OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, by far the most popular host on the MSNBC network, made her return to the airwaves.
But after around two months off she did not give her fans the news they wanted to hear as she announced that she would only be back hosting one day per week.
Fox News reported in May that the experiment with guest hosts on her show has failed miserably with the key demographic.
Maddow, who makes roughly $30 million per year, announced that starting in May she would only host “The Rachel Maddow Show” once a week, on Mondays, so that she could focus on other projects. The coveted 9 p.m. ET timeslot that she’s long occupied now airs “MSNBC Prime” for the remainder of the week, with a rotating group of hosts at the helm.
So far, the results haven’t been pretty for the left-wing network.
Since “MSNBC Prime” debuted on May 3, it has averaged 1.2 million viewers, shedding 33% of the 1.7 million that Maddow pulled in from the beginning of the year through her first once-a-week edition.
Things are even worse among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, as “MSNBC Prime” has attracted only 114,000 average nightly viewers among the critical category for a 47% decline from the 214,000 that Maddow averaged through May 2.
By comparison, Fox News’ 9 p.m. ET timeslot competition, “Hannity,” has crushed “MSNBC Prime” by 252% among the key demo since MSNBC’s new program premiered.
But while “MSNBC Prime” has struggled to keep the audience that “The Rachel Maddow Show” attracted before its namesake host announced a reduced workload, recent trends show that viewers might not be thrilled with the only-on-Mondays arrangement for the network’s biggest star.
In April the host announced that starting in May, she will only host her show on the network once a week while she continues to work on “other projects.”
“So, here’s the plan. I’m back. I’m gonna be here all this month, Monday through Thursday night,” Maddow said on her show. “And then, starting next month, starting in May, I’m gonna be here weekly. I’m gonna be here on Monday nights, again, to give myself just more time to work on some of the other stuff that I’ve got cooking for MSNBC and NBC.”
“And again, this might change. We will see how things go. But that is the plan as of now. So, now you know. And we will never speak of it again. Enough of that, let’s start the show,” Maddow added.
“I am also grateful almost beyond words for Ali Velshi, in particular, and for my other colleagues who filled in for me while I was away. … You should be so lucky to ever have a coworker as great as Ali Velshi,” Maddow said.
Maddow announced back in February that she would be taking a hiatus.
“I’m going to take a little bit of time off from this show to go help with the movie. And also to work on a few other things that I have cooking with NBC right now, including a new podcast,” Maddow said.
“So just like late-night hosts sometimes go on hiatus in their shows, I’m going to go on hiatus for a little bit here from this show so I can work on some of those other projects,” she added. “In addition to the movie, the Bag-Man movie, and the podcast that I’m working on, the paperback of the Bag Man book is also coming out in just a few weeks, it’s coming out in April, there’s an adaptation of a different book that I want to try to make for TV as well that I’ve just started working on. There’s all this stuff I’ve been working on that I want to… work some more on.”
“But it is all for the good! I will be here through Thursday this week and then the – highest and I’m just going to be off for a few. Weeks off and doing the shot, not really going anywhere. I’ll be back for the state of the union and for other big news events in the meantime. I will also be back during the show again the frail even miss me,” Maddow continued.
“I moved back in April! And there may eventually be another hiatus again sometime in the future, but for now, we are just taking it one step at a time. Again, I will be here through Thursday this week. And of course, while I’m away this show will continue to be run by the absolute best producers of this entire business and the amazing staff of the show. Don’t worry, you will be in very, very good hands. Change is good, changes absolutely terrifying. But in this case, it is good,” she concluded.
