Media

Rachel Maddow Replacement Draws Just 62% Of Her Audience

(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
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Alex Wagner, who replaced host Rachel Maddow in MSNBC’s 9 p.m. slot on Tuesdays through Fridays, has garnered a significantly smaller audience than her predecessor in her two weeks as host.

Wagner’s show had an average of 1.6 million viewers in the two weeks following its debut, falling well behind the 2.6 million viewers Maddow netted on the Mondays during the same two-week period, Fox News reported. This represents an average drop in viewership of more than 38 percent on the nights Maddow isn’t hosting. For comparison, Sean Hannity, who occupies the same timeslot at Fox News, averaged 2.8 million viewers per night during Wagner’s second week on the job.

Wagner’s premiere on Tuesday, Aug. 16, garnered two million viewers, a 27% decline from Maddow’s 2.75 million viewers the previous day. Wagner’s drew 183,000 viewers in the 25-50 demographic during her debut, trailing behind Maddow’s 230,000 views. By Friday, Aug. 26, Wagner’s viewership in the key demographic had dropped to 112,000, a 40% drop, the outlet reported.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - AUGUST 02: Rachel Maddow host of 'The Rachel Maddow Show' speaks during the 'MSNBC' panel during the NBC Universal portion of the 2011 Summer TCA Tour held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 2, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Wagner’s program has not added a significantly higher number of viewers than the initial Tuesday through Friday program, “MSNBC Primetime,” the outlet reported. The program had a rotating lineup of guest hosts that also drew in a significantly lower number of views than Maddow.

Maddow has consistently ranked as MSNBC’s top-rated anchor. Her Monday program, “The Rachel Maddow Show,” averaged 2.39 million viewers in July, the outlet reported. In comparison, “MSNBC Primetime,” which previously occupied her timeslot, averaged just 1.42 million. (RELATED: REPORT: Maddow Taking Hiatus From MSNBC) 

In April, Maddow announced that she had signed a multi-year deal with NBCUniversal to only host her program on Monday evenings in order to dedicate time to a film adaptation of her book and podcast “Big Man” with Ben Stiller and Lorn Michaels. Executives began airing the vacant “MSNBC Primetime” on Tuesday through Friday with a rotating lineup of guest hosts.

In June, the network picked Wagner to be the permanent host of the 9 p.m. time slot for four days a week. She previously hosted the show, “NOW with Alex Wager,” on the network before executives canceled it to pivot to straight news in their daytime programming. She returned in Feb. 2022, as a senior political analyst and guest anchor.