MS NOW Sees Ratings Gains Ahead Of Programming Changes

MS NOW live coverage of Tuesday's primaries in key states like Iowa and California

MS NOW/Versant

Later this month, MS NOW--the cable news network formerly known as MSNBC--will make the first programming changes since its exit from NBC and relaunch as part of parent company Versant. Those changes--across dayside, weekends and in the key weeknight prime time hours--come as MS NOW continues to see significant viewership growth.

Ahead of formal ratings data being released later today, the network says it returned double-digit increases in May compared to the same period one year ago, growing 9% among total prime time viewers and 39% among viewers 25-54, the key demographic valued by advertisers.

MS NOW’s Morning Joe will report a 14% gain in total viewers and a huge 66% jump among viewers in the key demo, with ratings across total day climbing 12% overall and 39% in the key demo.

While MS NOW trails longtime ratings leader Fox News Channel, it has largely cemented its lead over CNN among total viewers, with an average total audience in prime time of 1.3 million viewers.

Growth upon growth in first months since breaking from NBC

MS NOW made some changes immediately after the spinoff from NBC and dropping the MSNBC name it had used since its launch, announcing in September that Jen Psaki would move into prime time at 9 p.m. ET.

The combination of new shows and an aggressive hiring push by the network kicked off 2026 with strong viewership, precisely the foundation the network has been working to build on through the first half of the year.

The growth in prime pushed MS NOW’s prime time average over one million total viewers in January, up 20 percent year-over-year, and outperforming rival network CNN. Fox News Channel remained the dominant force in cable news in January, as it notched its 24th consecutive year at number one.

Familiar faces launch new shows this summer

Starting June 13, MS NOW will debut a new lineup across all day parts, including Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle, On the Line with Alicia Menendez, The Moment with Katy Tur, and The 11th Hour with Ali Velshi, along with the debut of Connect with Jacob Soboroff just days before on June 13. Later in the summer, Peter Alexander, well known for his work at NBC News including stints covering the White House, will launch a new daytime show at 11 a.m. ET.

On Tuesday, MS NOW’s Chris Jansing signed off as anchor of MS NOW Reports, turning the chair over to Alicia Menendez, who credited Jansing as a role model. “This is such a -- yes, this is such full circle moment,” Menendez said. “Jansing and Company was one of the first television shows on MS, one of your many shows, that I ever got to be a guest on.”

“I remember, one day, we were sitting on set like this and there was breaking news, and they whisked you away from the main set to a side set,” Menendez recalled. “And one of your producers who knew that I very much aspired to host a news show got in my ear and said: ‘Watch everything she does. Study everything she does. There is no one better than Chris Jansing.’ And to have a front seat to the rigor of your preparation, to the standard of excellence that you hold yourself to, and then your ability to turn on a dime the minute the news requires that, in the service of your audience, is something that I am so grateful that, in your new role as chief political reporter, I am going to get to continue to do.”