For one thing, prime-time hosts don’t necessarily have to be the omnipresent cultural figures they once were — and salaries can be adjusted downward accordingly. And the evening does not necessarily have to be reserved for reviewing the day’s news. Producers can experiment with documentaries and other nonfiction programming that may draw bigger audiences.
Typically, prime-time viewers tune in by appointment, expecting to see a familiar face discuss the news of the day. But CNN said last month that it would fill its empty 9 p.m. slot with a mélange of one-off specials and occasional cameos by unorthodox hosts like the former basketball star Charles Barkley.
The network’s new president, Chris Licht, has presented this strategy as bringing “fresh and unique perspectives to the news,” but it’s also a recognition that the appetite for current events in the evenings has waned.
CNN’s 9 p.m. audiences fell after Chris Cuomo, once the network’s highest-rated anchor, was fired in 2021. Last fall, Mr. Licht tried reviving the 9 p.m. slot by temporarily moving Mr. Tapper from 4 p.m. After just six weeks, and dismal ratings, Mr. Tapper returned to the afternoons, where his show, “The Lead,” now regularly attracts more viewers than CNN’s evening programs.
At MSNBC, the long-running 9 p.m. program “The Rachel Maddow Show” was so popular in the Trump years that it briefly lifted MSNBC’s prime-time viewership above that of Fox News — the cable news ratings king — in the key 25-to-54 age demographic.
But MSNBC agreed last year that Ms. Maddow could reduce her hosting duties to just once a week, on Mondays. Her replacement from Tuesday to Friday, the political analyst Alex Wagner, has struggled to build an audience. Her ratings in 2023 are tracking about 30 percent lower than what Ms. Maddow drew in the first quarter of last year.
Ratings in January may have been affected by the breaking stories that played out during daytime hours, including the battle for the House speakership, the Alex Murdaugh murder trial and the drama over a Chinese spy balloon. Still, in February, Mr. Melber and Mr. Tapper remained virtually tied for the top-rated shows on their networks, a sign of staying power.
