Maddow, other MSNBC hosts see ratings drop, Fox up

NEW YORK

Rachel Maddow isn’t backing away from her coverage of President Donald Trump and any connection to Russia’s involvement in trying to influence the 2016 presidential campaign. The question is how much her fans want to listen.

Maddow’s audience dipped on her two days back on the air after Attorney General William Barr reported that special counsel Robert Mueller had found no collusion between Trump and Russia’s efforts. Meanwhile, her head-to-head competitor on Fox News Channel, Sean Hannity, saw his audience soar Monday to 4 million viewers, a 32 percent increase from his average. It slipped to 3.57 million Tuesday.

Hannity and Maddow have run neck-and-neck atop the cable news ratings this year, with Maddow having the slight edge.

Fox’s Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham also saw their audiences top their averages both days, while other prime-time hosts on MSNBC and CNN saw their audiences plunge.

Staff/wire reports