Rachel Maddow’s extended break continues to hurt MSNBC as fill-in Alex Wagner sheds 21% of pre-hiatus viewers

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Media top headlines February 21

In media news today, PolitiFact gets ripped for a fact-check comparing the Super Bowl to schools in masking debate, The Atlantic argues mask mandates 'don't need to make sense,' and Brian Stelter addresses past communications between Allison Gollust and Governor Cuomo.

Rachel Maddow’s extended hiatus is haunting MSNBC as replacement hosts have failed to keep her audience. 

MSNBC has continued to brand its 9 p.m. hour as "The Rachel Maddow Show," but with a series of rotating hosts, instead of Maddow herself, following the network’s biggest star stepping away from the network until April to work on other projects. 

Alex Wagner replaced Maddow last week, averaging 1.6 million viewers from Feb. 14-17 for a 21% drop compared to the two million viewers "The Rachel Maddow Show" averaged in 2022 with its namesake host at the helm. (MSNBC screenshot)

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Progressive journalist Alex Wagner replaced Maddow last week, averaging 1.6 million viewers from Feb. 14-17 for a 21% drop compared to the two million viewers "The Rachel Maddow Show" averaged in 2022 with its namesake host at the helm. 

Wagner’s stint hosting MSNBC’s 9 p.m. show from Feb. 14-17 also shed 61% of the 4.1 million that Maddow averaged during the same week of 2021 when viewers were glued to the first days of the Biden administration. 

Wagner failed to attract the typical audience that Maddow pulls in, but the show did manage to gain 3% in viewership compared to Ali Velshi turn filling in from Feb. 7-11.

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Wagner also struggled to maintain Maddow’s audience among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, averaging 191,000 for an 18% drop compared to the show prior to pre-hiatus episodes in 2022, and a staggering 74% decline compared to the same week last year. 

Wagner hosted "Now With Alex Wagner" on MSNBC from 2011 to 2015, when it was canceled. She left the network the following year.

Rachel Maddow will be off MSNBC for several weeks, taking a hiatus to work on other projects at least until sometime in April.

Maddow announced that she would be off MSNBC for several weeks and hinted that other extended absences could be in her future. Over the last year, it has been repeatedly reported that she’s looking to scale back her daily program because of professional burnout.

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"We’re just taking it one step at a time," Maddow told viewers when announcing the current hiatus. 

Industry insiders have been quick to point out that MSNBC has a shallow bench in recent weeks. In addition to Maddow, the liberal network lost 11 p.m. ET host Brian Williams late last year. Instead of promoting someone from the bench or hiring a new anchor, the network will fill William’s timeslot with late morning host Stephanie Ruhle beginning in March and expand "Morning Joe" to fill the void left by her.