Rachel Maddow Ratings: Beats Olbermann's "Countdown" To Be MSNBC's Top Show

The student has surpassed the master, at least for one night.

"The Rachel Maddow Show" was MSNBC's top-rated broadcast Tuesday night, unseating Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" as the network's top show.

Maddow drew 1.8 million total viewers compared to Olbermann's 1.6 million. Maddow also outdrew Olbermann in the advertiser-friendly 25-54 demographic, taking 25,000 more young adults than her lead-in "Countdown."

Full ratings numbers below (via TV By The Numbers):

8PM - P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
The O'Reilly Factor- 3,060,000 viewers (731,000) (1,253,000)
Election Center-1,166,000 viewers (431,000) (576,000)
Countdown w/Keith Olbermann- 1,635,000 viewers (509,000) (771,000)
On the Money--207,000 viewers (65,000) (106,000)
Nancy Grace -1,166,000 viewers (412,000) (618,000)

9 PM - P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
Hannity & Colmes-3,136,000 viewers (716,000) (1,375,000)
Larry King--1,710,000 viewers (496,000) (801,000)
Rachel Maddow Show-1,801,000 viewers (534,000) (872,000)
Business of Innovation--a scratch w/102,000 viewers (a scratch w/42,000) (59,000)
Glenn Beck- 656,000 viewers (211,000) (354,000)

10 PM P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
On the Record w/Greta--2,908,000 viewers (727,000) (1,367,000)
Anderson Cooper 360-1,828,000 viewers (647,000) (898,000)
Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann-1,127,000 viewers (412,000) (616,000)
Saving General Motors-187,000 viewers (93,000) (121,000)
Nancy Grace -717,000 viewers (373,000) (420,000)

Update: The hosts of Morning Joe congratulated Rachel Maddow on her ratings success Thursday morning. Joe Scarborough, who has sparred with Maddow in the past, had particularly kind words for her, saying:

TV folk are some of the craziest folk I know, as Krusty the Clown might say. But she is a good, good person. We probably don't agree on anything politically. But she's respectful of people, and it's great. File this under, one of those good people doing well."

Watch:

Comments

[ebanks84]

Yea, Rachel! Love your show and you are fabulous as usual. I see it's hard for you to get any of the LIARS to appear, hehehehehehe.....probably because they know you'll WIPE THE FLOOR with them, ROTFLMAO!

Especially that loud mouth skinny foutenwhoever for JM. I know you can lay her out for sure. Can't wait to see it happen.

[Reevreview]

I am very very happy for the success of Rachel's show. I adore her and I equally adore Olbermann.

They're both great and it is not necessary to disqualify any one of them to uplift the othe. If you like her you most like him, because I guess her show is a result of many appearances on Countdown and Keith Olbermann support.

[maxfax]

Joe's jealous.

Keith is a "kingmaker" who is relishing in Rachel's success!

[ebanks84]

Yeah, but at least he acted gentlemanly about it for a change:) - I'll give him two potatoe heads for the effort!

[ebanks84]

Oops....potato.....I meant!

[MarcInCA]

I'm so happy for Rachel. She really deserves the ratings and she is the best thing on MSNBC right now.

Olbermann's been grating on me recently. His show has become more about his personal vendettas than about reporting the news from a liberal perspective. Rachel Maddow, while unabashedly liberal, still attempts to present a NEWS program instead of a personal ranting program about the news. Oddly enough, Olbermann is becoming more and more like the man he despises the most, becoming the liberal version of a Bill O'Reilly.

[uclafan]

She's real, you know where she's coming from. You know she's left but not trying to hide it under a cloak of patriotism, or great americanism like Hannity or Limbaugh

[ebanks84]

She's a happy camper and makes me laugh.

[ckwebgrrl]

I have been following Rachel Maddow since the earliest days of Air America and I've always appreciated her intelligence and her passion for the truth. (In fact, Rachel, Lizz and Chuck D introduced me to Barack Obama in 2004!) I love listening to her and I can count on Rachel to follow up the stories that others won't.

Congrats to Rachel and her team for a great start to her show! I'm watching every night!

[proudloudlib]

Hey, HuffPo! How about a Rachel Maddow Big Page. I want a place to comment on it. She's the best thing on television.

[fisharefreinds]

She owes everything she has, and is, to Hillary Clinton.

[ApolloniaCreed]

not really...

[MarcInCA]

WTF? Umm...weirdest and most out-of-left-field comment I've ever seen at HuffPost I must say.

[GeorgeKaplan]

Please explain... this makes no sense. I have been listening to Rachel for quite a while and that is a crazy thing to say...

[fisharefreinds]

She beat up on Clinton non stop for the past year and a half. Just like everyone else, only she used her Rhodes knowledge to be particularly vicious--lies like: "she's a racist, she's a assasin, she is crazy and who cares about Clinton, she is supported by Murdouch(which was not true, Murdoch hates her)......"
It made her big with you Obamas, now she has her own show. Wow! It wasn't cause she's so smart, just another press monger sensationalist!

Anyway, now the country is in financial ruin and all she can do is go on and on about Palin firing some cop, who cares!

[BillCarson]

>She owes everything she has, and is, to Hillary Clinton.

Maybe she owes everything to brains...

Graduate of Stanford University in 1994.
Rhodes Scholarship in 1995
D.Phil. Oxford University.

[fisharefreinds]

I have tried to answer this, but Huff Post refuses to print the truth that I know about Maddow. I listened to her alot these past 2 years and she started to sound just like FOX News when it came to Obamas primary opponents. I can say no more. THis they will probably print because this is what Huff post is like.

[GeorgeKaplan]

I am not surprised by Rachel Maddow success at all. She's the smartest person on TV by far. She is very fair to both sides - even when the spilt is in the Democratic party.

And last but not least - she appears to have control of her emotions and she's not another angry white guy screaming into the camera or bullying her guests because she KNOWS the truth. She has a healthy sense of humor as well. Good luck Rachel.

[marymansour]

I like Rachel very much but somehow she doesn't have the weight behind her words as KO has. Maybe it's the new.

[galinha]

Keith and Rachel do a very good job.

[GeorgeP922]

I hope Keith bounces back and gets a 5 mill bonus.

Just to give the editor here more heartburn.

Danny, why is the section you are "editor" of the only one that takes any opportunity to bash Keith, and the only section that links to right wing publications like Fox News and NY Post (a fox news subsidiary).

[Lemmy]

YAWN. She had Krugman on tonight. That's like Goebbels having Himler as a guest - a real debate there!

[sedum]

Lemming,

It's not a debate show. It's and information/news show and your comparison shows exactly where your coming from. Kindergarten.

[VegetableMan]

lemming, yours was an incredibly stupid comment, and i wish you'd go away.

and hasn't mr. kilmister come after you for sullying his great name yet?

[estevancarlos]

Well, to a major extent this isn't about her hiding her liberal leanings. I would argue she approaches her political perspective in a way that probably isn't as off-putting as O'Reilly or Olbermann. It's also just great to see a woman earn her deserved position in a field with so many men. I think we all just agree that it's about time.

[truthtopower007]

Rachel is a national treasure.

[estevancarlos]

That and she's freakin adorable and I don't care if I come as sexist saying that. She's the kinda girl I want to ask out for ice cream.

[Djackson56]

Keith and Rachel have invigorated TV for me. I've always liked Keith but Rachael just makes everything better. I love her show.