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Chris Matthews promises more Bill Maher on MSNBC

By April MacIntyre Aug 3, 2011, 3:49 GMT

05/17/2011 - Bill Maher and Chris Matthews - "Hardball" Interview with Bill Maher at Exposition Park in Los Angeles on May 17, 2011 - Exposition Park - Los Angeles, CA, USA © Claudio Uema / PR Photos

At the Television Critics' Association summer press tour this morning, MSNBC presented Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, and on-air talent Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell and Chris Matthews.

According to Griffin, MSNBC is in "excellent" shape. Griffin says, "MSNBC, in 2011, the first six months, is up 27 percent in ad sales, and the reason we are is because our ratings and our success over the last six months has been impressive. Take the second quarter alone. 'Morning Joe' is up 41 percent year over year. 'Dayside,' 9:00 to 5:00 p.m., is up 39 percent. Our primetime, 7:00 p to 2:00 a, East Coast to West Coast, is up 14 percent."

Griffin also noted Rachel Maddow's numbers as "up 23 percent in the second quarter" and Lawrence taking over the #1-highest-rated program hour on their schedule.

He then brought up FOX news. "But I want to talk about Fox News Channel, and the reason I want to talk about Fox News is, two weeks ago, Ed Schultz at 10:00 at #1, beating Greta and Anderson. That same week, Chris Matthews was #1 at 5:00 p.m., beating CNN and Fox. In fact, in the last couple of months, we’ve beaten Fox 13 times to be #1. To give some sort of comparison, you’d have to look at 2010. We did it once. We’ve done it at 12 noon, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 with Dylan, at 3:00 with Martin Bashir. Rachel has done it three times. It just gives you an indication where we are going. For the first time, we are beginning to chip away at Fox News Channel."

Monsters and Critics was able to get a question in during the robust panel Q&A to Chris Matthews, a frequent guest on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."

Monsters and Critics: You were here recently and had a personal appearance with Bill Maher, and I notice that you are on his show frequently...

Chris Matthews: Yeah. I love Bill Maher.

M&C: He’s a lover of politics like you.

Chris Matthews: Yeah. He’s a smart guy.

M&C: Will you be incorporating him more in your show as the political arena heats up?

Chris Matthews: Anytime I can get him on. I’ve just got to tell you, in our business, which is to get the largest audience that I who had him on recently?

Yeah. [speaking to Lawrence O’Donnell] And you did well. I watched that. And I think he always helps build our audience. He broadens in many ways, because of his incredible success on Friday night, he broadens, I think, every one of our audiences. He’s a real premium when you get him on, and I like doing his show is kind of weird because you’re mainly an audience to him because he has the material. You walk in, and you face the material, and it’s always incredibly first rate. So you laugh a lot. That was my job. I laugh a lot when Bill Maher tells jokes. So that’s fine, you know. But I have a book coming out, and he’s promised to put me on in November.