TV Ratings: Jen Psaki New MSNBC Show Craters

Jen Psaki’s new MSNBC primetime show, The Briefing with Jen Psaki, which airs Tuesdays through Fridays at 9 p.m. ET, experienced a significant ratings drop in its second episode Wednesday, particularly in the key demographic of adults aged 25-54, a critical group for advertisers.

The show debuted on Tuesday, May 6, with 1.2 million total viewers and 139,000 viewers in the 25-54 demographic. However, the second episode saw a 53% decline in this demographic, drawing only 65,000 viewers, and a 67% drop in the 18-49 age group, from 113,000 to 37,000. Total viewership also fell to just over one million.

This sharp decline positioned The Briefing behind 38 other cable news programs in the 25-54 demographic, including all Fox News offerings, 13 CNN shows, and seven MSNBC programs. It also trailed behind reruns of shows like Friends, Seinfeld, and even TLC’s My Strange Addiction in the key demographic. The drop contributed to MSNBC’s lowest-rated Wednesday night (8-11 p.m.) since early January, marking the weakest 9 p.m. slot performance since Alex Wagner’s episode in December 2024 drew 40,000 in the demo.

Several factors may explain the ratings slump. Psaki, a former Biden administration press secretary, transitioned from hosting Inside with Jen Psaki on Sundays and Mondays to this high-profile primetime slot previously occupied by Rachel Maddow, whose The Rachel Maddow Show consistently drew stronger viewership (1.9 million on Mondays). The shift followed Maddow scaling back to a Monday-only schedule after temporarily hosting five nights a week during the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term. Psaki’s debut benefited from the network’s promotional push and curiosity around her new role, but retaining viewers proved challenging, possibly due to her perceived lack of primetime hosting experience or polarizing public image from her White House tenure.