The new boss of the media firm that oversees MSNBC wants more Republican voices on the network – and to move more opinion content out of primetime along with cuts to some high-profile presenters’ pay.
SpinCo CEO Mark Lazarus expressed his desire for the new direction multiple times over the past month, seeking to shed the perception of liberal bias at MSNBC.
To accomplish this, insiders said he is mulling running opinion programming during the day, The Ankler reported.
The changes may come with pay cuts for longtime opinion hosts like Joy Reid and Stephanie Ruhle, who are discussions about their future at the network.
This comes weeks after the CEO is said to have slashed Rachel Maddow’s pay by some $5million, after she agreed to stay with the network for another five years.
The details came from insiders who spoke to both Status and The Ankler.
Previously chairman of NBCUniversal’s TV and streaming divisions, Lazarus was named the boss of SpinCo late late last month.
The company is made up of mostly NBCU cable channels alongside Comcast’s networks.
SpinCo CEO Mark Lazarus aired the desire to move the network in a different direction multiple times over the past month, seeking to shed the public’s long-held perception of liberal bias
He’s also reportedly pondering pay cuts for opinion hosts like Joy Reid, after already slashing Rachel Maddow’s pay by $5million
Lazarus has promised ‘a new growth trajectory’ for not only MSNBC, but all the channels in his stable – with MSNBC in the midst of a post-elections ratings slump.
From the day after the election through last week, MSNBC has averaged only 603,000 total viewers in primetime.
That’s less than half of its year-to-date average – with its total primetime audience falling 55 percent from November 4 through December 15, according to new Nielsen numbers released Tuesday.
The reasons for the drop are being widely debated, with many laying blame on viewers being deterred by the outcome of the election.
During the day, things are even worse, with the cable news network averaging just 17,000 viewers in the key 25-54 demo between the hours of noon and 7pm ET.
In comparison, TV startup NewsNation’s programming, despite having a fraction of MSNBC’s resources, amassed an audience of 23,000 in the same demographic.
As a second Trump presidency looms, Lazarus is the man tasked with righting the proverbial MSNBC ship with a strategy more aligned with the times.
Those who spoke to Status and The Ankler said he does not want to fully shed the network’s liberal reputation – with talent like Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell not yet asked to change their on-air tunes.
Insiders said he is mulling running opinionated programming like The Rachel Maddow show during the day to lessen the station’s left-leaning reputation
Reid and fellow primetime personality Stephanie Ruhle have already been presented with pay cuts, the insiders said – as the network is set to move in a new direction
Lazarus, meanwhile, still in the midst of holding meetings and familiarizing himself with the network’s big names – but has already made it clear the network should welcome all sorts of voices, the sources said.
To what extent remains to be seen. Moreover, it will have to be accomplished without the new-gathering crutch that was NBC News – now out of Lazarus’s stands
As it stands, prime time is currently made up of predominantly progressive opinion programming, headed by personalities like Maddow, who, since 2022, only hosts once a week.
In one of Lazarus’s first moves as her boss, he cut the host’s salary by $5million – from $30million to $25million.
Since agreeing to the new contract, MSNBC has ramped up the amount of Maddow videos on its YouTube page, helping it become one of the most-watched news networks on the site.
The videos are essentially more streamlined versions of her old primetime segments, and have been filled with barbs about President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks as of late
The relatively recent flood of them in recent weeks serve as proof that Comcast ‘is expecting bigger bang for its buck’ from the network, The Ankler report said.
Staffers at 30 Rock, meanwhile, have reportedly been left uneasy about the prospect of leaving for a new, less iconic office under the newly formed entity.
Fellow primetime personalities Reid and Stephanie Ruhle have been presented with similar pay cuts, the insiders who spoke to the newsletter added – weeks after Maddow signed on to stay.
The decision saw her old mentor and former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann tweet that she lacked ‘principle’ – as the reported five-year $125million extension was inked days after Trump’s shock win.
Another anchor poised to take a cut is Morning Joe co-host Jonathan Lemire, the outlet reported – as other staffers at 30 Rock have reportedly been left uneasy about the prospect of leaving for a new, less iconic office under the newly formed entity.
‘[They] clearly relish their newsroom’s adjacency to the power center of the Big Apple,’ a section of The Ankler report read.
