MSNBC Plans April 4 Debut for Expanded ‘Morning Joe’
variety.comBrian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMSNBC’s “Morning Joe” will soon become a mid-morning affair when the cable-news outlet expands it to four hours starting April 4.MSNBC plans to air the program from its usual starting point at 6 a.m.
until 10 a.m. now, pre-empting a 9 o’clock hour that had previously been earmarked for more traditional news coverage. The hour’s anchor, Stephanie Ruhle, is moving to lead “The 11th Hour” at 11 p.m.
on the NBCUniversal network.Co-hosts Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Willie Geist will lead the show during all four hours, according to MSNBCThe network sees an opportunity to put “Morning Joe” in front of West Coast audiences, but by expanding the program, MSNBC is also relying more heavily on some of its most popular programming at a time when some of its most popular hours are in flux.
Executives see “Morning Joe” and Nicolle Wallace’s two afternoon hours as two pillars of the schedule. Rachel Maddow, who has already taken a hiatus to tend to other content productions she is handling for NBCU under a new contract, is expected to pull back again from primetime duties in weeks to come.
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