MSNBC is No. 1 in Adults 25-54 for Weekday Prime in May; Beats FOX News & CNN

MSNBC finished the month of May as the #1 cable news network in A25-54 for weekday prime (M-F 8-11pm) according to Nielsen, beating both Fox News and CNN in the daypart for the 1sttime since September 2000. In A25-54, weekday prime averaged 532,000 viewers (vs. CNN's 455,000 and FOX News' 524,000), the daypart's best rating since October 2012 and best cable news share ever.

MSNBC's weekday primetime programming also outperformed CNN in total viewers for the 6th straight month, posting its 2nd best audience delivery and best cable news share ever. In total viewers, weekday prime averaged 2.2 million viewers (vs. CNN's 1.3 million and FOX News' 2.5 million), the closest MSNBC has been to Fox News since June 2001. Among all cable networks, MSNBC ranked #3 in total viewers for weekday prime, behind only TNT and FOX News.

MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" was the #1 show across all cable news in the key A25-54 demo. "The Rachel Maddow Show" scored a monthly win over CNN and Fox News in total viewers at 9pm - the first time ever in MSNBC's 20-year history - and for A25-54 it was the 3rd straight monthly win. The program averaged 2.6 million total viewers and 638,000 A25-54 viewers. The re-air of "The Rachel Maddow Show" at 12am was also #1 in total viewers.

"The 11th Hour with Brian Williams" finished the month as the #1 show at 11pm in both total viewers and A25-54. This is the first time MSNBC beat CNN and Fox News in total viewers during the time period since August 2001. "The 11th Hour" averaged 1.6 million total viewers and 523,000 viewers A25-54, the best demo delivery in the time period since April 2003.

For the month of May, MSNBC dayside (M-F 9am-5pm) delivered an all-time high in total viewers since undergoing a strategic shift from opinion programming to breaking news. Dayside also posted the highest-ever monthly 9am-5pm cable news share for total viewers in the 20-year history of the network. Dayside averaged 864,000 total viewers and 165,000 A25-54 viewers. Dayside also saw more growth than the competition in total viewers (+94% vs. CNN's +49% and FOX News' +24%) and in A25-54 viewers (+82% vs. CNN's +76% and FOX News' +50%).

"The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" tied "Hannity" on Fox News for #1 in A25-54. The program bested CNN across the board at 10pm, beating CNN in in A25-54 for the 3rd consecutive month and in total viewers for the 24th straight month. "The Last Word" averaged 2.2 million viewers and 523,000 viewers A25-54. This is the time period's best A25-54 delivery since April 2003.

"Morning Joe" at 6am hit an all-time high passing more than one million viewers for the first time ever and beating CNN's third-place "New Day" for the 27th straight month, the program's best streak ever. "Morning Joe" delivered 1.1 million total viewers, the program's best total viewer delivery ever. In A25-54, "Morning Joe" averaged 254,000 viewers. This is the program's highest A25-54 delivery ever in a non-election month, and the 2nd best month in A25-54 (after November 2012).

MSNBC led CNN for the 4th straight month in M-F 6am-2am in total viewers. This was the network's best total viewer delivery in the time period ever, and the best A25-54 delivery since November 2012. Among all cable networks, MSNBC finished #2 in total viewers from M-F 6am-2am, behind only Fox News and ahead of Nickelodeon and CNN.

Four other MSNBC programs surpassed CNN in total viewers: "MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle" at 9am, "Andrea Mitchell Reports" at 12pm, "Hardball with Chris Matthews" at 7pm and "All In with Chris Hayes" at 8pm.

NOTE: May to-date ratings are based on Nielsen Live+Same data day for 5/1/17-5/26/17. Individual show data represents regular programming only, excluding specials and breaking news.

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