Pouting pundits went from pushing a red mirage to facing their own fictional “Trump Bump” as post-election ratings revealed what viewers really thought of corporate media coverage.
High on their own talking points, spirits quickly crashed on Election Night as consoling arguments that early results favored the GOP did little to ward off the outcome of President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory.
Now after MSNBC sought solace in topping CNN, which had marked its smallest audience for election coverage since 1996, the bigger picture revealed how far off the cliff the network plummeted.
According to data reviewed by Fox News, an average of 1.1 million MSNBC viewers for the month of October nosedived to only 736,000 from Wednesday through Friday after Election Day, and average primetime viewership, which was 1.8 million through October, fell by 54% following the election as viewers fled “Alex Wagner Tonight,” “All in with Chris Hayes” and “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.”
The overall coverage dropped by 31% compared to an increased viewership of 61% for Fox and for many of the Democratic Party-favoring network shows like “Andrea Mitchell Reports” and “The ReidOut,” Friday marked their lowest viewership of the year.
“While MSNBC thought they may have struck gold with the election night ratings, they should have realized by now that Americans only tuned in so they could see the meltdowns, not that they viewed it as consistently and intellectually stimulating television,” said Newsbusters managing editor Curtis Houck.
“During CNN’s tumbles in past years, they were falling behind reruns of ‘Golden Girls’ and ‘Peppa Pig,’ so it’s probably best if MSNBC doesn’t look at their ratings anytime soon if they want to stay anywhere close to their happy place,” Houck told Fox News. “Liberal viewers have to be emotionally, psychologically, and metaphorically distraught. They’re beyond forlorn.”
Fox Business’ Elizabeth MacDonald highlighted some of the figures from Nielsen ratings showing how the downward spiral of doomsaying from Hayes, Reid, and others matched their audience losses and noted that parent company Comcast was “reportedly in talks to spin off [MSNBC] and its cables for potential sale.”
Major Nielsen ratings plunge at MSNBC since Trump won, practically every day since. Just one example – 10/30 Wednesday vs Fri 11/8 –
Morning Joe 1st hour – down 39.6%
Morning Joe 2d hour – down 36.9%
Andrea Mitchell – down 39.7%
Ari Melber – down 49.6%
Joy Reid’s Reidout – down…— Elizabeth MacDonald (@LizMacDonaldFOX) November 12, 2024
Speaking with Fox News anonymously, a longtime TV news executive said, “As its poor post-election night ratings show, MSNBC should not expect a ‘Trump Bump’ this time around. Even liberals are rejecting its condescending tone and the divisive rhetoric of its new standard-bearer, Joy Reid.”
The ratings woes also impacted CNN as viewers dropped 40 percent overall and 30 percent in primetime compared to the same day the year prior, bringing in only 419,000 viewers on Thursday, Mediaite detailed.
TheWrap founder and CEO Sharon Waxman wrote Sunday, “If you’re like me, you haven’t turned on the news since last Tuesday when Donald Trump won the election. Personally, I can’t bear to listen to another minute of wisdom from Joy Reid, my friend Lawrence O’Donnell, or the admirable Rachel Maddow.”
“I can’t do it. I’m not saying I’ll never watch or listen again. But — am I alone here? — my entire body recoils from listening to more claptrap from the same claptrapping apparatus,” she added.
Between the positive impact of X to the complete contempt many viewers had developed for corporate media, little pity was expressed for the self-wrought ratings collapses.
MSNBC did it to themselves.
Gaslighting the public doesn’t work. We all saw through the lawfare, edited videos, and disinformation. When a news source continues to bash someone with the same rhetoric after a while, it’s no longer believable.— Melsbells (@MEnglanderRE) November 12, 2024
Legacy Media jumped the shark in 2024. It’s over for them.
— (@RedPillReport) November 12, 2024
Are people FINALLY waking up?
— Educating Jackson (@MissyAmericaUSA) November 12, 2024
Circling the drain.
— chris suscha (@Chris90822) November 12, 2024
Go woke go broke!
— Jen Lipa (@JenLiparot15606) November 12, 2024
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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