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MS Now connects ‘blue dots’ at Texas fan event: ‘I always feel hope when I watch them’
Jacob Soboroff takes a question from the audience at MS Now’s live fan event in Texas on 26 September 2026. Photograph: Amy Mikler Kenyon/Amy Mikler Kenon/MS NOW © Versant Media.View image in fullscreenJacob Soboroff takes a question from the audience at MS Now’s live fan event in Texas on 26 September 2026. Photograph: Amy Mikler Kenyon/Amy Mikler Kenon/MS NOW © Versant Media.MediaMS Now connects ‘blue dots’ at Texas fan event: ‘I always feel hope when I watch them’Network at receiving end of White House press ban recently chose red state to host fan event as part of broader outreach
In 2024, Donald Trump and JD Vance carried Tarrant county, Texas, by 42,125 votes. So why, on the afternoon of 26 September, was the arena at the University of Texas-Arlington filled with nearly 5,000 super fans cheering for liberal media darlings Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell like they were rock stars?
After two years of hosting the network’s annual fan event in dark blue New York City, MS Now (formerly MSNBC) got wind that something was happening in Texas. The state, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the US Senate in 37 years, might do so next month, when 37-year-old James Talarico, Texas state representative, goes up against the Republican nominee, Ken Paxton, a well-known but controversial figure who ousted incumbent John Cornyn in the party’s primary with Donald Trump’s backing.
“We wanted to be bigger and bolder. We wanted to go to a story that really matters (and this is one of the most important stories of the season), and we wanted to keep growing our live events business,” Marcus Mabry, senior vice-president of content strategy for MS Now, said in an interview. And, he noted, “everything is bigger in Texas”.
While MS Now has a relative monopoly on older liberal Americans who still watch linear television, the network sees potential outside of its traditional coastal strongholds – much like the national Democratic party. Several MS Now hosts hinted at that growth opportunity in their on-stage remarks throughout the day’s programming.
View image in fullscreenRachel Maddow hosts a discussion at MS Now’s annual live fan in Texas on 26 September 2026. Photograph: Amy Mikler Kenyon/Amy Mikler Kenon/MS NOW © Versant Media.“I will say, in the state of Texas, you might have a lot of neighbors that don’t vote like you, but it doesn’t mean they can’t tomorrow,” Stephanie Ruhle, an MS Now host, told the crowd. “I met so many people today whose eyes were filled with tears, and they said: ‘I’m the sole blue dot in Texas.’ How great that you are outstanding. How great that you are a special voice.”
Or, as Mabry put it: “I think right now the opportunity for any journalism in the country is to stop speaking red and blue, and to start speaking to people as individuals.”
In a holding room before his on-stage interview with Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia state representative, Chris Hayes, an MS Now host, said viewers seem to be more “locked into the news” lately after a period of post-election malaise (and softer television ratings) in late 2024 and early 2025, particularly now that Democrats face good odds in next month’s midterm elections. “There are thousands and thousands of people here – in the middle of Texas,” he said of the event.
Comparing the vibes with the months after Trump took office, “it feels like another world. … We’ve had the most intense stress test in the American constitutional republic in my lifetime, and I don’t think anything is determined yet, but it certainly feels better than a year and a half ago.”
The network is feeling that surge of interest. So far this year, MS Now’s primetime lineup is averaging 1.3 million viewers, up 11% from 2025. The network has seen an even bigger increase among viewers aged 25 to 54, the demographic most prized by advertisers.
View image in fullscreenChris Hayes smiles with fans at MS Now’s live fan event in Texas on 26 September 2026. Photograph: MS NowThe event – Together In Texas: We the People 2026 – also served as something of an in-person illustration of the network’s first major direct-to-consumer offering, a membership plan – for $7.99 per month or $79.99 annually – that gives subscribers access to two daily Q&As with top hosts and reporters, a moderated discussion community for members, exclusive content, a curated daily briefing and even a collection of guided meditations. (Those in the Founders tier of the membership program had access to a special lounge at the event space.)
“We’re still telling the audience what they need to know, but we’re also asking them, ‘What do you want to know, and how can we actually have a relationship where we actually are more than just delivering news to you as the voice of god,’ which fewer and fewer audience actually wants,” Mabry said. “I hope our business is learning that, because that’s the only way we survive. And we have to survive – it’s important for democracy.”
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