‘Morning Joe’ & MSNBC Ratings Show Big Change Since Trump Became President

MSNBC is on the rebound after its post-election ratings slump, with shows such as Morning Joe up double-digits over the month.

It’s no secret that MSNBC took a hit following Donald Trump‘s election victory in November, with ratings down 47% pre-inauguration. Morning Joe, specifically, dropped viewers following hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski‘s meeting with Trump.

However, according to an NBC press release, citing Nielsen ratings, the first five weeks of Trump’s presidency saw Morning Joe grow its audience by 17% compared to pre-inauguration viewership. In addition, the show nearly doubled CNN’s morning audience.

Ali Vitali‘s Way Too Early also improved its viewership by 18% month over month, while MSNBC’s weekend programming also experienced double-digit viewership growth compared to January, by 24% among total viewers and by 38% in the demo. The Weekend and Inside with Jen Psaki have both posted strong weekend numbers, topping CNN every month they’ve been on air.

The success of those weekend shows will see the hosts move to prime-time amid massive shake-ups at the network. Earlier this week, Joy Reid hosted the final edition of The ReidOut, which will be replaced by The Weekend hosts Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez, who will take over the time slot for a two-hour broadcast on Monday nights.

In addition, former White House press secretary Psaki will replace Alex Wagner in the 9 pm ET slot from Tuesdays to Fridays once Rachel Maddow returns to Mondays only in April.

Reid’s final episode on MSNBC was the network’s most-watched show in the 25-54 demo on Monday, and totaled 1.69 million viewers overall, though it landed in second place behind The Rachel Maddow Show in total viewers. In comparison, Laura Ingraham at Fox News in the same 7 pm ET time slot had twice as many views as Joy Reid, Adweek reports.

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Since the inauguration, MSNBC’s total day audience has improved by 42% among total viewers and by 67% among the 25-54 demo. The network also topped CNN among total viewers, marking its first win in the daytime in three months, averaging 602,000 total viewers in February.

In comparison, Fox News, in prime time, averaged 3.091 million and 387,000 A25-54 viewers in February, which is up 11% in total viewers and 10% in the demo compared to its January performance.

MSNBC was the No. 2 cable news network behind Fox News in prime time and total day in total viewers in February, averaging 1.126 million total viewers during primetime and 638,000 total viewers during total day. Compared to January, the prime time lineup was up 53% in total viewers and 76% in the demo.

Meanwhile, CNN averaged 553,000 total viewers and 122,000 A25-54 viewers in February, up 6% in total viewers and up 3% in the demo compared to January.