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July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15) – February 25, 2003 (2003-02-25)
In 2002, Phil Donahue returned to television to host a talk show called Donahue on MSNBC.
Cancellation
Its debut Nielsen ratings were strong, but its audience evaporated over the following months. In late August 2002, it received one of the lowest possible ratings (0.1), less than MSNBC's average for the day of 0.2. On February 25, 2003, MSNBC cancelled the show, citing low viewership. However, that month, Donahue averaged 446,000 viewers and became the highest rated show on the network.[1][2] Other MSNBC shows, including Hardball with Chris Matthews and Scarborough Country, averaged lower ratings in 2005.[3]
Soon after the show's cancellation, an internal MSNBC memo was leaked to the press stating that Donahue should be fired because he opposed the imminent U.S. invasion of Iraq and that he
"represents a difficult public face for NBC in a time of war. He seems to delight in presenting guests who are antiwar, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration’s motives".[4][5][6] Donahue commented in 2007 that the management of MSNBC, owned at the time by General Electric, a major defense contractor, required that "we have two conservative (guests) for every liberal. I was counted as two liberals."[7][8]
Keith Olbermann, who joined the network after the show's cancellation, told TV Guide in 2007 that the cancellation had as much to do with the show's production cost as it did with political orientation.[9] An NBC News executive said that the show was very expensive to produce, because it involved a studio audience.[10]
Legacy
In September 2002, Oprah Winfrey praised Donahue saying "the bottom line is we need you, Phil, because we need to be challenged by the voice of dissent".[11]
