‘Morning Joe’ Gets Axed an Hour as MS NOW Launches Sweeping Network Overhaul Ahead of Midterms
MS NOW, the cable news network formerly known as MSNBC, announced a sweeping overhaul of its programming lineup on Wednesday, affecting shows from early morning through late night.
MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler made the announcement during the channel’s daily editorial call, reported The Hollywood Reporter.
The changes represent the network’s first major programming shift since rebranding from MSNBC earlier this year.
The network separated from NBC and rebranded as MS NOW as part of Comcast’s spinoff of its linear cable assets. It now operates under Versant ownership.
Kutler issued a memo to MS NOW employees stating, “With the midterm elections quickly approaching and the 2028 presidential election on the horizon, we have some programming changes to share that will build on the momentum we are already seeing in 2026.”
At the center of the shake-up is “Morning Joe,” the network’s long-running flagship morning program hosted by Joe Scarborough and his wife, Mika Brzezinski.
The show currently occupies a four-hour block from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Eastern Time on weekdays. Under the restructured schedule, “Morning Joe” will return to three hours, down from four, airing from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. The change takes effect in June.
Scarborough previously described the demands of the four-hour show, telling PEOPLE, “Getting up at 4:30 in the morning, and getting shot out of a cannon at 6 and tap dancing for four hours, there’s literally nobody on the planet that understands what that’s like, except for the person that I’m with all the time.”
An MS NOW insider told Fox News Digital that Scarborough and Brzezinski were weary of the physical toll that hosting four hours of television took. “Four hours of linear TV, in 2026, it just doesn’t make sense,” the insider said
A second MS NOW insider suggested Scarborough and Brzezinski never cared for the 9 a.m. time slot.
“On one hand, they’re losing real estate and a little influence. On the other hand, I don’t think they really like that hour,” the second insider told Fox News Digital.
Jonathan Lemire, who had previously co-anchored the 9 a.m. hour of “Morning Joe,” will now work during the 8 a.m. hour instead.
Stephanie Ruhle, who has hosted “The 11th Hour,” will launch a new weekday morning show from 9 to 11 a.m.
Kutler described the move, saying Ruhle “will bring her energy and real-world experience on Wall Street to our morning viewers as the opening bell rings, covering the intersection of politics and the economy.”
Ali Velshi will move into the anchor chair at “The 11th Hour,” exiting his anchoring duties on weekends. Jacob Soboroff will take over Velshi’s weekend slot from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Alicia Menendez will leave her position at “The Weeknight” and launch a new afternoon show in the noon-to-2 p.m. slot.
Luke Russert will join “The Weeknight” full-time, alongside Symone Sanders-Townsend and Michael Steele in the 7 p.m. hour.
Chris Hayes’ “All In” will return to Mondays, where it had previously been pre-empted by a two-hour block of “The Weeknight.”
Kutler’s memo to employees stressed the network is not cutting back on resources, reported The Guardian. “As part of these programming changes, team members will have the opportunity to shift into new roles to support new priorities,” she wrote.
“In most cases, comparable opportunities will be available to employees as these changes take shape. Overall, we expect to have more people working at MS NOW by the end of 2026 than we do today.” Kutler added, “I am confident that these changes will make what is already a successful lineup even stronger in the future. We are fortunate to have so many exceptional journalists on our air, online, and behind the scenes.”
Continue Scrolling for the Comments
Leave a Comment