Ratings Show Jen Psaki Isn't The Answer For MSNBC

MSNBC hoped former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki was the answer to its years-long quest to find a true successor to Rachel Maddow. So far, Psaki has proved anything but.

Psaki took over for Maddow during the flagship 9 pm hour on Tuesday-Friday in May, when Maddow reverted to a once-a-week schedule. Since its May 6 debut, "The Briefing with Jen Psaki" has averaged 1.1 million total viewers, a 44 percent decline from the 1.8 million Maddow averaged from January to May.

Maddow has no intention of hosting full-time again and only temporarily did so to assist in the network's coverage of the first 100 days of the new Trump administration. And for MSNBC, that's a dilemma. To this point, the network has shown no ability to establish any star power in her absence.

We didn't name Maddow the most valuable person in television because she's the best, the smartest, or the most honest—she's certainly not the most honest. We gave her that title because no one else in television is worth more viewers to their respective network than she is.

Since 2016, hours in which Maddow hosts on MSNBC have typically drawn 50 percent more viewers than any other hour on the channel. No one else in television is worth that great of a difference. Stephen A. Smith claims he is, but he isn't.

Sure, Sean Hannity and Jesse Watters are bigger stars than Maddow. But Fox News also employs Bret Baier, Laura Ingraham, and several other star anchors and hosts. 

At MSNBC, Joe Scarborough is the only other host with any semblance of mainstream name recognition. And the ratings for "Morning Joe" have never quite recovered from Scarborough's visit to Mar-a-Lago last year.

Jen Psaki appears on "Meet the Press" in Washington D.C., Feb. 16, 2025 -- (Photo by: Shannon Finney/NBC via Getty Images)

In theory, Psaki checks all the boxes. She came from the Biden administration. She's relatively recognizable, proudly partisan, and loose with the truth. Yet, for whatever reason, viewers don't view her nearly as fondly as they do Maddow.

To be frank, we aren't exactly sure why liberal viewers flock to Maddow as they do. Her political ideology isn't necessarily unique compared to the other primetime hosts at MSNBC. Most nights, she spews the same talking points as Chris Hayes, Lawrence O'Donnell, and now Psaki. Nonetheless, the ratings say she's worth an extra 700,000 to 1 million viewers per night.

So, as much as we'd like to blame Psaki's early struggles on Little Red Lying Hood herself, the struggles are more of a tribute to Maddow's drawing power.

And for MSNBC, that's a problem. The network can replace Psaki at any point. However, it's not her who the channel needs to replace—it's Maddow, who already had a few feet out the door.

And therein lies the reason MSNBC's long-term prospects are so bleak.