Chris Hayes' Ratings Improve With New MSNBC Lineup

MSNBC's Experiment Is Working

Some good news for Chris Hayes: "All In" scored ratings highs in the first week of MSNBC's new primetime lineup, according to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday.

The network's primetime schedule changes, which began August 26, saw Ed Schultz at 5 p.m. and Chris Matthews moved to 7 p.m. The experiment paid off for Hayes' ratings: he drew an average of 772,000 total viewers and 224,000 in the key 25-54 demo.

THR reported that the ratings — with the exception of breaking news about the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15— were Hayes' best ever at 8 p.m. He has been in the timeslot for five months now. The numbers were a big jump from the week prior and August overall, when the host got an average of 475,000 in total viewers and 125,000 in the key demo.

"All In" also beat "Anderson Cooper 360," which drew 577,000 total viewers and 170,000 viewers ages 25-54, last week.

It remains to be seen whether the show will sustain last week's numbers. The news, however, comes as a welcome relief for Hayes and MSNBC, which has seen grim ratings this year. Hayes admitted in an interview published last week that his ratings have been "bad."

Meanwhile, MSNBC had a tough second quarter. The network showed improvement in August when it beat CNN in primetime, though CNN won in total day.

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