetime Growth vs. 10 years ago & 20 years ago: 4Q25 vs. 1Q15, 1Q05. Time period wins based on regularly-scheduled cable news programming. “Morning Joe” consecutive year win streak includes Day 1-3 time-shifted viewing (2023). Election Night 2025 = Tuesday, Nov. 4, 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Engagement: Nielsen, NPower, Reach & Frequency, M-Su 6 a.m.-6 a.m., 6-min viewing qualifier, 12/30/24-12/14/25, Avg. Weekly. Local Points: Nielsen, NPower, Panel Only Ratings Analysis Program Report, LPM = Washington, D.C., 12/30/24-12/14/25, P2+, M-F 6 a.m, to 10 a.m., M-Su 6 a.m. to 6 a.m.
Digital Source: Podcast Downloads based on Simplecast data from January 1, 2025 through December 15th 2025. Podcast downloads. YouTube data based on ListenFirst, January 1 – October 20, 2025. TikTok video views. Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (U.S.) Desktop Persons 2+ and Mobile Persons 13+, Total Digital Population, April 2021 – November 2025. Rankings based on Comscore News/Information – Politics category. Total minutes.
PRESS CONTACT:
