MSNBC Beats CNN in Mornings and Evenings amongst Total Viewers for April

MSNBC once again beat CNN in the morning and evening among total viewers and A25-54, according to data from Nielsen Media Research.

While MSNBC continued its long run of ratings success, CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” had its worst month since launch in both total viewers and the A25-54 demographic. In primetime, MSNBC topped CNN by a stunning 48 % in total viewers and 36% in A25-54. For the month, MSNBC beat CNN from 6-9 a.m. ET and every hour from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. ET.

Following are MSNBC ratings highlights for April:

"Morning Joe" is the No. 2 cable morning news program (455,000 vs. CNN’s 308,000 total viewers), up 16% from April 2010. “Morning Joe” also beat CNN’s “American Morning” among A25-54 (136,000 vs. 131,000) and was up +18% in the demo from April 2010.

“Hardball with Chris Matthews” at 7 p.m. also beat CNN’s “John King USA” in total viewers (645,000 vs. 523,000) and among A25-54 (186,000 vs. 172,000).

At 8 p.m., MSNBC topped CNN for the 38th consecutive month. “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” topped CNN’s “In the Arena” in total viewers (958,000 vs. 515,000) and A25-54 (258,000 vs. 157,000) for the month.

"The Rachel Maddow Show" marked the 15th consecutive monthly win over CNN. In total viewers, Maddow beat CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” by a huge 66% (1.039 million vs. 625,000). Among viewers 25-54, Maddow’s advantage over CNN was 65% (310,000 vs. 188,000). April was Piers’ worst month since launch in both total viewers and A25-54.

“The Ed Show” beat CNN’s Anderson Cooper at 10 p.m. in both total viewers (868,000 vs. 706,000) and A25-54 (257,000 vs. 243,000). “Ed” is up 25% over April 2010 in total viewers and 18% in A25-54.

In the early evening, MSNBC also topped CNN: At 5 p.m., “Hardball with Chris Matthews” beat CNN’s “The Situation Room” among total viewers (683,000 vs. 630,000).

At 6 p.m., “MSNBC Live” hosted by Cenk Uygur topped CNN’s “Situation Room” among total viewers (588,000 vs. 570,000).

MSNBC is #1 among African American and Hispanic viewers among cable news channels in M-Su Primetime. April marks the 15th consecutive month MSNBC has been the #1 network among African Americans in primetime.

In weekend sales prime (7p-2a), MSNBC’s longform programming ranked No. 1 and beat CNN and Fox New Channel among A25-54.