Maddow Begins New Year With Bang, Leads Cable News In Total Viewers And Demo

Returning from Christmas vacation, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow started the year off with a bang by easily leading cable news in total viewership and the key 25-54 demographic as her Wednesday night program featured an interview with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who recently announced a presidential bid. Meanwhile, Fox News stars Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson also returned to the air following lengthy holiday breaks.

According to Nielsen, MSNBC topped cable news during the 8 PM to 11 PM primetime hours in both the demo (438,000) and total viewership (2.642 million) Wednesday. Fox News followed up with a total audience of 2.450 million and 408,000 demo viewers. CNN averaged 1.250 million viewers overall and 342,000 in the key demographic.

During the daytime 9 AM to 5 PM slot, Fox News led the way with 1.383 million total viewers and 221,000 in the demo. CNN pulled in a demo audience of 209,000 and 876,000 total viewers. MSNBC attracted a total viewership of 1.172 million and 184,000 in the demo.

The Rachel Maddow Show was number one across the board with 3.322 million viewers overall and 559,000 in the 25-54 metric. Fox’s Hannity, which faces off with Maddow at 9 PM, placed third overall in total viewership (2.614 million) and tied for second in the key demo (444,000).

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight finished second in overall audience (2.704 million) and tied for second in the demographic (444,000). MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell took fourth place in total viewership (2.553 million) and fifth in the demo (392,000).

The top-rated program for CNN was the 8 PM broadcast of Anderson Cooper 360, which drew 1.388 million total viewers and 383,000 in the key demo.