MSNBC faces internal shifts due to declining ratings which is resulting in contract renegotiations including potential pay cuts for its high profile anchors Joy Reid and Stephanie Ruhle. According to The Ankler MSNBC management asked both Reid and Ruhle to agree to lower salaries in new contract talks. Ruhle host of The 11th Hour who makes 2 million dollars annually and Reid of The ReidOut earning 3 million dollars a year are being targeted for decreased compensation due to slumping ratings and business downturns at MSNBC.
ComCast Spinoff and Potential Layoffs Creates Chaos Among Staff at MSNBC Headquarters
The news about pay cuts arrives amidst several ongoing shake-ups for MSNBC including significant declines in total viewership and a Comcast announcement of a channel spin off under the name SpinCo. Employee panic due to possible job losses occurred at MSNBC headquarters during meeting headed by NBCUniversal chair Mark Lazarus future SpinCo leader who addressed staffing changes. Staff members expressed strong concern about name and logos possibly changing or whether reporting of NBC News would still be used under SpinCo's ownership demonstrating the high level of job related stress in workplace.
"Morning Joe" Hosts and Political Fallout with Trump Affect Viewership Numbers
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski hosts of Morning Joe created their own controversy when they met with then President elect Donald Trump in November at Mar-a-Lago residence attempting to build relationships with him after a bitter 2024 election. Their actions sparked a large backlash among left leaning individuals as "Morning Joe" viewers dropped an additional 17% on top of their previous drop in 35%. Viewership for the network generally is on steep downturn across many programs from recent election results and continued shifts within political sphere in the US.
Joy Reid Experiences a Dramatic Viewership Drop After 2024 Elections and Continues Decline
Joy Reid who has been with the network since 2011 and had prime time show since 2020 experienced a significant rating drop losing nearly half of her audience following election which started in late 2024 according to data from Nielsen Media Research. Before Election Day Joy Reid's show averaged around 1.4 million viewers compared to 759000 viewers recently. The drop shows significant audience declines following election results for various news programs including Joy Reids showing her overall popularity on the network during this timeline. The data clearly demonstrates a direct link of viewership to major political and electoral events as they shift the political culture in the United States.
Chris Hayes and Lawrence O'Donnell Witness Audience Reductions on Primetime Time Slots
Ratings also decreased across other prime time slots as well including Chris Hayes All In show losing approximately 56 percent of his main demographic group in 8PM ET time slot. The Last Word host Lawrence O’Donnell similarly felt audience decrease after recent elections by losing 40 percent of all metrics including total viewers and key demographic viewership falling to approximately 930000 total viewers and 78000 of key demographic. Many factors caused this sharp decline however many insiders feel major shifts in political landscape caused a decline in viewership of many progressive leaning television news stations like MSNBC.
Rachel Maddow Endures Pay Cut Along with other MSNBC Talent Amid Cost-Cutting Measures
Rachel Maddow who airs only Monday nights has seen 43 percent of her viewership dissipate and accepted pay cut of 5 million dollars per year which decreased total salary to around 25 million dollars for the next five years. Both Joy Reid and Stephanie Ruhle along with Rachel Maddow agreed to significant reduction in salary showing how internal changes and reduced revenue is impacting even the most well-known personalities and talent working at the channel. MSNBC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital inquiries demonstrating the sensitive and volatile nature of negotiations for media properties with declining viewership. Gabriel Hays from Fox News Digital reported some of these inside issues and the overall tone and current climate that is shifting across media and political landscape .