Charts: MSNBC “Steadily Grows” Its Share Of The 25-54 Cable News Audience

At an employee town hall meeting on Wednesday, MSNBC president Rick Kaplan applauded staffers for steady growth in the key 25-54 demographic. Here is the slideshow Kaplan presented (PDF). Forget P2+ for the moment; this post refers solely to the 25-54 demo.

Some of the slides talk about “sales prime,” between 7pm and 2am. In Nov. 2004, MSNBC had 13 percent of the cable news market in sales prime, while CNN had 26 percent. In Nov. 2005, MSNBC had 20 percent of the cable news market and CNN had 24 percent. This is the closest margin since Dec. 2002, according to MSNBC.

The other charts showcase MSNBC’s post-Katrina ratings growth. MSNBC defines pre-Katrina has June 27 to August 21, and during-Katrina as Aug. 29 to Sept. 11, and post-Katrina as Sept. 12 to Nov. 27, excluding Thanksgiving.

Between 9am and noon, MSNBC averaged 77,000 demo viewers pre-Katrina, and 94,000 viewers post — a 22 percent increase. Between 1 and 4pm, MSNBC averaged 67,000 viewers pre-Katrina, and 95,000 viewers post — a 42 percent increase.

The gains extend into primetime. The Abrams Report at 6pm averaged 102,000 viewers pre-Katrina, and 137,000 viewers post — a 34 percent increase. Hardball at 7pm averaged 103,000 viewers pre-Katrina and 159,000 post — a 54 percent increase. Countdown at 8pm averaged 113,000 viewers pre-Katrina and 168,000 viewers post — a 49 percent increase. The 9pm time slot (Situation/Rita) has had a 63 percent increase, Scarborough Country has had a 22 percent increase, and the 11pm time slot (Countdown/Situation) has had a 50 percent increase. (See the slides for the details.)

Had enough numbers yet? This slide demonstrates how MSNBC “steadily grows its share of the cable news audience in key dayparts,” from 13 percent in total day in July to 18 percent in November. Click on it to view it full-size:



And this slide shows how ratings for MSNBC’s sales prime time period have increased 36 post-Katrina, more than any other cable net:

For the rest of the slides, click here (PDF).

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