According to a new report, Alex Wagner, the news anchor who took over the 9pm time slot of MSNBC star Rachel Maddow is having significant trouble duplicating Maddow’s ratings.
MSNBC had a staggering year-over-year dip in September on evenings that “Alex Wagner Tonight” aired, compared to 2021, when Maddow presented. Wagner’s show lost half of Maddow’s audience in the important 25-54 advertising demo, falling from an average of 304,000 demo viewers in 2021 to 151,000 in 2022. In addition, overall viewers fell 34%, from 2.4 million to 1.6 million.
Though executives at the company didn’t expect Wagner to dublicate Maddows record ratings at the company, an executive reached for comment by CNN still described the dismal ratings as ‘brutal,’ saying:
“A 50 percent drop in the key 25-54 demo is 50 percent drop in your billable viewers. Imagine running a store or restaurant and losing 50 percent of your billable customers. Not your looky-loos. Your paying customers.”
A spokesperson for MSNBC reportedly declined to comment on the story.
Before filling in as Maddow’s replacement Wagner hosted a daytime program ‘NOW With Alex Wagner’ and also hosted ‘The Circus’ on Showtime.
Wagner is married to Sam Cass a former Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy in the Obama White House.
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