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Meanwhile, more changes are on the horizon. Alex Wagner, who currently hosts the 9 p.m. slot on weeknights when Rachel Maddow is off, is expected to shift into a contributor role, according to Variety. Sources say Wagner, who has been reporting from the field during the first 100 days of Trump’s new presidency, is unlikely to return to her previous role.
The upheaval marks the first major programming shake-up under Kutler, who took over the liberal network earlier this month. The former CNN executive is under pressure to revamp MSNBC as it prepares for a spin-off into a new publicly traded company alongside other NBCUniversal networks.
Reid has long been one of MSNBC’s most outspoken critics of Donald Trump, frequently delivering viral, often controversial rants targeting conservatives. Last year, she made waves by telling Trump supporters to “make your own dinner” at Thanksgiving, adding that they should “suffer the consequences of your votes.”
But while MSNBC once thrived on anti-Trump rhetoric, it appears viewers are tuning out. The network has been losing ground in the ratings race, and insiders suggest financial concerns are adding to the turmoil. The Ankler recently reported that MSNBC has been offering major pay cuts to some of its most high-profile personalities, including Reid and Stephanie Ruhle.
Kutler acknowledged the challenges ahead, telling staff: “Our jobs are hard on a normal day, and these are not normal times,” according to The New York Post.
Meanwhile, the decline isn’t limited to Reid. Even MSNBC’s biggest name, Rachel Maddow, has taken a hit. Since Trump’s landslide victory over Kamala Harris, The Rachel Maddow Show has lost 43% of its audience in 2024, now averaging just 1.4 million viewers. The drop is even worse among the key 25-54 demographic, where Maddow’s numbers have plummeted by 56%, down to just 103,000 viewers, according to OAN.
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Maddow, who previously scaled back her show to just one night a week, remains MSNBC’s top star, but the network’s future remains uncertain as it struggles to navigate the political landscape and shifting viewer habits.
As MSNBC tries to regain its footing, the question remains: will these changes be enough to stop the bleeding, or is the network heading toward irrelevance?
