MSNBC Cancels Joy Reid and Ronan Farrow Programs-Chris Hayes And Al Sharpton Next?

Jeffdunetz | February 19, 2015
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When the story was first reported by Mediaite it was that Joy Reid's MSNBC's program The Reid Report had been canceled. Those MSNBC sources complained the decision to cancel Reid "but seemingly keep Farrow in the lineup is 'a slap in the face of a woman of color,' especially because Reid’s ratings have been consistently higher than Farrow’s, and yet 'she’s been given no support and no promotion.'

Those complaints have been silenced as the initial story was followed by a confirmation from MSNBC that both The Reid Report and Ronan Farrow Daily have been canceled. 

Much of the MSNBC lineup has been in danger of cancelation, two weeks ago the Wrap reported major changes were coming at MSNBC and “everything is on the table" because the network's ratings have really tanked.

"When President Obama was reelected in 2012, MSNBC was “leaning forward” and smiling wide as Obama 2.0 propelled it to record ratings and a firm grasp on the No. 2 spot in cable news. Over two years later, the network has fallen backwards. January ratings revealed double-digit declines compared with January, 2014 in all ratings measurements. During the day, MSNBC was down 20 percent in viewers and 37 percent in the advertising-coveted 25-54 demo. In primetime, it fell 23 percent in viewers and 39 percent in demo."

Farrow's ratings were particularly awful and getting worse. A recent report had the program pulling in "only 11k viewers in the 25-54 demographic, it’s lowest output for the hour, while being beaten by the likes of Fox News, CNN, CNBC, HLN, and even Al Jazeera."

Ronan [Farrow] and Joy [Reid] — something has to change there,” another insider told TheWrap, adding that many within MSNBC believe one of the two — Farrow at 1 p.m. Reid at 2 p.m. — will see their shows canceled soon. The duo, who debuted on Feb. 24, 2014, have been major contributors to MSNBC’s daytime woes.

MSNBC’s other programming problem appears to be [MSNBC President] Griffin himself, whom multiple insiders told TheWrap is too attached to the hosts he’s selected and the shows they’ve developed, including Farrow, Reid, Hayes and Alex Wagner, who hosts “Now” at 4 p.m. ET

While there is no confirmation what will happen to the time slots of the canceled programs, Mediaite suggests that Way Too Early host Thomas Roberts will get a daily 1:00pm-3:00pm show to fill both hours, Ms. Reid will become a national correspondent for the network, and Farrow will become a special correspondent who will create prime time specials.  

There are reports of pending announcements to MSNBC's primetime slate which suggest that evening Host Chris Hayes might not want to purchase new office furniture any time soon:

One well-placed insider told TheWrap that the ratings-challenged “All In” with Chris Hayes — airing in the cable news sweet spot of 8 p.m. ET — might get uprooted for a different timeslot. It’s not clear who will replace Hayes in the event that he gets yanked from 8 p.m., but since Keith Olbermann’s 2011 exit, MSNBC has filled the all-important timeslot with internal talent rather than seeking hosts from the outside.

According to the Daily Beast the Hayes move is imminent. 

In the relatively near term, two well-placed sources predicted to The Daily Beast, Chris Hayes will be relieved of his weak-performing 8 p.m. show All In, to be replaced by the current 9 p.m. host of The Rachel Maddow Show, while a talent search is currently underway to fill the prime-time slot to be vacated by Maddow.

Sources also told the Daily Beast that Al Sharpton may soon have more free time to incite divisiveness between the races.

In the longer term, these sources said, the Rev. Al Sharpton—a larger than life personality who attracts a 35 percent African-American audience but continues, after 3½ years of nightly practice, to wrestle with his Teleprompter--could eventually be moved from his weeknight 6 p.m. slot to a weekend time period, as MNSBC President Phil Griffin attempts to reverse significant viewership slides by accentuating straight news over left-leaning opinion.

Will the last person leaving MSNBC please turn off the lights?

 

 

 

 

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