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

[valleygent]

I watch and like Keith...he gave her the break and deserves much credit...Rachel is a winner! What a team.

[TheStudentPundit]

Go Rachel! Now all she has to do is take out Greta to be #1 at that timeslot. Best of luck, I'll do my part everynight by watching!
http://thestudentpundit.blogspot.com/

[Einstein44]

I knew she would be a winner from the start..Rachel is fabulous and very entertaining to listen as well as to watch.

[Jahmekyah]

Note that Olbermann actually mentioned Ms. Maddows successful night, and was almost giddy about it at the end of his show and the beginning of hers tonight.

[huffyISaHottie]

did'nt joe just about quit the david gregory show over his cry baby spat with racheal?

[lizr]

So happy for Rachel and for all of us. Smart of NBC to recognize her talent!

[Adrienne Williams - Huffpost Blogger]

I love keith and Rachel!!! Keith is so happy, he was giving her "way to go" today! It's like his mentor baby!

[NewRiver]

Yea, guess we'll see how "gracious" he is if she keeps beating him. Otherwise, watch out for a "special rant" and Rachel better have someone test her coffee and anything else she eats/drinks in the office going forward.

[simkmer]

Love Rachel. So pleasant to listen to. I like Keith energy as well. Two of best on MSNBS. I also like special quest. Harold (?) Ford. Morning Joe team needs to take a hike. Liars. Joe is the most obnoxious red neck, Mika is getting harder and harder to stomach, Willie can lie with the best of them. And Pat is so bad he is off the charts. Morning Joe is a good show to start your day off badly. But once you build a resistance to them, you can laugh at them.

[howdydostu]

I agree,with you on all points except Harold Ford....any man who espouses the kind pf politics that beat him isn't worth my time...for a young man he is WAY old school and when I see him on ANY program I do to him what I do to Nancy Grace or Glen Beck...I surf right past him.
Stuart b& Robert Wyman-Cahall
Las Vegas, NV 89142

[Muffy7]

I agree about Morning Joe, it definitely needs some changes. I used to like Mika, now I think she is just a big phony, that is whenever loud mouth Joe lets her say a couple of words.
He is obnoxious, interrupts all the time, arrogant. I can't stand him especially since I read what happened to his Florida aide just before he quit Congress. I wonder why? Another Jeb Bush cover up.
Pat needs to leave TV period he is a creepy old man.

[rowzeer]

Mika asked Masha Washburn what McCain has done during his time in the senate to reign in Wall Street and Marsha responded with John McCain says this about corruption and John McCain says that about greed...Mika asked what McCain "did" not what he says, but Mika never called her on it.

[RobertaWa]

I really like her show. I still cannot watch Keith. He is unwatchable to me.

They should switch time slots.

Way to go Rachel!

[Prism]

I can longer longer stomach the sensationalist Olbermann with his hyperbolic theatricalized "outrage". He rants in a narcissistic vaccuum, allowing no dissent of opinion on his tabloid show. Maddow proves you can spew a progressive line without the cringe factor and has the cajones to engage people of opposing philosophies without ad hominem attacks and vicious distortion. I suspect Keith represents the "old partisan journalism" a la FOX and Co. And Rachel? The coherent, civilized NEW partisanship journalism that , while unflinching in debate, is willing and able to engage the other side with an open mind and a measure of much needed civility.
Keith should go the way of all old political "hardball" and realize that the message of "change" applies to HIM too! Can the ego-maniacal bully and give the smart chick a raise!

[howdydostu]

K.O. was the FIRST commentator in years to give voice to the concerns of progressives in an era of cow-towing to the ultra right wing. While people like Chris Matthews gave America its "mission accomplished" moments without really questioning what was truly going on, K.O. came on the scene to ask the questions that nobody else would touch....mostly he asked these questions of US!. And, through Keith , we started to ask questions of our government. And of the pundits (FOX, esepecially) who were resposible for giving us 8 years of miserable government were finally exposed.
We look foward to Rachel Maddow, and we will always be greatful for Keith Olbermann for being the first to show us what was really going on in Washington!
Stuart & Robert Wyman-Cahall
Las Vegas, NV 89142

[bigfated]

howdydostu: It is as though you read my mind and spoke for me! When K.O. began to rip away the lies and expose these phony neo-cons----while others were still sucking up their line of crap-----it reminded this old man----for a moment or two---of Edward R. Murrow. In fact, I recall asking my cat---(we discuiss politics)---when will some of these talking heads finally begin to speak truth to power. I believe Olbermann started that most welcome trend.
There still may be hope! OBAMA 08

[Jahmekyah]

While you are free to your opinions, some of which are slightly true, do know that without Keith Olbermann, The Rachel Maddow show doesn't exist. Except on radio

[Prism]

Frankly, without O'Reilly there is no FOX-nurtured Olbermann either.

[MandieD]

It amuses me that your writing style is remarkably similar to Olbermann's.

[Prism]

In his dreams, pal.

[jeanrenoir]

Great! I hope Tina Fey and Rachel "single"handedly strangle the Palin snake in its cradle for feminism. Palin the naif from above the Arctic Circle didn't know the hellish fury she was bound to face from genuine feminists, who will be the ones to drive a stake through her heart. Hillary bailed on this task, of course, since she's still busy triangulating her final fantasy that she can help defeat Obama this year and crush Palin herself in '12. Glad the real feminists stepped up to the plate to save all those poor, uninsured white working women with breast cancer who followed Hillary everywhere she went, like groupies, now that Hillary herself is so eager to sacrifice them for four more years, just to guarantee, she thinks, one more shot at the big prize for the only one in the party who "deserves" it.

[TroubleNYC]

I think Joe S. is afraid of losing his job.

[editorjuno]

...and he loves socking it to Olbermann -- they mutually despise each other.

[simkmer]

I would be thrilled not to see Joe.

[MandieD]

I'll give Joe some credit -- he's rather amusing when he's on The Daily Show.

[Clayton139]

I just want to say that the MSNBC and CNBC has a PLUS to there shows and that is (John Harwood) he is the BEST thing to happen to all of there shows...! (Thank you John Harwood)....!

[SirHenryClinton]

Both Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann are two of the best political analysts on television. They miss very little and I greatly enjoy both of their shows. However, I just hope that Rachel realizes that Pat "loose cannon" is so totally McLaughlin Group; lose him!

Incidentally, looking at the ratings revealed something else of interest. When Glenn Beck's show premiered on CNN, I sent them an email saying only "Glenn Beck is an idiot". I stopped watching CNN and noticed that they have become "Fox-lite". Now I see that Beck's show is one of the lowest rated. Ratings are to networks as heroin is to addicts. Looks like it will be bye bye Glenn Beck, back to talk radio for you.

CNN filters out comments to their web site that are critical of their "journalist". They just don't seem to understand this Internet thing. They feel threatened because it permits us to have an opinion that they can't control.

P.S. What's the difference between George Bush and Sarah Palin? ... Lipstick

[micnuge]

I think Keith and Rachel are terrific!

[MandieD]

Don't make me picture Dubya in lipstick ... please ...

[MandieD]

I think you're right about the CNN comments filter. I spent a few minutes good-naturedly mocking Anderson Cooper fangirls and none of my comments showed up! :(

[biglover]

Quote from Jeff Zucker of NBC

The focus drifted away from M&A, offering a chance to ask Zucker if he thought the increasing identification of MSNBC with liberal politics was a good thing for the network's business prospects. "I have a couple thoughts on this:

Fifteen months ago, you wouldn't even have asked me about MSNBC. So I think we've made great progress. That's one. Two, at the end of the day we're talking about business here. MSNBC in the last 12 months has been the fastest growing cable channel in all of television, news or entertainment. It has struck a chord with the audience. Its programming has clearly worked.

A lot of the basis of your question really emanates from the tremendous emergence of Olbermann's program at 8 o'clock. I'm incredibly comfortable with that program. The network seeks and does an incredibly good job of seeking other points of view, but obviously Keith plays a major role in the voice, certainly in that hour and on the network. I think it's been good for that network, Keith's emergence has been good for the network. Justt like a newspaper that has an editorial page that often has a different point of view, that is the role that Keith and others now play on MSNBC, which for most of its day is the rest of the front section of the newspaper, and then brings an editorial point of view from its editorial point of view at 8 o'clock at night.

[ssgman]

That's too funny. So he Admits Olbermann has a "different" point of view. He's OK with it because MSNBC is making money, but he flat out admits he's a repub and Olbermann is a *different* point of view. Yup Yup, there's that liberal media.

[MandieD]

I recall Olbermann saying the same thing to Bill Moyers. He gets away with a lot because he makes them money.

And that reminds me of something Jon Stewart said: media organisations aren't red or blue -- they're green. S'all about the benjamins.

[Clayton139]

I agree that MSNBC has a GREAT lineup of show’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, is to the point, he makes people accountable, David Gregory who seems neutral, gets information, Countdown with Keith Olberman gives facts, opinion’s and shows where he gets them from for us to decide for ourselves, and The softer Rachel Maddow Show is very smart. There all GREAT and I think (John Harwood) CNBC is a BIG plus to all of them…!
I like Chuck Todd, Michelle Bernard, Joan Walsh, Michael Smerconish, Lawrence O’Donnell, Mike Barnacle, Howard Fineman, , Harold Ford JR., Chris Kofinis, and more (All are Smart)!