Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki is off to a challenging start in her new role as primetime host on MSNBC. Two months into her show, The Briefing, the numbers tell a sobering story. From its premiere on May 6 through July 3, the program has averaged just 1.1 million total viewers—a steep 44% drop from the 1.8 million who tuned in for Rachel Maddow and interim host Alex Wagner in the same 9 p.m. slot.
The struggle is even more pronounced in the key 25–54 age demographic prized by advertisers. Psaki has drawn an average of just 90,000 viewers in that bracket, far behind Fox News’ Hannity at 344,000 and CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins at 108,000.
Still, The Briefing edges out The Source in total viewership, as CNN’s show averaged 543,000 viewers during the same period. Psaki’s underwhelming debut has fueled concerns at MSNBC and its parent company, Comcast, which is already contending with declining ratings and strategic uncertainty. All eyes are now on whether Psaki can turn the tide—or face a programming shakeup.
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