Most cable news ratings are going to show declines from their election year heyday last fall, but for MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show (which debuted in September, 2008) those year over year declines have made October, 2009 its lowest rated month ever in both average viewers and the cable news targeted adults 25-54 demo, down 54% and 65% respectively from October, 2008.
You can see our daily cable news ratings here.
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
Well, at least she can be happy its not as bad as Anderson Cooper.
Wonder how much longer we will have to wait before the show simply drops off forever?
It’s still the second highest rated MSNBC bit, and it appeals to a fringe, niche-type audience. I don’t think it’s going anywhere.
While they may not drop her completely, MSNBC may move her second showing to a later time.
I don’t see them dropping her either as what would replace her that would do better at this point? I think some of her viewers are just on overload and need a break but will return when a major story emerges.
Lowest rated month ever! Only because the show debuted about a month and a half before the election. She’s still beating Larry King and for someone virtually unknown about two years ago, I’d say that’s quite a feat!
Go Rachel!
They may nneed to drop the entire line-up and just replay TO CATCH A PREDATOR….I think those get better ratings then Rachel!
I think I finally figured this out. Liberals, in the latest poll, account for 20% of the population. There are simply too many liberal news outlets. The audience moves from network to network based upon personality, ’cause the message is all the same. Therefore, the pie only can be cut so much. It’s the old saying; “if we both agree on everything, one of us is not necessary”.
She’ll soon be selling Birkenstocks again.
It only appeals to Marxist-Leninists.
Did we get a Drudge link already? Or, do you have your Google Alerts set to ‘Maddow’? That’s adorable.
Bring back “Verdict with Dan Abrams!” (grin)
I think Joy Behar on HLN could give Larry a run for the money, let alone Rachel. Check back after Thanksgiving.
@Mtto I have a Google Alert set to “Rachel Maddow” but that’s because I’m a fan! RACHEL MADDOW ROCKS!!!
She won’t be taken off the air because she is the most knowledgeable, well-prepared, and nicest host in the business. I hope that 20 years from now she is the moderator of Meet the Press because she is the only person that can live up to and surpass the standard that Tim Russert set!
Rachel Maddow does a solid hour of commentary. Solid. You may not agree with her politics, but she has a good show. The focus – pointing out hypocrisy. And while the ratings are down, she’s still doing better than other well-knowns as a relative unknown.
Another thing to factor, TRMS suffered a bit in October because of substitute hosting. Maddow has her own style and the ratings drop every time someone fills in.
Maddow isn’t going anywhere. MSNBC is very happy.
This news makes me very happy, cannot stand the women.
Rachel Rocks. Agree wholeheartedly with much of the positive sentiment. She is a great journalist who does her homework…and is best prepared of any topical news show host in the business. Substitute hosts do impact numbers. Trying to compare levels of Oct 08 to Oct 09 without a ton of footnotes is unreasonable. Rachel is a true Progressive…and she deserves great respect and advertiser support.
Please. She may be a nice person and a professional – but to compare her to Tim Russert? That’s a stretch. She’s more in Katie Couric’s league – and not quite up to Anne Curry.
The same liberal crap, being spouted day after day after day. Is it any wonder that she’s tanking? At least Hannity gets some liberal guests and interviews and agrues with them. Madcow and Olberhuns only have liberal guests that they fawn over to help reinforce their views. I’ll take Beck and O’Rielly anyday!!!
I am a moderate Democrat. I tried to watch the RACHEL MADDOW SHOW but its has started making uncomfortable. It is way too LEFT for me. I recently started watching FOX and it is going well. It’s actually not a bad channel. It is more balanced than MSNBC has become. That is dissappointing.
By the time a person finishes watching Olbermann and Maddow back to back they feel like they need to take a shower. We have listened to the same liberal cliches and stereotypes for forty years now. Just because someone adds a sneer and hate to the mix does not make it more palatable.
I watch all the news programs from Bill Maher to Glenn Beck. I love politics. With that being said I cannot watch Rachel’s show.
“I don’t see them dropping her either as what would replace her that would do better at this point?”
How ’bout a test pattern!
Rachel Maddow is losing viewers because everyone knows she is another one of those Liberals who pretend to be intellectual. Her and Olbermann look like brother and sister with their strange facial expressions and grandiosity. Nobody cares for a opinion show that holds segments about Fox News and their opinion show hosts (O’Reilly, Beck, Hannity). Maybe if they spent more time reporting about Obama and his gang of socialist/communist loving libtards, her ratings would go up.
Rick Holy, you can’t be serious about Anne Curry. She is more of an overwrought drama queen than objective journalist. She epitomizes the problem with today’s journalists, trying to create a story around her own bias rather than reporting all sides fairly. The Today Show epitomizes the downfall of the so called mainstream media, trying to pass off liberal shills like Nora O’Donnell as objective reporters.
The closest we have to an objective anchor in the mainstream press is George Stephanopoulos and he is clearly a Clinton Democrat.
Obama tries to paint Fox News as a commentary network that comes with a GOP perspective without recognizing that it is the only counter balance to 5 networks that operate with their own Democrat perspective.
Gallup just released a new poll showing the country is made up of 40% conservatives and only 20% liberals. The news industry in this country is so inbred with liberal hacks it is clueless how out of touch it is with anyone other than the new breed of intolerant rednecks who applaud Olbermann and Maddow.
Problem with both Olbermann and Maddow is that they constantly have the same 10 or 12 guests. They’re getting boring. I detest O’Leilly, but he at least has a wider variety of people on his show.
rachel maddow hosting “meet the press”???
please…
when she was a guest a few weeks ago she did nothing but EMBARASS herself big time…
no matter the topic when she runs out of things to say…(which is often)…she resorts to the same old “well, george bush started it” bit…
like keith, she and her show are a one trick pony and the whole thing is tired by now.
Not surprised at all. Maddow is exceedingly annoying and consistently dishonest.
i find her whole smarty pants routine grating.
Too bad so sad Potsy!
There is no way Rachel would ever be chosen to host MTP. I wanted to see NBC pick Chuck Todd. Not because I like him particularly, but because I see glimmers of objectiveness and political congeniality in him more than any other candidate. I now prefer This Week w/ George Snuffleupagus.
Rachael’s staff is letting her down.Being snide is not insight. Her show has no chance of replacing entertainment.
rachel maddow wanted to go ice fishing. she’d seen many books on the subject, and finally, after getting all the necessary items together, she made for the nearest frozen spot.
After positioning her footstool, she started to make a circular cut in the ice. Suddenly, from the sky, a voice boomed, “There are no fish under the ice!”
Startled, rachel maddow moved further down the ice and began to cut yet another hole. Again, from the heavens, the voice bellowed, “There are no fish under the ice!”
rachel maddow, now quite worried, moved way down to the opposite end of the ice, set up her stool, and tried again to cut a hole. The voice came once more, “There are no fish under the ice!”
rachel maddow stopped, looked skyward, and asked, “Is that you, Lord?”
The voice replied, “No, rachel I’m the manager of this ice rink!”
.
susie…now that was just mean…and VERY funny…heehee
real news shows have to reason to talk about ratings….it shouldnt be about ratings it should be about reporting the news accuratley…if rachel tries to report with more facts even though she is a liberal she will just fine…
Thanks, susie. It’s refreshing to see that lighter side of Ms. Maddow.
rachel maddow still tops larry king in overall viewers in the 9pm time slot ..she averages 9,000 to 1,000,000 viewers a week shes second only to hannity in the 9:00pm time slot ..thats not bad
j,
liberals don’t know what facts are. They make up stories and call them facts. They attack with malice and call them facts. Why do you think her ratings are so low. No facts
One nice thing with ratings like this she has no future on TV. She has lost all credibility if she ever had any. People don’t like the lies and hate that comes from nutjob Rachal Potsy Maddcow! And I don’t hate you Potsy, I hate what you do! Ya know keeping your ever fewer follower blind from the truth. The only job you’ll have in TV after MSNBC is cleaning bathrooms at FOX !
never watched a whole show but what I’ve seen is sickening
She is awful….just awful.
Another Rachel Maddow joke.
A friend decides to bring Maddow to a football game. After the game is over, the friend asks Maddow if she liked the game.
Maddow replies: “Oh it was great, I loved watching those men in tight clothes, but there is one thing I don’t understand.”
“What did you not understand ?”
And Maddow says: “Well, at the begginning of the game, both teams flipped a quarter to see who would kick off first. Then the rest of the game everybody was yelling get the quarter back, get the quarter back, get the quarter back. So I thought to myself, gosh it’s just a quarter!”
It appears that Rachel’s entire viewership has now commented
Near Future: NBC is going under and FOX buys MSNBC and ratings increase 100 fold
Rachel Maddow and Keith Olberman are the most refreshing news journalists on the air. I truly miss Tim Russert – there is no one like him. However, I think he would approve of the job both Rachel and Keith are doing by constantly investigating the facts and the truth to debunk all the nonsense that is on the cable news networks these days. Fox News tops the list when it comes to journalistic misconduct and malfeasance. If they get all their news from Fox, it explains why the public is so misinformed and naive.
I’ve tried on many occasions to watch Rachel and listen to her point of view. But after ten or so minutes I’m forced to switch to something else. Aside from her constant putdowns, insinuations, juvenile eye-rolling, snears, and smirks, I need something a lot more mature, adult, grown-up and professional to bring back my sanity.
I’m Sorry, did you say her viewers will return when a major story emerges? We have a national healthcare debate, two wars, unemployment at 9.8 percent, the Whitehouse attacking the Chamber of Commerce, the Cap and Trade vote approaching, and the President’s pole numbers continuing to slowly drop…Believe me…There’s plenty to talk about. The problem for Ms. Maddow is people are tired of the FAR-Left spin on everything; we are also starting to notice that she continually attacks Republicans/Conservatives (which is her right), but when anyone on the Left does something similar or worst, the silence is deafening. Yes, I’m a conservative, but I watch both MSNBC and Fox coverage. It seems that MSNBC continues to slide left and their ratings continues to fall. A word of advice to MSNBC, Matthews, Olbermann and Maddow are all very talented, but when we only hear one side of the news (FAR LEFT) it’s hard to take seriously. Take all that great talent and move to the center once in a while, your ratings will go up. Good Day ALL!
rachel has more followers on twitter than she has viewers
the best that msnbc4ob could do at this point is to stage a kidnapping of the tart. they would be able to get the conservative viewers for about 10 minutes.
carl says: “rachel has more followers on twitter than she has viewers”
and what exactly is the point you are trying to make with this observation, Carl?
This is a sensational headline designed to fool rubes and they all came out. Let’s compare all political shows october 2008 right before an election to this year. How much are they off from october 2008. The author has an agenda or would present all data pf other shows to make a comparison.
Makes you wonder who runs this site, who the posters oare and they do have a clear agenda with not presenting comparison data.
Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann are cowards, plain and simple.
Olbermann allows no dissent or debate and Maddow only allows carefully chosen, pre-screened guests that won’t veer off topic.
O’Reilly and Hannity will debate anyone, anytime. That’s why Fox has three times the viewers. MSNBC is in business to promote democrats and Fox is in the business to make money.
And just an aside, Rachel Maddow is absolutely horrible in her delivery. A rank amatuer. Even Alex Baldwin said her presentation is dreadful.
Yes but she only criticizes conservatives and never liberals.
And she is not a good presenter. Why does she always talk out of the side of her mouth? Is she trying to hide something?
Rachel is smarter than the Fox commentators, CNN, and the other MSNBC commentators all put together. She has a PHD, is a RHODES Scholar, comes from a military family- for you right wing types, and runs circles around David Gregory when she appears on Meet the PRess. All NBC needs to do is replace David Gregory with Rachel on Meet the Press and all will be right with the world.
Go Rachel!!
Tried to watch Maddow and failed a couple of times. She’s virtually unwatchable, which is evident in her ratings. Horrible waste of an hour for MSNBC. Only thing worse than one hour of Maddow is an hour of Olbermann. No wonder nobody watches these shows.
I’m a little surprised ‘ol Rach has not licked this rating’s thing yet.
Sorry.
LMAO!!!!!
MSNBC is tanking day by day!
Come here to talk politics on our forum created by user/contributor Mike B:
http://www.voyagertrans.com/forum1/index.php
For a leftist network, they sure don’t have much diversity…..Olbermann, Matthews, Schultz, and Madcow – FOUR WHITE MALES!!
d
” Allie says:
October 27, 2009 at 11:07 am
@Mtto I have a Google Alert set to “Rachel Maddow” but that’s because I’m a fan! RACHEL MADDOW ROCKS!!! She won’t be taken off the air because she is the most knowledgeable, well-prepared, and nicest host in the business. I hope that 20 years from now she is the moderator of Meet the Press because she is the only person that can live up to and surpass the standard that Tim Russert set!”
no need to insult Russert, we all know that, yes he did come out of the Democrat Machine but he at least gave pretense at asking both sides tough questions. a thousand Ray Madcow’s wouldn’t fill one Russert brain cell.
Rachel suits there and reads a prepared script. Something like sitting in a boring high school class.
I can’t take anyone serious as a journalist who’s opinion you know before the topic is even stated.
Maddow, Hannity, Olbermann, Limbaugh, are all the same. Why watch/listen to them you already know their opinion. How boring.
And no, Rachel will never be a Tim Russert style journalist. Tim asked questions, Rachel already knows the answers.
I wish that carpet muncher would take a hike. Her one line sarcastic rants are old and without facts. By the way, she will never ROCK!!!
Madcow! You have no ratings!
Love the jokes Susie! Its a shame about Rachel…seems like such a nice young man.
Perhaps PMSNBC can fill the slot (sorry!) with Married with Children re-runs. Attract a larger audience.
But seriously….its PMSNBC…no one really cares what they say.
Idea!
She could get Danny Bonaduce as a co-host.
Do some “reality TV”…yeah…That’s the Ticket!
Has anyone seen Olbermann and Maddow together at the same time? I think they are the same person.
Rachel Madcow is the best angy, communist dyke with a crooked smirk plastered on her face on MSNBC!
Madcow and Olberman: Dyko and the Psycho!
I have never ever seen a more disgusting pair in my life , they acually make me SICK when ever I have tried to watch them , I keep hopeing they will be gone SOON FOREVER.
No one should be surprised here…..just as with Obama, once you dig past the surface – nothing.
Maddow is just one more reason why Air America is the loser it is and has been. Boring, repetitious crud, frequently factually faulty and, many times, faked, plus programming crammed with the same old “guests” spouting the same old, tired crap.
Add to that all the smarmy cliches and idiotic facial expressions – God, it’s like watching a fatal case of Liberal Turrett’s Syndrome ….
Face it, MSNBC – you can’t keep trying to impeach Bush & Cheney after they’ve left office.
How this pathetic program lasted this long is the real mystery.
Hopefully, NBC’s new owners will cut their massive losses and shut MSNBC off – then CNN can rise up to number two or three again.
She is better than Olbermann, I will give her that, but the two of them could be sisters.
Their shows are nearly identical in topics and liberal points on each topic. She has nothing really new when her show is aired over what her sister olbermann has just aired.
And then to put their shows on for four straight hours? How much crap does MSNBC think their public can handle???
Stick to fox, you cant go wrong….HOBO
You would have to be a HOBO to watch Fox, there shows are unwatchable and swing way too far to the right, so far that their history analogies are always WRONG, at least MSNBC in general will not skew the facts, you may not agree with their opinion but they do not lie to you the way FOX does, I happen to be a Rachel Maddow Fan.
Why anyone would spend time watching her show is beyond me; she is always miserable, boring, and in many cases off the mark on almost every issue. Pathetic.
Shes gross in every possible way the sooner her and her boyfriend Olberman disappear the better
Here’s a funny video that explains why liberal views are so hard to take!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPd_djDQTRI
Wilson… What planet are you on? All news channels skew/report from a certain angle. Start watching a balance of news channels and you’ll start to notice that the Olbermann and Maddow shows almost never have guests who disagree with them. These two shows don’t skew the news; they make red Kool-Aid with it and feed it to the FAR-LEFT true believers. Go ahead and keep enjoying the Maddow Show for its entertainment aspect, but then go and look up the facts from a neutral source…. Be careful… you might be disappointed when you learn your not being told all the facts…just bits and pieces she wants you to hear. Wilson/All… No insults intended…Good Day and remember to watch all political shows with your eye/mind wide open.
Let her go. Can hardly wait for the “Alan Grayson Show”. Oh wait… maybe they are the same person.
Rest easy: it won’t be long before she is jettisoned. Maddow is a creation of Olbermann, whom MSNBC pays handsomely for being a sneering prick, a gelatinous fratboy who teeters precariously on the edge of pyschological implosion after a lifetime of fear, self-loathing and poisonous insecurity. When he self-destructs, or before, MSNBC will show his smirky, lipstick protege the door. MSNBC is a full employment act for otherwise unemployable talking heads, but even it has to try at least a bit to make money.
Maddow isn’t going anywhere. The show they had on before her attracted about 400k a night so while her ratings are down she is still usually close to a million a day and she has an ardent following.
You have to understand most liberals don’t tune into cable news like the fox viewers do, they can think for themselves and don’t need to be told what to think. Maddow digs into a story better than any other cable show, plus she is the smarest host out there.
I agree Olbermann is a pomopous ass who is really lost without having Bush to attack every night.
Most liberals don’t tune into cable news or listen to talk radio, they rely on blind obedience.
They should move further left. if something doesn’t work, the obvious solution is to do more of it.
Wow – this site has ZERO credibility.
Can we see the charts of ALL OTHER SHOWS from October ‘08 – one month before the historic Presidential election?
Seriously, when I saw this I thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever seen…. then I saw the comments below it… wow.
She actually knows what she’s talking about, so of course the right wing nutballs don’t like her. She may not be popular, but at least she’s smart. Tired of conservativce know-nothings cluttering up my TV stations. If the right wing actually had a smart guy on television I might actually watch, but for the time being we seem to be stuck with the village idiots from conservative talk-radio.
puhleeeeze, tvnewser.com has their entire cable news ratings archive available (Nielsen nixed us doing the same thing).
Fire up Excel, create your own chart, and send it in!
I am amazed by the comments made by the right wing on this board. They obviously have no idea what true journalism and reporting is all about. First of all, MSNBC is the most balanced network of ALL of them. They have Joe S on for three hours each day and balance him against Keith O, Rachel M and Chris M – 3 against three. There isn’t a single ‘liberal’ viewpoint ever featured on CNN or NBC or ABC or CBS and Fox doesn’t count because it does not carry news, only the daily talking points from Rush Limpo and the RNC. Also ever stay in a hotel and find anything on tv except Fox? Never. MSNBC is on higher tiered cable, you have to pay extra to get it, as at least a few well educated individuals who can spell (which is more than I can say for the right wingers on this blog).
I’m waiting for some new guests on her show. Could she be negotiating with other fine journalists like herself, from National Enquire, or maybe Teen Magazine?
Wow, do the lefties even know where the bias ends and independent thinking starts anymore. Just repeat the talking points, kids, keep convincing yourself.
Meanwhile, the other 80% has finally caught on.
I listened to her Air America show last week. It was an eye-opener as to why “progressive radio” is failing. first, all she yalked about from the 4-5pm segment was what a Racist Rush Limbaugh was. That was it! Four times she repeated her personal joke that the St. Louis Ramms would be renamed the “Klansmen.” Cute. When she took callers,everyone of them agreed 100% percent with her. ( Hannity is always arguing with someone.) The show stunk. I listen to both conservative and progressive radio. I actually like Stephanie Miller and Hartman on Air America. Miller is funny and entertaining and Hartman is thoughtful. Maddow just comes across as preachy, petty, and juvenile.
Rachel is the only cable political show I watch. She actually does some in depth reporting and is not just another opinion pundit. And if she makes an error or has faulty info…she comes back and says so. For me the bottom line is that she is intelligent and decent and is not a pushover.
the personal attacks, lack of facts and just plain mean spirit in this comment section shows part of the problem.
Rachel appeals to an intellectual audience. Aren’t too many of those in this country!
She does little but imitate Olberman. If she developed her own atyle, quit changing her voice a la Oberman and canned her stupid laugh that is so phony….who knows who Rachel Maddow is?
The last thing to bother me is her closing the show with a comedian that she has to laugh at every 15 seconds or so.
The Rachel Maddow show hit a repulsive bottom when she interviewed “the last late term abortion provider doctor”. This guy was so sleezy, I think even Rachel was embarrassed and perhaps secretly could not wait to get him off, as he was CLEARLY a bad reflection (if a true one) on the practice. Rachel’s ongoing vitriol against people who oppose this practice (and anti-abortion people in general) is truly unattractive. One feels she can’t stand the fact that women become mothers.
P.S. I am a Democrat, and, like Rachel, a graduate of Stanford.
If I tried to use her “talking points” on someone with a firm grasp of the issues, I would easily be laughed out of the conversation. Sorry Rachel, I tried to watch, but your program is of poor quality.
Let me give it a try…
What do you get when you couple a display of creative writing with unsourced inventive ideas with a dash of snippiness and snide remarks all while burying real facts in disdain for anything outside of a one degree from her own personal beliefs and you get…
(wait for it…)
The Rachel Maddow Show!
Amercian’s are weary of this polarizing position taking ad nauseum in the media — the majority of us aren’t anywhere near that far to any one side. We’re reasonable and by far much more positive about others…life! Liberals, like Rachel, aren’t anything to respect if that is how they choose to behave.
Certainly, the majority of this country is made up of good and kind and the most good natured of souls. People that extreme are a put off and I’d rather watch Fox and their supposed “right leaning” news as my stomach doesn’t churn at the report that all things are wrong with America…and Americans! At least when there are position differences, in the example of Fox News, it is all in good natured fun – like in a family. I find Greta, Sean and even O’Reilly genuine and sincere — and I like their true sparring with those of opposite opinions – they sound like neighbors discussing real issues and having real opinions. I recently saw Bob Beckel and his conservative brother together on the show discussing opinions – it was a much more real expression of thoughtful discourse and disagreement. No one denegrades another like Rachel does on her show in real life. I think Rachel and Keith seem to be emboldening the shrill left that no one identifies with. That’s no way to increase your ratings or cause others to consider your perspectives.
I’ll give Rachel one thing – her perspectives are like a bucket of cold water – you wake you up quickly…and change the channel.