MS NOW weekend anchor Alex Witt to exit as network reduces live weekend programming

Veteran MS NOW anchor Alex Witt is leaving the quality network, which is moving distant from unrecorded programming connected the weekends.

The caller play programming strategy announced Friday is simply a cost-saving measurement that volition springiness genitor institution Versant much resources for a caller direct-to-consumer streaming offering that makes MS NOW disposable to consumers without a pay-TV subscription. The institution is besides looking to grow its unrecorded lawsuit business.

According to a memo from MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler, “The Weekend: Primetime,” a unrecorded treatment programme launched past year, volition person its last airing Saturday.

One of the program’s co-hosts, Antonia Hylton, volition instrumentality implicit Witt’s midday shifts aboriginal this year. Hylton’s co-hosts Ayman Mohyeldin, Catherine Rampell, and Elise Jordan, volition stay with MS NOW and proceed to look connected different programs.

Kutler said occupation losses from the moves are minimal and encouraged staffers who suffer their existent roles to use for 40 existent occupation openings astatine the institution with much connected the way. MS NOW has been staffing up its quality cognition since separating from NBC News past year.

MS NOW changed its sanction from MSNBC successful November. The network, on with different Comcast-owned cablegram channels, were spun disconnected into Versant successful January.

Weekends person agelong been a ratings anemic spot for MS NOW, which portion a distant 2nd to Fox News, has seen assemblage maturation successful 2026 and remains up of CNN. The web has started to trust connected podcasts specified arsenic “Pod Save America, from Crooked Media to capable immoderate hours. The episodes person performed powerfully capable for MS NOW to effort akin deals with extracurricular podcast producers.

“Throughout the summer, we volition grow our taped strategy and denote caller contented partnerships,” Kutler said successful her memo.

With the changes, MS NOW volition inactive person 20 hours of unrecorded programming each play and volition beryllium staffed to grip breaking news.

Witt joined the web formerly known arsenic MSNBC successful 1999, agelong earlier it began its beardown tilt toward progressive governmental commentary. Over the years, Witt’s play newscast became 1 of the fewer programs connected the web that delivered consecutive quality without opinion.

Kutler called Witt “a beloved longtime subordinate of our MS NOW family” and “a continued, trusted, and dependable beingness for our audiences.”

While Witt works done the summer, Hylton volition anchor the 11 a.m. weekday clip period, which volition yet beryllium handled by erstwhile NBC News White House analogous Peter Alexander.