If a tree falls in the climate crisis-plagued forest and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?
MSNBC’s heavily promoted “All In With Chris Hayes: Climate in Crisis” failed to attract viewers on Thursday, finishing behind even a slumping CNN in the key demographic.
Hayes hosted the special episode of his show from MSNBC’s “Climate Change Presidential Forum” at Georgetown University in Washington – a two-day event streamed on NBC News’ digital channel that featured 2020 Democratic candidates discussing climate issues.
The primetime special featured highlights of the forum plus segments on the fossil fuel industry “misleading the world,” an interview with former Vice President Al Gore, and a criticism of President Trump for “working every possible angle” to make climate change “worse.”
MSNBC averaged 1.3 million viewers during Hayes’ special, compared to Fox News’ 2.8 million during the same time period. CNN finished in third place, averaging 1 million viewers. But MSNBC finished dead last among the key news demographic of adults age 25-54, according to early Nielsen Media Research.
“All In With Chris Hayes: Climate in Crisis” averaged only 169,000 demo viewers, compared to Fox News’ 418,000 and CNN’s 228,000. The event was down 27 percent among viewers and down 37 percent among the demo compared MSNBC’s typical Thursday night programming from 8-9 p.m. ET in 2019.
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During the month of August, Fox News topped all of basic cable during the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m. ET, averaging 2.4 million viewers while second-place MSNBC finished with 1.5 million. Despite finishing second, MSNBC has its lowest-rated primetime since President Trump took office.