President Donald Trump‘s controversial trade tariffs have positively affected cable news, with MSNBC, in particular, seeing a significant ratings boost for the week of March 31.
According to Nielsen ratings, per AdWeek, MSNBC posted its most-watched week since Election Week last year. This saw the network with double-digit gains in both total viewers and the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic during total day.
MSNBC’s primetime lineup, which includes programs like The Rachel Maddow Show and The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, averaged 1.237 million total viewers (up 6% on the week prior) and 113,000 viewers in the key demo (up 1%).
The increases were even higher during total day, with the network averaging 701,000 total viewers (up 12%) and 69,000 viewers in the key demo (up 17%).
In primetime, MSNBC moved up a spot from fourth to third in total viewers among all basic cable networks and tied for the ninth spot in the key demo with The History Channel and TLC. It held onto second place in total viewers for the total day number and tied for eighth with Investigation Discovery in the demo chart.
The ratings boost came amid Trump’s Rose Garden speech last Wednesday (April 2), where he announced his wide-ranging trade tariffs on around 60 countries.
Despite MSNBC’s increases, Fox News remained the most-watched news network for the week. The network averaged 2.802 million total viewers (same as the week prior) and 334,000 viewers (up 3%) in the key demo during primetime.
In total day, Fox News averaged 1.745 million total viewers (same as last week) and 224,000 viewers in the key demo (up 2%).
Among all basic cable networks in primetime, Fox News finished first in total viewers and second in the key demo. In total day, it held onto the first position in total viewers and reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the demo.
Meanwhile, CNN averaged 572,000 total viewers and 114,000 viewers in the key demo during primetime, showing gains of 3% and 7%, respectively. The network also saw a 6% increase in total day for total viewers, with 449,000, but dipped -1% in the key demo, with 76,000.
Across all the basic cable networks, CNN jumped from ninth to fifth place in total viewers. The network also moved from No. 15 to No. 8 in the primetime demo and from No. 5 to No. 3 in total day viewers. However, it dropped from fifth to sixth in the total day key demo.
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