Alec Baldwin debut sends viewership up at MSNBC, but demo slips

Alec Baldwin is hosting again, and it’s nothing like his gigs on “Saturday Night Live.”

The former “30 Rock” star debuted his new MSNBC talk show Friday night with a lengthy, serious interview of Bill de Blasio, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, and it drew an average of about 654,000 viewers.

PHOTOS: Cable versus broadcast ratings

That’s an improvement of 53% compared with MSNBC’s Friday night telecast in the hour-long 10 p.m. time slot a week ago — an episode of “MSNBC Investigates.” However, Baldwin’s show, “Up Late With Alec Baldwin,” brought in 172,000 viewers in the coveted adults 25-to-54 demographic, which was down 7% from the previous Friday.

Baldwin’s audience was small compared with Sean Hannity on Fox News, who drew 1.46 million viewers Friday night.

MSNBC announced last month that Baldwin would be hosting the weekly program on the cable news channel. It’s not his first turn in an MSNBC hosting chair. Last year, Baldwin subbed in on a telecast of “Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell.”

ALSO:

Red Sox vs. Dodgers would be dream series for Fox

‘Gravity’ No. 1 again; ‘Captain Phillips’ sails to 2nd place

Cablevision blasts broadcasters’ Supreme Court filing against Aereo

Follow on Twitter: @rfaughnder

[email protected]