I just found out that MSNBC is searching for a new host at its 10p.m. slot. Now, I have been a huge fan of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and I liked Hardball with Chris Matthews, but I am not a particular fan of MSNBC. I am done with Lockup, and MSNBC’s programming ending at 10 each weeknight, it is (was) disappointing. Although, Bill O'Reilly's hatred for MSNBC makes me like the cable network just a little more. Now as 15 year old viewer, my demographics aren't the one that Cable News Network are really shooting for, so I was looking for my fellow Daily Kos members opinions. Please Read below the fold...
Now there has been a lot of criticisms of MSNBC being left leaning, and that it is attacking Faux News too much, but I think it is totally the other way around. If you have enough patience to watch FOX NEWS you would always hear The "Manatee" Hannity making fun of Chris Matthews, the joke named FOX and Friends always attacking Keith Olbermann and Chris, and the unfunny 2 a.m show Red eye talking trash about Keith. Although this diary is not about FOX vs. MSNBC (thats a whole other diary). Anyway MSNBC's ratings are on the rise, and have been on the rise for a while now.
MSNBC continues to dominate CNN in primetime, with "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" out-rating CNN's "Campbell Brown: No Bias No Bull" among A25-54 for the 11th consecutive month, while "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and "The Rachel Maddow Show" out-rated CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight" and "Larry King Live" for the fourth consecutive month. Since launching in September 2008, "The Rachel Maddow Show" is out-rating "Larry King Live" by 11 percent among A25-54 (570,000 vs. 514,000).
Following are MSNBC ratings higlights for January:
"Countdown with Keith Olbermann" out-rated CNN's "Campbell Brown" by 20 percent among A25-54 in January (480,000 vs. 399,000) and by 12 percent in total viewers (1,416,000 vs. 1,268,000). This is the eleventh consecutive month that "Countdown" has out-rated CNN at 8 p.m. "Countdown" was up 39 percent among A25-54 vs. Jan 08 and up 56 percent in total viewers.
"The Rachel Maddow Show" continues to knock the crown from "Larry King Live," out-rating CNN by 16 percent among A25-54 in January (454,000 vs. 390,000). This is the fourth consecutive month that "Rachel Maddow" has out-rated "Larry King Live" and, launch to date, "Rachel Maddow" is out-rating "Larry King" by 11 percent. In January 09, "Rachel Maddow" is up 139 percent among A25-54 (454,000 vs. 190,000) and up 186 percent in total viewers (1,325,000 vs. 463,000) versus 9 p.m. in Jan. 08, the fastest growing cable news show in the hour.
"Hardball with Chris Mathews" at 7 p.m. out-rated CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight" for the fourth consecutive month in January among A25-54 (273,000 vs. 267,000) and was up 56 percent from Jan. 08 (273,000 vs. 175,000). "Hardball" also out-rated CNN in total viewers (946,000 vs. 938,000) and was up 82 percent from Jan. 08.
"Morning Joe" delivered 154,000 A25-54 in January, up 62 percent from Jan 08, and is the fastest growing cable news morning show. "Morning Joe" delivered 430,000 total viewers, up 60 percent from Jan 08.
At 6 p.m., "1600 Pennsylvania Ave" delivered 161,000 A25-54, up 39 percent vs Jan 08. "1600" delivered 596,000 total viewers, up 80 percent from Jan 09.
I really like all of these shows, and it is good to finally see MSNBC finding its steady, strong stride. I discovered Countdown about late 2006, and have barely ever missed an episode since (kinda pisses off my parents). MSNBC has made an Awesome move with picking up the star Rachel Maddow. I also like Hardball, although sometimes I don't completely understand what he is saying one-hundred percent of the time. I was really glad to see David Shuster get his own show in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Morning Joe is my favorite morning show. Now many don't like Joe Scarborough but I like him when he is not such a pushover, and disrespects Mika. It is a funny, informative Morning show with lots of characters in Mika, Joe, Willy, and their guests.
Well, now comes the "last piece to the puzzle".
Ny Times Reported that,
Building on the momentum of its prime-time hours, MSNBC is developing a 10 p.m. program that would complement its left-leaning evening lineup, the cable news channel’s president said this week.
A new program could increase the competition between MSNBC, a unit of NBC Universal, and its two chief competitors, Fox News Channel and CNN, for news viewers in the time slot. Unlike most major networks, MSNBC’s original programming ends at 10 each weeknight. The 8 p.m. program "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" is rerun at 10 p.m., where it usually ranks third.
But Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, is making 10 p.m. a priority now. In an interview on Tuesday in a studio on the Mall, hours after the inauguration of President Obama, Mr. Griffin said that the channel needed a third original show in its lineup.
"We can’t let this momentum stop," he said.
There is no obvious candidate to host the 10 p.m. hour; the network seems to lack a substantial bench of opinionated hosts-in-waiting. Then again, Rachel Maddow became a political analyst for MSNBC just 12 months ago, and now her 9 p.m. program, "The Rachel Maddow Show," outrates CNN’s "Larry King Live" in the 25-to-54 age group.
Similarly, "Countdown" easily surpasses CNN in that demographic at 8 p.m. Both programs have made major inroads in prime time with a sharp, often sarcastic and pointedly liberal take on politics. While MSNBC remains in third place among total viewers, it has averaged more young viewers (412,000) than CNN (394,000) in prime time since Election Day. Fox News has averaged 501,000 in the same demographic. Besides bragging rights, higher ratings in the 25-to-54-year-old group let networks charge higher rates for ads.
But at 10 p.m., MSNBC replaced live programming with documentaries and repeats in 2006. It moved the reruns of "Countdown" there in March to capitalize on the political year. Reverting to tape at 10 p.m. puts the network at a disadvantage, especially on busy news nights. Meanwhile, CNN and Fox News are battling for first place in the hour. Last year, "Anderson Cooper 360" on CNN outperformed "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" on Fox News among younger viewers, but the Fox program averaged a higher number of total viewers.
With a higher-rated show at 10 p.m., Mr. Griffin predicts that MSNBC can become competitive with Fox among young viewers.
This is really exciting news too me. I have really wanted MSNBC to become competitive in the 10 p.m. slot, although Countdown rerun has not done too bad. I think that it might be Eugene Robinson. I like him, but he is kind of boring. If it is Eugene the show should also have a co-host to make things interesting. If it was my choice it would be awesome to see Bill Maher take that spot. He is extremely funny, but might be held back on a Cable Network like MSNBC. There are many choices out there, and it is exciting to see what might happen.
*Also, sorry if this diary is not clean, I have to go to work at Dunkin' Donuts =/. So I hope everyone has a safe, and happy day.