Topline

MSNBC’s primetime audience has fallen 53% since the week before the election, new Nielsen ratings data shows, a steep decline for the left-leaning network that rivals CNN’s 47% decline – while Fox News lost its audience has largely held since President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.

Important facts

Will Elon Musk buy Msnbc?

Billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk teased on Friday that he might buy MSNBC. Musk tweeted, “How much does it cost?” in response to an X post reshared by Donald Trump Jr. that incorrectly stated that Comcast was putting MSNBC up for sale. Comcast last week announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal’s cable networks into a separate company, although it has no interest in selling individual channels or other assets, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. Musk has openly expressed his disdain for the network and called it quits

Important background

According to the New York Times, Fox News led the three networks in election night viewers, with a prime-time audience of 10 million. MSNBC drew 6 million viewers, marking the first time since the network’s founding in the 1990s that election night viewership topped CNN, which had 5.1 million viewers, The Times reported. MSNBC has seen a steady decline in viewership since the election. Despite incessant criticism of Trump in the run-up to the election – including suggestions that he is a fascist – and comments favorable to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, “Morning Joe” hosts Mika Brzezinksi and Joe Scarborough announced last Monday that they are with Trump met at Mar-a-Lago shortly after the election, sparking a backlash on social media followed by a decline in viewership. The show had 770,000 viewers that day, compared with an annual average of 1.09 million, but saw 680,000 viewers the following day and 647,000 two days later, according to The Associated Press. Brzezinski told the audience it was “time to do something different” by “talking not just about Donald Trump but with him,” addressing critics directly and asking, “Why shouldn’t we meet with him?” “

?” Trump, who has referred to the hosts as “Psycho Joe” and “Crazy Mika” in the past, called the meeting “very positive” and said they “agreed to talk in the future.”

Further reading

At the intersection of news and opinion, “Morning Joe” hosts grapple with the fallout from the Trump meeting (Associated Press)

Viewers Flee MSNBC After Election, Flock to Fox News (The New York Times)

Donald Trump and the “Morning Joe” hosts talk again (The Washington Post)