MS Now Axes Part of ‘Morning Joe’ in Significant Shake-Up
MS NOW,formerly MSNBC,is launching a major programming overhaul ahead of the 2026 midterm elections,trimming one hour from morning Joe and reshuffling anchors across daytime and late-night slots. The changes aim to refresh the lineup, move hosts into new roles, and position the network for upcoming political coverage.
Key changes:
– Morning Joe becomes a 6-9 a.m. block, with Jonathan Lemire co-anchoring the 8 a.m. hour instead of the 9 a.m. hour.
– Alicia Menendez takes over the 12-2 p.m. slot, with Mondays shortened to one hour.
– Chris Hayes will anchor Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET.
– Ali Velshi takes over The 11th Hour,replacing Stephanie ruhle.
– Stephanie Ruhle moves to a 9-11 a.m. weekday morning slot focusing on politics and money.
– Ana Cabrera will depart the network as part of the shake-up.
– The changes include internal staff realignments and a forecast that more staff will be added by the end of 2026.
The changes,announced by MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler,take effect in June and are framed as a strategy to strengthen the channel’s lineup and coverage as the 2026 midterms approach. The reporting on the shake-up includes coverage from The Hollywood Reporter and The Guardian.
MS NOW — formerly MSNBC — has decided to cut one hour from “Morning Joe,” hosted by Joe Scarborough and his wife Mika Brzezinski, in addition to other changes that will alter the network entirely.
“MS NOW is overhauling its lineup from morning through night, moving anchors around and adjusting time periods as the Versant-owned cable channel prepares to cover the looming 2026 midterm elections,” an article from The Hollywood Reporter said.
“Morning Joe” will return to a three-hour format from 6-9 a.m. ET, with Jonathan Lemire co-anchoring the 8 a.m. hour instead of the 9 a.m. hour.
Alicia Menendez, co-host of “The Weeknight,” will take over the 12-2 p.m. time slot, with the show eventually going from two hours to one hour on Mondays, while Chris Hayes will again anchor Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET.
MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler announced the change during the channel’s daily editorial call on Wednesday.
She also issued a memo to employees saying that staff will be able to assume new roles within the company if their show is affected.
“As part of these programming changes, team members will have the opportunity to shift into new roles to support new priorities,” Kutler 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.”
“I am confident that these changes will make what is already a successful lineup even stronger in the future,” she added, per a report from The Guardian.
“We are fortunate to have so many exceptional journalists on our air, online, and behind the scenes.”
The changes will take effect in June. They will also include host Ali Velshi taking over the late-night show “The 11th Hour” from “It’s Happening” co-host Stephanie Ruhle.
Ruhle will move to a new morning slot from 9-11 a.m. on weekdays, where she will focus on politics and money after covering the stock market’s opening bell.
Ana Cabrera, who anchored a 10 a.m. news show for MS NOW, will leave the network as part of the shake-up.
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