Multiple outlets are reporting that MSNBC could move MTP Daily with Chuck Todd out of the 5 p.m. hour, and give 4 p.m. host Nicolle Wallace an extra hour (4 – 6 p.m. ET). MTP Daily has been losing a chunk of its Wallace lead-in, and audiences have been coming back to the network at 6 p.m., when Ari Melber takes over.
The 5 p.m. hour of the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer traditionally beats MTP Daily in the A25-54 demo, and Wallace could potentially flip the script and give MSNBC an advantage.
There are also reports that MTP Daily could be moved to 9 a.m., with Morning Joe serving as its lead-in. While Todd and his production staff might not be totally enamored with that idea, Todd is no stranger to 9 a.m., having co-hosted MSNBC’s 9 a.m. hour with Savannah Guthrie years ago. Their show Daily Rundown launched in Jan. 2010 and ended in Aug. 2014, when Todd was named Meet the Press moderator.
The Daily Beast also reported that MSNBC president Phil Griffin has been having talks with former Fox News anchor Shepard Smith about potentially joining the network when his non-compete expires. When does his non-compete expire? We do not know.
One of The Daily Beast’s MSNBC sources said the network would want Smith in prime time. If the network is going to pay Smith a massive salary to hop on board, slotting him in prime time would most certainly make sense. Or instead of prime time, MSNBC could slot Smith in his old 3 p.m. hour, putting him up against his friend Bill Hemmer. Wouldn’t that be an interesting competition?
Moving back to MSNBC prime time – we’ve heard that Lawrence O’Donnell recently said that he’d like to depart cable news in the not too distant future. Smith could end up getting 10 p.m., and have Rachel Maddow as his lead-in. Nice way to kick start your tenure at the network. Or the network could place Smith at 8 p.m., and bump Chris Hayes to 10 p.m.
Hayes is no stranger to being moved around, and if there’s anyone who has the ability to tune out the noise and adjust, Hayes would be the guy.
Take our poll, and let us know what you think is going to happen at MSNBC in the coming months.
First, we’ll re-up one of our questions from the 2020 TVNewser Challenge (which officially closes on Friday, by the way): Where Will Shepard Smith Land In 2020?
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