MSNBC‘s recent chief isn’t wasting any time in determining where she desires to take the progressive-leaning network because it prepares to be spun off from NBCUniversal and its corporate parent, Comcast.
Rebecca Kutler, who was named president of MSNBC earlier in February, is considering expanding the on-screen presence of Jen Psaki, who currently anchors hours on Sunday afternoons and Monday evenings, in addition to the trio of personalities who lead “The Weekend,” the roundtable show that airs Saturday and Sunday mornings and is led by Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele, in response to two people accustomed to the discussions.
MSNBC declined to make Kutler available for comment. Puck previously reported discussions across the aforementioned personnel moves.
The changes, none of which haven’t been formally announced, show Kutler moving quickly to steer MSNBC in a difficult moment. With Comcast splitting off the majority of its cable assets right into a separate, publicly-traded company, MSNBC is prone to should navigate a future cut off from the newsgathering resources of NBC News. At present, a bunch of traditional news anchors, including Katy Tur and Chris Jansing, fill MSNBC’s weekday hours, offering reporting and journalism that isn’t as dipped in blue because the outlet’s primetime opinion programs. Veteran Andrea Mitchell recently signed off from the noon hour she anchored for many years, and an official alternative has not been unveiled.
It’s possible that Kutler could have to seek out recent ways to fill those daytime hours. The chief is already at work on finding recent Washington correspondents and a Washington bureau chief, in response to one in every of the people accustomed to the matter, and up to date discussions have centered on the potential of hiring journalists from outlets resembling The Washington Post and Politico; bringing in names from other networks; and elevating current MSNBC contributors to anchor roles.
Like other cable networks, MSNBC is facing significant business challenges. More of the viewers who settle in each evening to observe a couple of hours of commentary on MSNBC are migrating elsewhere. MSNBC is projected to shed roughly 10.5% of its subscribers between the top of 2023 and the top of 2025, in response to estimates from Kagan, a market-research firm that is a component of S&P Global Intelligence. Rivals Fox News Channel and CNN are seen experiencing similar erosions in that period. MSNBC may very well be left with a mean of 61.3 million viewers at the top of 2025, compared with 68.5 million in 2023 — and this with an election 12 months, typically an event that brings viewers back to news, between the 2 milestones.
MSNBC has been working to bring viewers back after the outcomes of the 2024 presidential election. Each MSNBC and CNN saw significant erosion following Donald Trump’s return to the White House and the national conversation, and each have unveiled programing shake-ups in recent weeks. At MSNBC, Rachel Maddow returned to hosting the 9 p.m. hour Monday through Friday, in comparison with the Monday-only schedule (with various special appearances) she has enjoyed in recent times. But Maddow is speculated to return to Mondays-only after Trump’s first 100 days in office, a move that might have also accommodated the return of Alex Wagner, who has been hosting Tuesdays through Fridays.
Each Psaki and “The Weekend” are near Kutler’s heart. She developed each the trio and “Inside With Jen Psaki.” “The Weekend” has enjoyed a spike in viewership in its time slot because it launched in January of 2024. Executives at MSNBC have clearly been taken with Psaki, a former Biden White House press secretary, since she launched a Sunday hour in March of 2003.
Giving each of those programs recent space suggests MSNBC is desperate to maintain its progressive stance, reasonably than attempting to tack towards middle ground. And the moves would add diversity to the network’s weekday lineup.
But for those two shows to get extra space, others could have to get less. Kutler is little question juggling her decisions.
