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As Liberal Radio Host Nabs MSNBC Show, Advertisers Eye Cable Nets’ Poltical Bent

Rachel Maddow, a political commentator on Air America Radio, has been given her own prime time show on MSNBC. The show will launch Sept. 8, and will air following Keith Olbermann‘s Countdown. With the heightened interest in the presidential election and resulting ratings boost the cable news nets are enjoying, advertisers are keeping a close watch on Fox, CNN and MSNBC - and the political leanings of each.

At least for now, advertisers say the partisanship of the programming is less important than the ratings the shows generate, writes The New York Times.

MSNBC is in third place behind first-place Fox News Channel and runner-up CNN, but the network has been on the rise recently, gaining significant numbers of viewers, particularly in the younger demos.

Olbermann’s program, with its liberal leaning and anti-Bush administration stance, has helped the network emerge as an answer to conservative Fox, and has steadily gained viewers. The show’s ratings have nearly doubled since August 2006, since the host began his pointed Bush criticisms. Though the show, with one million viewers, is still well below Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox (which pulls 2.25 million), it is still far ahead of what MSNBC previously generated during the time slot.

The Rachel Maddow Show will look at politics, pop culture and the day’s top stories, according to MSNBC (via Canadian Press). Maddow will continue her show on the liberal-focused Air America.

Fox News earned an estimated $460 million in advertising last year. CNN’s Headline News pulled $434 million, while MSNBC netted $137 million.