MSNBC's audience fell by almost a quarter in 2013, part of the larger trend that saw cable news ratings as a whole decline by 11%, bringing their total audiences to the smallest levels since 2007. A report on cable TV viewership by the Pew Research Journalism Project showed that Fox News, also seeing a decline in ratings, still outdrew the combined audiences for CNN and MSNBC.

The Washington Post's Erik Wemple Blog noted that MSNBC's daytime decline actually stands in contrast to the daytime performances of the other two cable news outlets:

MSNBC’s bad numbers in daytime are particularly noteworthy when considering that Fox News improved in this category (2 percent) as did CNN (12 percent). The three networks, according to Pew, are dividing up a total daytime audience of about 2 million viewers. 

The news may be considered an indictment of MSNBC's consistent editorial slant, reportedly driven in large part by primetime host Rachel Maddow.