Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki is facing a rocky start in her new role as primetime host on MSNBC. Two months after launching her show, The Briefing, the numbers reveal a significant drop in viewership compared to her predecessors.
From its debut on May 6 through July 3, The Briefing has averaged 1.1 million total viewers. That figure marks a steep 44 percent decline from the 1.8 million viewers that Rachel Maddow and temporary host Alex Wagner previously attracted in the same 9 p.m. time slot. The ratings slide puts Psaki far behind her main competition—Hannity on Fox News—which averaged 2.9 million viewers during the same time frame.
This performance setback is not just about total audience numbers. In the key 25–54 age demographic, which is especially important to advertisers, Psaki’s show is also underperforming. It has drawn an average of just 90,000 viewers in this group, compared to Hannity’s 344,000 and The Source with Kaitlan Collins on CNN, which attracted 108,000.
Despite these challenges, The Briefing is still slightly ahead of CNN’s The Source in overall viewership, as the latter averaged 543,000 total viewers since May, according to Fox.
Psaki took over the high-profile 9 p.m. slot from Rachel Maddow, who remains one of MSNBC’s most recognizable figures. While expectations were high, especially given Psaki’s prominent background as a former government spokesperson, the results so far have not met network hopes. The drop in ratings comes at a time when MSNBC is already grappling with broader struggles, including months of declining viewership and scrutiny over editorial direction.
Parent company Comcast reportedly expressed concerns last fall, as MSNBC’s performance continues to raise questions about the network’s long-term strategy and content direction.
As Psaki settles into her new television role, industry observers will be watching closely to see whether the show can recover and find its footing—or if changes will be needed to bring viewers back to the network’s primetime lineup.
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