December 3, 2025
Reclaims Position of #1 News Network on YouTube, More Than 7.4 Billion Combined Views on YouTube and TikTok in 2025
(New York – Dec. 3, 2025) – In a month defined by a historic off-year election and the resulting ripple effects felt across the country, along with the Jeffrey Epstein hearings dominating headlines, the newly re-named MS NOW had its most-watched month in a year and delivered double-digit month-over-month growth across all key dayparts.
Following the MS NOW rebrand, the network averaged 620,000 total-day viewers, up 23% from the prior month average, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel ratings. Among Adults 25-54 (58,000), viewership increased by 25%. In weekday primetime, MS NOW averaged 1.25 million viewers, up 25% from the prior month, and 112,000 A25-54 viewers, up 24%.
Year to date, MS NOW remains the #1 cable network in the influential Washington, D.C. market and continues to command one of the most engaged audiences in all of television. In a typical week, the average MS NOW viewer watches the network for eight hours, nearly doubling the weekly CNN viewer average. Additionally, the network is the most-watched cable news network among Black viewers and a top-five cable network among Hispanic and Asian American viewers.
MS NOW Tops Fox News and CNN on Election Night 2025
As election returns rolled in, races were called, and winning candidates took the stage for victory speeches, Americans flocked to MS NOW for special coverage and analysis. On Election Night (Tuesday, Nov. 4) from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., 2.8 million total viewers turned to the network. MS NOW topped Fox News in total viewers and the A25-54 demo (2.5 million and 386,000, respectively) and beat CNN (1.8 million) by one million viewers. It was MS NOW’s first time topping Fox News on any Election Night in 25 years.
MS NOW viewership peaked at 3.3 million total viewers during the 9:30 to 9:45 p.m. quarter hour, when the New York City mayoral race was called. Plus, MS NOW was #1 across all of cable in both total viewers and the demo during Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s speech in the 11 p.m. hour. The speech capped off MS NOW’s most-watched off-year election in network history.
In Primetime, “The Rachel Maddow Show” Wins Its Time Slot Among A25-54; “The Briefing with Jen Psaki” and “The Weeknight” Draw Largest Audiences Since Launch
In November, excluding Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the MS NOW weekday primetime lineup delivered double-digit viewership growth among total viewers (1.25 million, up 24% versus the prior month) and Adults 25-54 (118,000, up 31%). MS NOW drew its largest primetime audience since April among both demos.
“The Rachel Maddow Show” (Monday, 9 p.m.) was #1 in cable news in its time slot among A25-54, averaging 1.82 million viewers and beating Fox News’s “Hannity” for the first time since December 2023. The program continued to outperform its CNN timeslot competition among both demos for the 10th straight month. “Maddow” averaged nearly four times as many viewers as “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” (497,000) on Mondays at 9 p.m.
MS NOW’s newest evening shows hit ratings highs in November. “The Briefing with Jen Psaki” (Tuesday through Friday, 9 p.m.) delivered its largest total audience since its May launch (1.1 million viewers). Plus, “The Weeknight” (Monday through Friday, 7 p.m.) had its most-watched month to date, averaging more than one million total viewers in November.
In addition to winning total viewers, “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” (Monday through Friday, 10 p.m.) beat its CNN competition among A25-54 (104,000 vs. 100,000). “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle” (Monday through Friday, 11 p.m.) also outperformed its CNN counterpart in the demo, 73,000 vs. 66,000.
“Morning Joe” Continues to Dominate in the Mornings, More Than Doubles CNN in Total Viewers; “Way Too Early” Brings In Across-the-Board Wins Over CNN
In November, MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” (Monday through Friday, 6 to 10 a.m.) averaged 725,000 total viewers – more than doubling CNN – and 68,000 demo viewers, up 27% and 36% from October, respectively. Year to date, “Morning Joe” remains the most-watched cable news morning program in the influential Washington D.C. market. Additionally, “Way Too Early with Ali Vitali” (Monday through Friday, 5 a.m.) beat CNN in November in both total viewers and Adults 25-54.
“MS NOW Reports” Brings in More Viewers Than CNN in November
In November, “MS NOW Reports” (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) had double-digit viewership growth among both demos. Among total viewers, it was the most-watched month in more than a year for “MS NOW Reports.” Excluding the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, “MS NOW Reports” averaged 637,000 total viewers and 53,000 A25-54 in November.
MS NOW Weekend Programming Tops CNN in Total Viewers, Delivers Month-Over-Month Growth
MS NOW weekend programming (Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.) posted month-over-month growth in November among total viewers (+9%) and A25-54 (+9%). Excluding the holiday weekend, MS NOW’s weekend lineup attracted more total viewers than CNN’s for the second consecutive month (439,000 vs. 418,000).
#1 News Network on YouTube in November; More Viewers Year to Date Than All Broadcast News Networks Combined; 7.4 Billion Combined Views on TikTok and YouTube Year to Date
In November, MS NOW reclaimed the title of #1 news network on YouTube (338 million), handily beating Fox News (294 million). Year to date, MS NOW has more YouTube views (3.5 billion) than ABC News (1.4 billion), CBS News (660 million), and NBC News (1.4 billion) combined. MS NOW continues to lead the pack as one of the most influential news organizations on non-linear platforms, with 7.4 billion combined views on YouTube and TikTok this year to date (and 559 million in November), up 26% year over year.
Top performing YouTube videos in November include Lawrence O’Donnell’s take on President Trump’s reaction to a man fainting in the Oval Office, Jackie Alemany’s exclusive interview with Jack Schlossberg as he announced his congressional run, Jen Psaki on a new report exposing alleged corruption in Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security, Lawrence O’Donnell on efforts to release the Epstein files, and Stephanie Ruhle on Trump’s $2K tariff check proposal.
Top performing MS NOW TikTok videos in November include “MS NOW Reports” coverage of the release of Epstein emails by House Dems, “The Weeknight’s” coverage of Trump endorsing Cuomo for NYC mayor, Alex Tabet’s reporting on children in fear of ICE in North Carolina, Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City mayoral race, and former President Obama surpising veterans arriving on an Honor Flight to D.C.
Since the launch of ms.now timed to the organization-wide rebrand, the site has maintained daily page views levels and continues to be the go-to site for politics, with consumers continuing to spend more time on ms.now than any other political news site. On digital platforms, MS NOW continues to rank #1 in the competitive set for total minutes, averaging 25 minutes per user, and also ranking ahead of news brands’ digital properties such as NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, according to Comscore.
Continuing its status as the destination for think pieces and op-eds from a roster of opinion writers and outside contributors, ms.now has also become a digital hub for original, investigative and enterprise reporting. In November, top-performing pieces this month have included ms.now’s 2025 Election Day live blog; Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian’s exclusive reporting that Trump is weighing removing Kash Patel as FBI director; Lawrence O’Donnell on a photo of President Trump in the Oval Office as a man nearby fainted; and Hayes Brown on President Trump’s stamina at age 78.
Year to date, MS NOW podcasts have been downloaded more than 123 million times. In November, MS NOW launched “Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order,” the fifth original podcast and first under the “MS NOW” brand in Maddow’s expanding multiplatform portfolio. The six-part series already ranks as the #1 new show on the Apple Podcasts chart. In “Burn Order,” Maddow exposes the extraordinary chain of events behind the U.S. government’s decision at the outset of World War II to incarcerate tens of thousands of immigrants and U.S. citizens solely on the basis of their race. The series shines a light on the government officials who fueled the policy with lies and racial stereotypes, as well as the desperate internal fight to try to stop the plan before it could go into effect.
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TV Source: Nielsen, Big Data + Panel, Live+SD, Persons 2+ and Adults 25-54. Total Day = M-Su 6 a.m. to 6 a.m., Primetime = M-F 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. November 2025: 10/27/25-11/26/25 (excluding Thanksgiving holiday weekend, 11/27-11/30). 2025 to date: 12/30/24-11/26/25. Since MS NOW rebrand: 11/15/25-11/26/25. Election Night 2025: Tuesday 11/4/25, 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Time period wins based on regularly-scheduled cable news programming. Engagement: Nielsen, NPower, Reach & Frequency, M-Su 6 a.m.-6 a.m., 6-min viewing qualifier, 12/30/24-11/30/25, Avg. Weekly Hours Viewed. Local Points: Nielsen, NPower, Panel Only, Ratings Analysis Time Period Report, LPM = Washington, D.C., 2025 to date (12/30/24-11/30/25), P2+, M-F 6 a.m, to 10 a.m., M-Su 6 a.m. to 6 a.m.
Source: Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (U.S.) Desktop Persons 2+ and Mobile Persons 13+, Total Digital Population, April 2021 – October 2025. Rankings based on Comscore News/Information – Politics category. Total minutes.
Source: Comparisons to NPR , WSJ, and Washington Post via Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (U.S.) Desktop Persons 2+ and Mobile Persons 13+, October 2025. Total minutes.
Digital Source: YouTube data based on ListenFirst, January 1 – November 30, 2025. YouTube video views. Competitor data from ListenFirst. TikTok data based on ListenFirst, January 1 – November 30, 2025. TikTok video views. Year-over-year comparisons from ListenFirst compared to January 1 – November 30, 2024. MS NOW in November 2025: 589 million combined video views on YouTube/TikTok.
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