MSNBC is now solidly in second place in primetime, but still far behind #1 Fox News Channel.

In weekday primetime, MSNBC averaged 830k Total Viewers and 252k in the A25-54 demo, out-rating CNN by 13% and 25% respectively. MSNBC's gap with Fox News, however, is 1.76 million Total Viewers and 440k in the demo.

In total day, MSNBC was fourth in the demo (132k) and third in Total Viewers (361k).

Keith Olbermann beat his CNN and HLN competition by double digit percentages, except in the demo, where he topped Nancy Grace by 9%. His 10pmET repeat also outdrew "AC360" for the first time ever in the demo. "Countdown" was the highest-rated non-FNC show once again.

Rachel Maddow beat Larry King for the 9th time since her show launched last September.

MSNBC press release after the jump.

MSNBC BEATS CNN IN PRIMETIME IN OCTOBER

MSNBC Out-Rates CNN at 7, 8, 9 and 10 PM Among A25-54

CNN in Fourth Place in Primetime in A25-54

NEW YORK - Oct. 27, 2009 - MSNBC out-rated CNN in primetime in October 2009, among both total viewers and the key Adults 25-54 demographic, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. MSNBC beat CNN soundly in every hour of primetime in October, including for the first time at 10 p.m. ET as a repeat of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" drew more A25-54 than "Anderson Cooper 360" (218,000 vs. 210,000). Following are MSNBC ratings highlights for October 2009:

· In primetime (Mon-Sun, 8-11 p.m. ET), MSNBC out-rated CNN by 26% in A25-54 (234,000 vs. 186,000) and by 5% in total viewers (699,000 vs. 664,000). In weekday primetime (Mon-Fri, 8-11 p.m. ET), MSNBC out-rated the fourth-ranked CNN by 25% in A25-54 (252,000 vs. 201,000) and by 13% in total viewers (830,000 vs. 737,000).

· CNN finished in fourth place among the four cable news networks in A25-54 at 7, 8 and 10 p.m. in October, and in third place at 9 p.m.

· MSNBC is the #1 news network in primetime among younger viewers, Adults 18-34 (73,000).

· "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" soundly beat CNN's fourth-place Campbell Brown by 83% in A25-54 (294,000 vs. 161,000) and by 57% in total viewers (1,015,000 vs. 648,000). "Countdown" also out-rated HLN's "Nancy Grace" by 9% in A25-54 (294,000 vs. 269,000) and by 22% in total viewers (1,015,000 vs. 830,000). At 10 p.m., the repeat of "Countdown" beat the fourth place "Anderson Cooper 360" among A25-54 for the first time (218,000 vs. 210,000).

· "The Rachel Maddow Show" beat CNN's "Larry King Live" at 9 p.m. by 10% among A25-54 (246,000 vs. 224,000) and by 5% in total viewers (880,000 vs. 842,000). This is the 9th time in 13th months since launching last September that "TRMS" has out-rated "Larry King."

· "Hardball with Chris Matthews" at 7 p.m. out-rated CNN's fourth place "Lou Dobbs Tonight" by 12% in A25-54 (182,000 vs. 163,000) and by 3% in total viewers (649,000 vs. 631,000).

· "The Ed Show" virtually tied CNN's "The Situation Room" among A25-54 in October 2009, (150,000 vs. 151,000).

Built on the worldwide resources of NBC News, MSNBC defines news for the next generation with world-class reporting and a full schedule of live news coverage, political analysis and award-winning documentary programming -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. MSNBC's home on the Internet is msnbc.com. Msnbc.com delivers a fuller spectrum of news. Drawing on its award-winning original journalism, NBC News heritage, trusted sources and Microsoft's advanced technologies, the site presents compelling, diverse and visually-engaging stories on the consumer's platform of choice.

Members of the media can get more information about MSNBC and its programming on msnbc.com or the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at www.nbcumv.com.

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