Maddow Dominates Cable News Thursday Night, Beats Hannity’s Trump Interview Head-to-Head

MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show was the most-watched program in all of cable Thursday evening in terms of total viewers and led cable news in the key 25-54 advertising demographic, beating Fox News’ Hannity, which featured an “exclusive” interview with President Trump. Fox News, meanwhile, was the top cable news network in both total day and primetime viewership.

According to Nielsen, Fox News averaged 2.999 million viewers overall and 582,000 in the demo during the 8 PM to 11 PM primetime hours. MSNBC settled for second place, drawing 2.885 million total viewers and 512,000 in the demographic. CNN pulled in a demo audience of 431,000 and a total viewership of 1.398 million.

In the 9 AM to 5 PM daytime slot, Fox News attracted a total audience of 1.549 million and 241,000 in the demo. CNN finished a close second in the demo, nabbing 240,000 while capturing a total viewership of 889,000. MSNBC delivered 1.335 million viewers overall and 187,000 in the 25-54 metric.

Maddow led across the board, drawing 3.520 million total viewers and 650,000 in the key demo. Fox’s Hannity, which airs opposite Maddow at 9 PM, placed second in both metrics, averaging 634,000 in the demographic and a total audience of 3.275 million.

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight took third place in the demo (575,000) and total viewership (3.057 million). MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell was fourth in total viewers with 2.986 million while the show’s 10 PM competitor, Fox’s The Ingraham Angle, took fourth place in the demo (537,000).

The top-rated program on CNN was Cuomo Prime Time, which pulled in 1.483 million viewers overall. The 10 PM broadcast of CNN Tonight led in the demo with 446,000.