MSNBC’s ratings cratered on Thursday after a particularly high election night, signaling a potential mood shift for viewers in political coverage following Kamala Harris’ loss. MSNBC eclipsed CNN on election night for the first time ever, pulling 6 million viewers to CNN’s 5.1 million, Mediaite reported. By Thursday, MSNBC had cut their viewers to only 600,000, while CNN had just over 400,000. It was a 54 percent shed for MSNBC and 30 percent decrease for CNN compared to this time last year. Fox News continued to dominate cable news; with 10.3 million viewers on election night and 2.6 million viewers on Thursday. Overall, election night viewership in 2024 dropped 25 percent across 18 networks from 2020, Nielsen measured. The sharp decline in MSNBC’s ratings from election night came as it became clear that the news would shift into Donald Trump programming following his victory. The ratings did not account for viewers who watched coverage beyond linear TV.
